Christmas Scones

I made these in Hawaii for family and friends. Since we were so busy, I mixed up a batch, put them on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap and froze them in the freezer for a few hours. Then I removed them from the baking sheet and put them into a freezer bag. When we finally had a calm morning at home, I defrosted them for 15 minutes on a baking sheet, egg washed them and then baked them for 20 minutes. I call them Christmas scones because they have so many ingredients in them, much like our Christmas tree which is small but has enough lights and ornaments for a 7 foot tree.


Christmas Scones

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup mini white chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 Tbsp. orange zest

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature cut into small pieces

1 cup buttermilk

3 large eggs, divided

1 1/2 Tbsp. orange juice

glaze (optional) 2 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar, 1 Tbsp. orange zest, 1/4 cup orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or two forks until it is a coarse meal. In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk, 2 eggs, and orange juice. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, walnuts, cranberries and orange zest.

3. Whisk remaining egg with 1 Tbsp. water in a small dish. Set aside. Drop 1/4 cup balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets spacing them 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring scones to a wire rack. In a small dish, mix together confectioner's sugar, orange zest and orange juice to make a glaze. When scones are cool, drizzle with glaze.