Recipe: Christmas Cranberry Scones with Dried Cranberries and a Touch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg

These easy to make scones are perfect for the holidays but tasty any time of year.

Despite the sad profusion of truly mediocre scones out there, you have no reason to be scared of them. With a light touch and the right recipe, anyone can produce a pile of perfect scones in about 40 minutes. Really. Update: Click here to read rave reviews of this scrumptious recipe from several first time scone bakers!

I once spent an afternoon demonstrating how to make these scones during a holiday open house at a kitchenware store. Talk about a fun job. People who didn't even know what a scone was would wander over, take a tentative nibble of a warm sample, let out a little moan of delight, devour the rest of their scone while watching in fascinated disbelief as I mixed up another batch in minutes, then snatch up a copy of the recipe and scurry home to make scones of their own.

This happened over and over. It was wonderful.

Beautifully golden brown and dotted with jewel-like cranberries, these cute little scones are sure to brighten any holiday table. They're buttery and crumbly and rich, moist on the inside, with a satisfying light crunch on the outside. They are, in a word, scrumptious. They are also very easy to make.

You can whip up a batch of warm scones for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea in no time, much to the delight of your starving friends and loved ones. Or you can make them when you have a few spare minutes and freeze them for later. Defrost them at room temperature and heat at 375° for about 5 to 8 minutes (I put them in my little toaster/convection oven).

I plan to pull a few of these out of the freezer and treat myself to warm scones and a large cup of café au lait on Christmas morning—that is if I have any left by then.

With such a simple recipe, top quality ingredients are particularly important. Fresh baking powder is essential. I always have good results with Rumford brand, which is aluminum free. Organic butter, milk, flour, and sugar are easy to find these days and really do make a difference.

The optional egg glaze gives the scones a beautiful shine and dark golden color. Look for locally produced eggs at your farmers' market or natural foods store, or search on Local Harvest for a farmer near you. You won't believe the difference compared to commercial eggs. The yolks are sometimes so dark they're a gorgeous deep orange like these, and the eggs actually taste like eggs!



If you've never grated your own fresh nutmeg, now is your chance. It took me years to get around to trying this, and I will never use pre-ground again. It tastes amazing, plus you get to use a cute little nutmeg grater. The scent alone as you're grating is worth the tiny bit of extra effort, and whole nutmeg will stay fresh for years.

I highly recommend investing in a couple of heavy duty rimmed commercial baking sheets. At about $15 each, they're one of the best kitchen deals around. I've been using some of mine for over 20 years for everything from baking rolls to roasting brussels sprouts, not to mention perfectly baking thousands of cookies. I line them with sheets of unbleached parchment paper, which is wonderful stuff, and I reuse each piece several times before discarding it.

To round out your easy scone repertoire, I suggest my popular Savory Cheese & Scallion Scones with Feta, which are made with cream cheese instead of butter. Add them to your holiday bread basket, serve them for breakfast or high tea, or split and toast them to make satisfying little leftover turkey or ham sandwiches. Enjoy!

Farmgirl Susan's Christmas Cranberry Scones
Makes 12 small scones

**Click here to print this recipe**

2¼ to 2½ cups organic all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or 1 teaspoon pre-ground)

1/2 cup (4 ounces/1 stick) organic butter, chilled & cut into small pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 egg
2 Tablespoons yogurt + milk to make 3/4 cup (or 3/4 cup buttermilk)

Optional Egg Glaze:
Beat well with a fork:
1 egg & 2 Tablespoons milk
Coarse sugar for sprinkling on top

Heat the oven to 400°F. Combine 2¼ cups of the flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers, cut butter into the flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbles. Add cranberries and pecans (if using) and toss gently until combined.

Use a fork to beat the yogurt/milk mixture with the egg, then gently fold into the dry ingredients, mixing lightly just until blended. Add up to 1/4 cup additional flour if dough is too sticky.



On a floured surface, divide the dough in half and gently pat each half into a circle 5 or 6 inches in diameter. With a sharp knife (I use a large serrated knife dipped in flour), cut each circle into 6 wedges and place on a heavy duty baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper.



Brush the tops and sides of the scones with egg glaze if desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container or freeze.

Can't survive on scones alone? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

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