Cranberry + White Chocolate Scones

I miss a lot of things about my time in England, and often try to take myself back through various senses – looking through old photos and videos, listening to the music of the buskers I met during my travels, and eating some of the foods I grew to love while there.

One such treat I have not yet attempted to make myself since leaving is the scone. I only enjoyed a few afternoon teas with friends, but whenever we’d go out, we were sure to treat ourselves to an assortment of scones to go with our brews.

Shortly after returning to the states, I was trying to recreate some of my favorite British dishes and desserts, but found myself rather intimidated by scones because many recipes I came across were overly detailed and warned that the slightest misstep could ruin the whole batch.

But when I saw a bag of fresh cranberries on sale at the grocery just before Thanksgiving this year while pondering what kind of sweet I should bring to our gathering, I knew the time had come.

And friends… these are SO easy to make! And quick, too!

I did some research and decided to slightly adapt this recipe.

Cranberry & White Chocolate Scones

Makes 8 large scones or 16 small.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup fresh (or dried) cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter.
3. Add in the half and half, beaten egg, cranberries (I used fresh, cutting some of them and half and leaving the rest whole), and 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips, and stir until the dough begins to hold together. Don’t worry if it’s still a little crumbly before moving onto the next step.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board or countertop and knead for two minutes. This is when the dough will really begin to stick together well.
5. Form into a 1/2-inch thick round, then cut the round into 8 wedges, like a pizza! Or, separate the dough in half and roll into two rounds to make 16 smaller wedges.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the wedges to the sheet.
7. Bake at 400°F for 14 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Once the scones are done baking, place them on a wire rack to cool.
9. After the scones have begun to cool, melt the remaining white chocolate in a small bowl. Pour the melted chocolate into a Ziploc bag and snip a tiny hole in one corner (to squeeze the chocolate out of.)
10. Once the scones are cooled, drizzle the melted white chocolate back and forth across the tops of the scones.

I can’t believe I waited this long to try my hand at scone-making. I’ve already taken to Pinterest to research more recipes! Do you have a favorite? Feel free to share in the comments below!

xo, Aly