After our little getaway to Niagara-on-the-lake, all I could think about was scones and tea. We splurged a little on the hotel and spa day so we reluctantly decided it was best to opt out of our High Tea reservation at The Prince of Wales Hotel. The hard part about this was letting go of my craving for Sloane Tea and scones; one of my favourite pairings these days.

So as a solution to this craving, I decided to brew my own tea, and make my own scones. I took out my favourite scone recipe, one I’ve adapted from Canadian Living for years, and set out to make blueberry scones.

Three weeks, two colds, a sick dog and a soon to be expired carton of buttermilk, I finally had the chance to make the scones. But with the holiday season on it’s way, I decided to try something a little festive this time; cranberry scones. I love baking with cranberries and and after a few tries, I think the flavours are just right. The recipe is simple, sweet and tastes great with Sloane Tea’s Peaches and Cream.

CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS SCONES

INGREDIENTS

½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 tsp white sugar

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

4 tbsp white sugar

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup room temperature butter

1 tbsp room temperature butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg white

1 tbsp coarse sugar

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mix cranberries and 1 tsp of white sugar. Let stand while you prep the other ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, 4 tbsp of white sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add ¾ cup of butter to the dry ingredients and cut in with two knives until your mixture resembles small crumbs.
5. Mix in cranberries.
6. Add 1tbsp of butter and mix in with a spoon. Leave large chunks in the dough.
7. Pour in the buttermilk all at once and mix with a fork to make sticky dough.
8. Using lightly floured hands, make dough into a ball.
9. Press out the dough into a circle or square shape on a lightly floured surface. Dough should be about 1 ½ to 2 cm in thickness.
10. Cut out scones using a large knife to make 24 medium sized scones.
11. Lay out the scones on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.
12. Using the egg whites, brush the tops of your scones and then sprinkle coarse sugar.
13. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!