Have you ever baked white chocolate cranberry scones before? Or any scones for that matter? If you are at all like me, you have put off baking scones for years because they seemed way too intimidating. Mixing dough to the perfect consistency then trying to bake them for the right amount of time, careful not to make them dry, all seemed a bit daunting. But I have conquered that fear! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that scones are not hard to make, especially white chocolate cranberry scones! I have now baked scones many times and besides a few silly kitchen mistakes, they have all turned out pretty well. The biggest trick with scones is to not over mix them. Once you add the cream to the mix, mold the dough with your hands until the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are combined. If you mix too long, your scones will be hard and not as good. Remember, even if scones intimidate you, just give it a shot and you may surprise yourself! More Tips below…

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp   Cold heavy cream
1                                Large egg
2 cups                           All-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface
1/4 cup                          Granulated sugar
2 tsp                            Baking powder
1/2 tsp                          Fine salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick)       Cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup                          White chocolate chips
1/2 cup                         Dried Cranberries (I used Craisins)
Sanding sugar (optional)

The Male Bakers Tip for Scones:

Scones taste the best when they are fresh out of the oven. In order to taste that soft, crumbly, goodness of scones, you can freeze your unbaked scones on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, you can store them in a zip-lock bag, up to 2 months. When you are ready for some more fresh and delicious scones, brush the frozen scones with cream, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Hope this helps!

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare one baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Whisk together 3/4 cup cream and egg. Set aside
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. With a fork, stir in cream mixture until just combined. (The dough should be crumbly; do not overwork. The key to scones is to not overwork them!)
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 6-8 inch circle. Cut into 6-8 (or 12 if you want more bite size/party sized wedges and transfer to prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake until golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.