This festive scone recipe rings in seasonal goodness with dried apricots, cranberries, and rich eggnog.
Remember when you were a kid at Christmas, and you opened that present you wished so hard for? You couldn’t wait to play with it, right? Funny how some things never change.
When I’m in a culinary store, I act like an 8-year-old in FAO Schwarz. While recently browsing The Kitchen Conservatory in St. Louis, I found a mini scone pan and knew I had to have it.
An obsession with these pastries has developed since taking a scone-making class with friends at The London Tea Room (also in St. Louis). In the class, what looked like large biscuit cutters fashioned the currant scones, but I’m partial to the triangular shaped pastry. Although it’s certainly possible to create these without a pan, it was too cute to pass up.
New pan in hand, I searched Mom’s recipe box and found the card she’d clipped years ago for Festive Fruit Scones. I think it’s an old Taste of Home recipe; she loved that magazine. I changed a few ingredients, made a few tweaks, and added a glaze. My Mini Eggnog and Fruit Scones turned out beautifully (which is more than I can say for my kitchen afterwards). Let’s get baking!
To make my Mini Eggnog and Fruit Scones, which yields 16 mini scones, you’ll need these ingredients:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
¼ cup diced dried apricots
¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
¾ cup eggnog
1 tablespoon milk
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
Juice and zest of 1 mandarin orange
Directions to make Mini Eggnog and Fruit Scones
One of the reasons I’m into making scones is the ingredients are combined without a mixer. You will need a large bowl. In it, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. You can cut in the butter using forks or a pastry cutter, but I like to get in there with my hands. And while we're on the subject of butter, I learned in the class that it's good to splurge on high quality butter. I used Kerry Gold in this and previous recipes. If you don't have this brand handy, standard unsalted butter will be fine.
Add the orange zest and dried fruit.
Stir in the eggnog; you want a soft dough to form. If you don’t like eggnog, the original recipe used buttermilk, so try that. I happened to have eggnog in my refrigerator and wanted to use it up.
I noticed this was still a little crumbly after incorporating the liquid, so I added 3 tablespoons of milk to help it come together. It would also be good to add orange juice to help bring your dough together.
Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. If you’re not using a pan, roll the dough out to an 8-inch square, about ¾-inch thick, and then cut that square into quarters. Each quarter segment will be cut twice across on the diagonal, so you have 16 triangles. These will bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
I essentially did the same method but placed the scones in a buttered and floured scone pan. I think the pan helps keep the scones more uniform in size as they bake.
After your scones are shaped and placed in the pan or on the baking sheet, brush the tops with milk and bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Cool completely before glazing the tops. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Allow the glaze to set before serving. You also can skip the glaze, but I thought it helped enhance the orange and other fruit in the scone.
Do scones freeze well?
You can freeze scones, but don’t glaze them prior to bagging for the freezer. It was my intention to do just that and serve these for our Christmas brunch, but after tasting one, I decided these would be my seasonal treat with morning coffee. Of course, these are so easy to make, I could make another batch before Christmas!
There's nothing better than freshly baked scones, butter, jam or—if you're lucky to find it—clotted cream. Talk about comfort and joy!
Looking for similar festive baking recipes for the holidays?
Traditional Currant Scones served with lemon curd, jam and clotted cream are a beautiful addition to your breakfast menu. One bite and you're transported to Dickens' London. Cranberries, apricots and eggnog are the stars in my holiday Eggnog and Fruit Bread. It reminds me of a classic German stollen. Both recipes are easily doable even for a novice baker.
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Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.
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