I've got you covered for Christmas morning breakfast!! Flaky, buttery Ginger Cranberry Scones are flavored with citrus, fresh ginger, and filled with plump cranberries and bits of crystalized ginger. They are sprinkled with coarse sugar, and then baked to golden perfection. The final stretch...a drizzle of citrus and ginger glaze and garnished with bits of crystalized ginger. This scone has tons of flavor, a perfectly tender texture, and will give you all of the Christmas morning feels.
The best part - you can make this recipe ahead of time so that you have nothing to stress about on Christmas morning. Scone dough freezes quite well and bakes perfectly straight from the freezer. You'll simply prepare the scones, cut the dough, and transfer the triangles to a freezer bag. On Christmas morning, simply slide your breakfast into the oven and enjoy a mug of coffee while the kids are digging into their stockings.
Making the Ginger Cranberry Scones
This recipe is really quite easy to make. You'll start by popping your stick of butter into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Next, you'll combine the dry ingredients, orange zest and grated ginger root in a medium mixing bowl. You'll cut your butter into the dry ingredients. I like to use the shredding method that I learned from Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction for this. You'll use your cheese grater to grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients. With a fork or a pasty cutter you'll work the butter into the flour mixture.
Next, you'll combine your heavy cream, egg, orange juice and vanilla, and whisk until well combined. You'll pour this combination directly into your flour and butter combination and mix gently to combine. Finally you will fold in the crystalized ginger and frozen cranberries. Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Work the dough by folding it over itself a few times. Form an 8-inch round disk with the dough. Using your pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the disk into 8 wedges and move to a baking pan.
At this point, you can either bake these scones right away or store the dough in the freezer until you are ready to bake them. If you are baking right away, give the scones at least 30 minutes in the freezer before baking them. This helps to prevent spreading. When you are ready to cook the scones, brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with course sugar. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
If you decide to freeze your dough, allow the dough to freeze on the sheet tray and then transfer frozen dough to a freezer bag. Freeze unbaked scone dough for up to 3 months. When making scones directly from the freezer, you'll want to allow 2-3 additional minutes of baking time for your scones.
Making the Citrus Ginger Glaze:
This glaze is absolutely delicious and so easy to make. You will grate about 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger into a small piece of cheesecloth and squeeze the juice from the ginger into a small mixing bowl. You'll mix the fresh orange juice and confectioner's sugar to the bowl and whisk well, until no lumps remain. Finally, you'll drizzle baked scones with the glaze and garnish with a few bits of crystalized ginger. That's it! The scones are ready to serve.
I hope that you love this newest recipe and that Ginger Cranberry Scones become a part of your most special mornings with your loved ones.
Happy holidays,
Amanda
Other Make Ahead Recipes Ideas for Christmas Morning:
Looking for something other than scones for breakfast? Hosting for a large crowd and need more than one recipe? Check out some of my other favorite make ahead recipes below.
Cinnamon Star Bread - Sally's Baking Addiction - make the dough and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, create the star, let it rise, and bake
Apple Butter Bread - Maple and Thyme - this quick bread can be made ahead of time and warmed up on Christmas morning.
The Best Cinnamon Rolls You'll Ever Eat - make these cinnamon rolls, put them in the pan, and leave in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, pull them out to finish rising while the oven preheats and then toss them into the oven.
More delicious scone recipes
- Raspberry Lemonade Scones
- Coconut Mango Scones with Lime Glaze
- Almond Peach Scones
- Pineapple Coconut Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze
Recipe
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Ginger Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
Ginger Cranberry Scones
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (260g) cake flour - you can also substitute all-purpose flour here
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- zest from one medium orange
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter, frozen and shredded or cut into small cubes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice juice from ½ orange
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup frozen or fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup finely chopped crystalized ginger
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- coarse sugar
Orange Ginger Glaze
- ¾ cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger juice
- ¼ cup finely chopped crystalized ginger
Instructions
Ginger Cranberry Scones
- Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Grate frozen stick of butter directly into the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to gently work the butter into the flour mixture. Add the orange zest and freshly grated ginger to your flour mixture and toss to combine. Return this bowl to the freezer while you mix up the liquid ingredients.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, egg, orange juice and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Drizzle this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until all of the dough appears to be wet and comes together. You may need to add an additional tablespoon or two of heavy cream. Gently fold in the chopped crystalized ginger and cranberries.
- On a floured surface gather and work the dough. Fold dough over itself two times, before forming the dough into an 8 inch circle. Using a sharp knife, or a bench knife, cut the circle into 8 equal triangles. Arrange scones on the prepared baking sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Brush frozen scones with heavy cream, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 18 -20 minutes.
Orange Ginger Glaze
- Grate 1 tablespoon fresh ginger into a piece of cheesecloth. Squeeze the ginger to extract the juice.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, orange juice, and juice from the grated ginger. Whisk until smooth.Once the scones have finished baking, remove from the oven and drizzle glaze over each scone. Garnish with finely chopped crystalized ginger.
Nutrition
KITCHEN TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS THAT CAN BE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
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