White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

I love scones, in case you couldn't tell! Any chance I get to make a baked good for breakfast my mind usually heads to scones first. Don't get me wrong, I love a good muffin or some sweet bread or even a coffee cake but there is something about a scone.

For this past weekend, which happened to be Father's Day, we were camping. I still wanted to have a special breakfast and since it is somewhat difficult to whip up a gourmet meal with just a few pans and a limited amount of space I decided that I would instead find a scone recipe to prepare ahead of time that we could just take along with us to enjoy with a side of fruit.

The original recipe for this was for white chocolate cherry scones but I didn't happen to have any dried cherries in my cupboard. I did have dried cranberries though (a staple in our household) so I checked with hubby to see if he would be agreeable to that substitution. As you can see from this post, he was.

I whipped up a quick batch while finishing packing for our camping trip. I stuck them in the freezer to cool them a bit faster so I could store them in a bag before putting them with our other non-refrigerated foods. And that is where they stayed our entire camping trip. Yep, that's right. I left them in the freezer right next to the chicken breasts, chicken nuggets, and chicken and apple sausages I was also supposed to bring. Good plan, poor execution. He did get to enjoy one the day we came back into town, and since it was only one day after Father's Day it wasn't too long of a wait. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Source: Adapted from My Baking Addiction

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth; stir in vanilla.
 
Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)

Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles (or other desired shape); place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.


If desired, drizzle with melted white chocolate after the scones have cooled.


Optional:
Add a light egg wash to the top of the scones and a sprinkle of coarse sugar before placing in the oven.
Add in a variety of ingredients to make your signature scone, think chocolate chips, nuts, espresso powder…endless possibilities!