Christmas Scones

I know I've blogged about my love of the Ardmore's Farmer Market before, but I don't think I have adequately communicated my parents love for the Ultimate Bake Shoppe inside the market. I have to say, the bakery is pretty darn good. But that is not a surprise as it is an Amish bakery and the Amish basically corner the market on deliciousness in Pennsylvania. 

The bakery makes yummy cookies (include the accurately named "The Ultimate Chocolate Chip"), biscotti, breads, cupcakes, scones, muffins, pies and cakes. If my family brings you a baked good as a host gift, its a fair assumption that it came from the Ultimate Bake Shoppe.

The number one love of both my parents, my brother and myself is the bakery's cranberry white chocolate chunk scone. It is crispy on top, soft and chewy on the bottom and full of whole cranberries and big piecesof white chocolate. The only problem? I shudder to think of the amount of calories in the bites of heaven. 

So on Christmas morning, when calories don't count but it is still a positive to lessen the expected weight gain, I decided to tackle the white chocolate cranberry scone. Which is a big step for me, as I am not a baker, nor will I ever be. I was pleasantly surprised, however, with how easy the scones were to make (minus a little snafu with the butter in which I had to get my mum, who was in the process of getting dressed, to stop immediately and help me fix. I believe numerous curses were uttered, along with a few "baking is stupid" comments). From start to finish, these babies only took about 25 minutes. 

Also on the Christmas morning breakfast menu? Porkroll, egg and cheese. Hey, if calories don't count on holidays, why not go all out?

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 c half-and-half
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. In a bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter.

3. Add the half-and-half, egg, cranberries (I prefer fresh ones, especially since they're so abundant this time of year!) and the white chocolate chips. Stir until dough holds together. Add more half-and-half, as needed.

4. Remove from bowl and put on lightly floured board. Knead for about two minutes. Form a 1/2 inch thick round on the board. Cut into wedges. If you prefer smaller scones, you can separate into two rounds and cut those. 

5. Spray a baking sheet with oil and transfer wedges to sheet, leaving a bit of room between. Bake the scones at 400F for about 16 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly crispy on the top.