Christmas morning has always been a prescribed ritual in my family tradition and one I’ve carried on in my own family as an adult. We were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve which for my children is a new pair of pajamas and usually a new Christmas ornament with some meaning for the year. We always bake for Santa, leaving cookies out Christmas Eve (this year I rounded up some fantastic gluten-free cookie options, 24 to be exact, and it will be difficult to choose!).
On Christmas morning we start the morning with some coffee and coffee cake to accompany opening Christmas Stockings filled with little gifts wrapped in white tissue paper. After the stockings we take a break for a more substantial breakfast and then finish up gifts under the tree. It’s funny how the smallest details define the full holiday experience. I cannot remember a year without coffee cake first thing, though this year I’m changing it up!
Last week my high schooler had no classes, instead one or two final exams each day with Friday off. It was a dreary, foggy, frigid morning on Friday. I’d dropped her at an early morning swim team practice, headed home to grab my elementary school son, back to pick up at swim practice and drop at school for the younger. On the way home we popped into a small coffee shop in our neighborhood. It was every ounce of warm perfection you’d imagine from a bustling urban coffee shop on a chilly winter’s day; brimming with laughter and happy people appreciating the shelter from the cold, a fiddler playing Celtic tunes in the corner, running into bundled up friends unexpected, soul-warming drinks and freshly baked pastries. On this particularly perfect coffee shop trip there were gluten-free scones, freshly out of the oven waiting just for us.
We departed the coffee shop warmth, braving the gray outside and it popped to mind that I wanted to make scones for Christmas morning this year. And not ordinary scones but special, whimsical scones fitting for the excitement of the holidays; Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Scones, gluten-free. After some experimenting the scones popped from the oven (well, maybe that is an exaggeration) with the ideal mix of chocolate and peppermint to celebrate the season. They are a fun twist on regular breakfast food, feeling just a smidge more special. I hope you’ll enjoy them too!
Recipe
Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Scones {gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend (I used King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Flour)
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted Butter, frozen
- ½ cup mini Chocolate Chips
- ½ cup crushed Candy Canes or Starlight Peppermints
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 large Egg
- Optional: ½ cup chocolate chips to melt and drizzle on the top of the scones
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine fully.
- Using a coarse grater (larger holes), grate the frozen butter into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Gently mix the ingredients together with your hands until the combined ingredients form a coarse granular mixture.
- Reserve one tablespoon of the crushed candy canes. Stir the chocolate chips and remaining crushed candy canes into the batter.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the sour cream and egg. Whisk to fully mix together.
- Pour the sour cream-egg mixture into the batter and mix with a large mixing spoon to begin to incorporate into the batter. Finish the mixing with your hands, lightly kneading the mixture until it is fully combined into a dough ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a circle approximately ¾ inch thick. Sprinkle the reserved one tablespoon of crushed candy canes on the top of the dough.
- Using a knife, dough cutter or the edge of a metal spatula cut the circle into 8 triangles. Transfer the triangles of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until slightly golden on top (15-17 minutes).
- Remove baking sheet from the oven and allow the scones to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Optional: if wishing to drizzle the scone top with chocolate, once the scones have totally cooled, place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute on high. Stir and heat for 10 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is fully melted. Drizzle the tops of the scones and allow chocolate to set before serving.
Nutrition
Kim | a little lunch says
Toni, I love your whimsical take on scones — bonus points for your gluten-free creation!
Christine says
Love scones. So creative w/the candy cane. I’d drizzle w/white chocolate. Mmmmm… thank you.
Toni Dash says
Thanks Christine! They are delicious and the perfect balance of the peppermint and chocolate without being overwhelmingly sweet. Not big white chocolate lovers in my household so the semi-sweet chocolate worked perfectly. Happy Holidays!