Christmas Scones
Scones are the Christmas-morning bake that fits around everything else: ten minutes to mix, and the wedges freeze unbaked and go straight into the oven. These twenty-seven run from cranberry-orange to gingerbread, eggnog and a savory batch for the brunch table. Finish the tops with coarse sugar and the tray looks like it came from a bakery.
Start With These Six
One from each section below, from white chocolate cranberry to a cheddar scone with hot honey butter. Bake these first if Christmas morning only has room for one batch.
White Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Tart cranberries pop against white chocolate chips, and a white chocolate glaze goes over the top. Debi bakes these for Christmas morning, and they look the part on any table.
Gingerbread Scones with Crystallized Ginger
Molasses turns the dough dark, and crystallized ginger with candied orange peel leaves chewy, spicy pockets in every wedge. A coarse sugar top gives them a bakery-case finish.
Overnight White Chocolate Peppermint Scones
Shape them, freeze them overnight and bake straight from frozen on Christmas morning. Peppermint puffs and white chocolate go inside, and the recipe calls for white sparkling sugar on top.
Eggnog Scones for the Holiday Tea Table
Eggnog goes into the dough and the wash, so the tall rounds bake up golden with a sugared top. Nutmeg and cinnamon keep them firmly in December.
British Christmas Scones
Orange zest, warm spice, dried fruit and crushed walnuts, with a splash of brandy. It tastes like Christmas cake in scone form and takes a fraction of the time.
Cheddar Chive Scones with Hot Honey Butter
Half the cheddar is grated and half is cubed, so the edges bake into crispy cheese. The hot honey butter on the side is worth making a double batch of.
Cranberry Christmas Scones
Cranberry is the Christmas scone most people mean, and it plays well with orange, white chocolate and rosemary. Fresh berries burst; dried ones stay chewy.
White Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Tart cranberries pop against white chocolate chips, and a white chocolate glaze goes over the top. Debi bakes these for Christmas morning, and they look the part on any table.
Cranberry Rosemary Christmas Morning Scones
Vanilla bean and nutmeg make the kitchen smell like the holidays before the oven door opens. Minced rosemary and dried cranberries sit under a vanilla-nutmeg glaze.
Cranberry Orange Star Scones
Cut with a star cutter and crusted in cinnamon sugar, these come from a family newspaper clipping titled Christmas Scones. Sour cream keeps the crumb tender around the cranberries.
Cranberry Orange Pistachio Scones
Green pistachios and red cranberries do the Christmas decorating for you, under a bright orange glaze. Marzia finishes them with coarse sugar, and White Sparkling Sugar keeps that crunch through the bake.
Cranberry Spice Scones
Halved fresh cranberries and four warm spices, with a little whole wheat flour for a heartier crumb. Use KAMUT Flour for the whole wheat and the nutty, buttery note gets louder.
British Cranberry Rosemary Scones
Tall British rounds with self-raising flour, orange zest and fresh rosemary. Split them warm and add butter; this is the batch for the family that takes afternoon tea seriously.
A sugar crust that holds through the oven
Granulated sugar melts into a cream wash and disappears by the time the scones come out. White Sparkling Sugar is extra-coarse and heat-resistant, so the crystals hold their shape and sparkle right through the bake and leave a crunchy white top. Brush the wedges with cream, sprinkle, bake.
Gingerbread and Spiced Scones
Molasses and ginger make a darker, softer scone than the rest of the tray. Four gingerbread takes and a chai drop scone, each finished a different way.
Gingerbread Scones with Crystallized Ginger
Molasses turns the dough dark, and crystallized ginger with candied orange peel leaves chewy, spicy pockets in every wedge. A coarse sugar top gives them a bakery-case finish.
Gingerbread Scones, Glazed or Sugared
Dark with molasses, brown sugar and cloves, then finished your way: vanilla glaze lines or a coarse sugar crust. Team crunch can reach for White Sparkling Sugar.
Small-Batch Gingerbread Scones
A small batch that goes from bowl to oven fast, with molasses, ginger and allspice in the dough. The maple-vanilla icing drips just enough to look festive on the rack.
Gingerbread Scones with Cranberry Maple Butter
Round buttermilk scones under a ginger-sugar crust, split and spread with a cranberry-orange-maple butter. The recipe makes 18, enough for a full house on Christmas morning.
Chai Spiced Scones with Maple Glaze
Round drop scones with no shaping, spiced with a chai blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves. If Royal Cinnamon goes in the blend, use a little less; it is strong.
Spiced Christmas Scones
A British take with mixed spice and dried fruit, tall enough to split and butter. Geoff lists cup measures next to the grams, so American kitchens can follow along.
Chocolate and Peppermint Christmas Scones
Peppermint for the candy-cane crowd, cherry for the ones who would rather have a black forest cake. One of these bakes from frozen.
Overnight White Chocolate Peppermint Scones
Shape them, freeze them overnight and bake straight from frozen on Christmas morning. Peppermint puffs and white chocolate go inside, and the recipe calls for white sparkling sugar on top.
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Scones
Cocoa goes right into the dough, with chopped peppermint bark folded through and crushed candy cane on the drizzle. Dutch-Process Cocoa gives a smooth, deep chocolate crumb.
Peppermint Mocha Scones
Instant espresso in the dough, chopped chocolate throughout, then cocoa icing and crushed peppermint over the top. A holiday coffee order you eat with your hands.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
Dried cherries and dark chocolate chunks in a buttermilk dough, baked hot at 450°F so the outsides set quickly. Malinda makes them for Christmas breakfast.
Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones
Frozen cherries work as well as fresh, which matters in December. Chocolate chips and sour cream make a soft, tender scone, and one batch makes 18.
Chocolate Orange Scones
Chocolate and orange is the flavor of the Christmas stocking, here as chocolate chip scones with orange zest through the dough. Drizzle white chocolate over the top or sprinkle on sugar.
Eggnog Christmas Scones
Eggnog stands in for the cream and brings its own nutmeg along. Three takes, from a tea-table round to a three-spice glazed wedge.
Eggnog Scones for the Holiday Tea Table
Eggnog goes into the dough and the wash, so the tall rounds bake up golden with a sugared top. Nutmeg and cinnamon keep them firmly in December.
Eggnog Glazed Scones
Grated frozen butter keeps these flaky, and the eggnog glaze tastes like the carton. With only nutmeg and vanilla in the dough, a real vanilla extract does a lot of the work.
Three-Spice Eggnog Scones
Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves push these toward spice cake, with eggnog in both the dough and the glaze. Tara gives gram weights, the surest way to get scone dough right.
Fruit and Nut Christmas Scones
Two British scones that taste like Christmas cake and mince pies, and a spiced pear wedge for anyone who skips the brandy.
British Christmas Scones
Orange zest, warm spice, dried fruit and crushed walnuts, with a splash of brandy. It tastes like Christmas cake in scone form and takes a fraction of the time.
Mincemeat and Marzipan Scones
Mincemeat and pockets of marzipan go into a patted dough with a little brandy. Split one and add cream for the most British bite on this page.
Spiced Pear Scones with Vanilla Glaze
Fresh pear keeps these moist, and four spices plus almond extract make them taste like the end of the year. The spiced vanilla glaze goes on thick.
Savory Christmas Scones
Something for the side of the plate that is not sweet. Cheese and herbs, made for holiday brunch or the bread basket at dinner.
Cheddar Chive Scones with Hot Honey Butter
Half the cheddar is grated and half is cubed, so the edges bake into crispy cheese. The hot honey butter on the side is worth making a double batch of.
Manchego and Chive Scones
Tall buttermilk rounds with Manchego, chives and a pinch of dry mustard, finished with flaky salt. They freeze unbaked, so a holiday dinner bread basket is one oven away.
Rosemary Parmesan Scones with Herb Butter
Eight scones on whole wheat pastry flour, sized to sit beside a holiday roast. KAMUT Flour works in place of the whole wheat for a nutty, buttery crumb.
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We've Got Answers
Can you make scones ahead for Christmas morning?
Yes, and the best way is to freeze them unbaked. Shape the wedges, freeze them on a tray until hard, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer with no thawing and add 2 to 4 minutes. For the next morning only, cover the shaped scones and refrigerate them overnight; cold dough rises taller anyway.
Why are my scones dry or flat?
Usually warm butter or too much mixing. Keep the butter cold (grated frozen butter is easiest), stir only until the dough just holds together, and pat it out rather than rolling it hard. Spoon the flour into the cup instead of scooping, since packed flour makes a dry scone. If you use a cutter, press straight down without twisting, which seals the edges and stops the rise.
What is the difference between cream scones and buttermilk scones?
Cream scones use heavy cream as both the fat and the liquid, so they come out tender and rich, often with no butter cut in at all. Buttermilk scones rely on cold butter for flake and buttermilk for tang and lift, and bake up lighter and craggier. Either style takes any flavor on this page.
How do you get a crunchy sugar top on scones?
Brush the shaped scones with cream or an egg wash, then sprinkle coarse sugar over them before they go in the oven. White Sparkling Sugar is extra-coarse and heat-resistant, so it holds its shape and sparkle through the bake instead of melting in. If the recipe also calls for a glaze, drizzle it thin so the crunch still shows.
What is the difference between British and American scones?
British scones are usually plain or studded with currants, cut into tall rounds, lightly sweet, and split open for jam and clotted cream. American scones are sweeter wedges with the flavor baked in, from cranberries to chocolate, and often finished with a glaze. Most of the recipes here are the American kind.
How do you store and reheat baked scones?
Scones are best the day they are baked and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer, wrap them individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes (a few minutes longer from frozen) to bring back the crisp edge, and glaze after reheating rather than before freezing.
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