Scones for Christmas

By pattie_d

Ingredients

• These tender/crumbly, full-flavored scones feature cranberries and pecans. With oats in the dough, they're a tasty throwback to their Scottish origins.
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (3 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking (not instant) oats
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter
• 1 cup (4 ounces) dried cranberries
• 1 cup (4 ouces) diced pecans
• 1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt
• coarse sparkling sugar for topping, optional

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks unevenly crumbly. Mix in the fruit and nuts until they're evenly distributed. Stir in the buttermilk.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and cut it into two pieces. (Keep sprinkling on flour if you need to.) Form each into a disk, and gently pat each disk into a round about 6" in diameter. Sprinkle each disk with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired. With a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the round into 8 wedges. Do this by cutting straight down through the dough so you shear the edges. If you saw the dough, you tend to press the edges together, which keeps the scones from rising as they bake. Don't separate the wedges.

Transfer the scones, still in their circular shape, the the prepared baking sheet. Separate the scones slightly; there should be about 1" between them at the outside edge. Bake the scones for 20 minutes, or until they're just beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm. Or reheat for 10 minutes, lightly tented with foil, in a preheated 350F oven. Serve with traditional clotted cream or Devon cream, if desired.