Dried Cherry and Candied Ginger Scones @LucyBurdette #Christmasweek

LUCY BURDETTE:  These scones would be absolutely lovely for Christmas breakfast or brunch, or really any holiday affair. They started (as my recipes sometimes do) with the craving to use a couple of ingredients I had on hand: beautiful dried Michigan cherries sent by my wonderful Uncle Don, and candied ginger bits from King Arthur flour. I didn't find a recipe that combined the two of them, but I did find a lovely cherry scone recipe that originated in the Blacksmith Inn in Wisconsin, and ended up on the Food Network. 

Lucy at the Christmas Parade, Key West

After some tweaks, I present it to you! (In the photos, you might notice that I pulsed the cherries into the mix ahead of the butter, which made the pieces quite small. They tasted fine, but we agreed we might like bigger pieces better. You can adjust as you see fit.)

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoon sodium-free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

2/3 cups whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract1 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup candied ginger

Egg wash, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water, beaten

Sugar and sliced almonds, for sprinkling

DirectionsPreheat oven to 375 degrees F. In your food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Pulse in the ginger pieces, followed by chunks of butter, and mix until no larger than pea-sized. Now add the cherries and pulse them until they are well distributed. Whisk together the cream, the egg, and the extracts and add this to the dry ingredients. Pulse until combined. 

Turn all of this out onto a floured surface and knead several times. 

Pat into a circle and cut into 8 pieces. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds. Place onto a baking sheet covered with parchment. 

Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes until beginning to brown. Serve hot with butter!

Are you still looking for stocking stuffers? DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS, the fifth Key West mystery might fit the bill.

And I've got lots of other ideas on my Pinterest board, Mystery Books as Stocking Stuffers.