Cranberry~Eggnog Scones

Yesterday, when I was in the grocery store, my eye caught a glimpse of...oh, no--not yet, Egg Nog!

I have come to expect the retail stores pushing the holidays earlier and earlier, but now our grocery store too; what is this world coming too:-))  Egg nog was always a part of my mother's Christmas Eve celebration with family, but it was my dad who was in charge of "doctoring up" this holiday punch.

Egg nog is simply a frothy drink made from milk or cream, sugar, eggs, and spices (usually nutmeg).  It's very popular at the holidays in the United States and Canada and admittedly, has snuck into the Thanksgiving feast, as well.  Some believe it developed from a medieval English drink called posset, which is a beverage made with hot milk.  Also, the word nog is thought to come from middle English, meaning a small carved, wooden mug used to hold alcohol.  The version we enjoy today, though, probably came from the early colonists to America, who mixed up a drink with rum and called it "egg & grog"...later shortened to egg nog.

My dad's addition to the cream and egg mixture was brandy, rum, and bourbon; it made for a very "happy" drink reserved for adults only.  I remember my first Christmas Eve, after getting married, trying a punch glass of his concoction and after one sip, I was definitely loopy!!  So, I reserve egg nog for baking and leave the drinking to the grown ups:-D

Cranberry~Egg Nog Scones
4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1/3 + 1 T granulated sugar
2 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten + egg nog to measure 1 3/4 cups liquid
1 cup dried cranberries

egg wash:
1 large egg
1 T egg nog

glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 T light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T hot water
freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, measure all the dry ingredients and the cranberries and mix to combine.  It's important to use cold butter, so either grate it or as I did today, used a cheese slicer.

Set cheese slicer on 1/8-inch setting and slice across the butter.

 Incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse sand.  (Don't worry if you see some small pieces of butter).  While the mixer is running on low, add the egg/egg nog mixture slowly.

After the dough comes together, stop the machine and transfer to a floured bread board.  Lightly knead dough, then use a rolling pin to roll dough to 1-inch thickness.  

You can free-hand cut the scones or use your favorite biscuit cutter (dipped in flour).  I decided to do an oval today; such a pretty shape. Make sure you just press down and pull up with the cutter--don't twist!  It's the secret to allowing the scones (or biscuits) to raise properly.

Place the scones on the baking sheet, re-rolling the scrapes--I ended up with 12 scones.

Brush tops with the egg wash and if desired, you can sprinkle the tops with coarse sanding sugar.  I wanted to glaze mine, so I didn't use sugar.

Bake about 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through the baking time to ensure even browning.

Allow to cool about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to glaze.

Finally, grate some fresh nutmeg on top and serve warm with a cuppa tea, coffee, cocoa.

The flavor and richness of the scones was perfect on this rainy, chilly day; a great way to start the morning or have with your afternoon tea.  They may even make an appearance on Thanksgiving morn to have a quick bite before the baking marathon begins:-D Enjoy!


 

Holiday Eggnog Pound Cake

Eggnog is enjoyed in the United States and Canada during the holidays, but quite possibly it stems from early England, where warm milk was drank in a wooden mug called a nog.  Every Christmas Eve my Mother would have an open house for the entire family to exchange gifts; she'd do all the cooking and my Dad was in charge of making the eggnog.  Well, not really "making" the eggnog, rather he added his infamous combination of  rum, brandy, and bourbon to store bought.  When I was married, I got to try his eggnog--definitely made me a little tipsy, but tasted oh, so good.

Today, I took the memory of my Dad's eggnog and incorporated it into a pound cake, which is my husband's favorite.  This eggnog can be enjoyed by the whole family since I only used a tablespoon of brandy in the batter and definitely the alcohol burns off in baking, but you could use an imitation brandy flavoring.  I made a glaze with an additional eggnog flavoring in it, but you could just dust the cake with confectioners' sugar.

Eggnog Pound Cake with a Nutmeg Streusel

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 T. Brandy (or brandy flavoring)
2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Cake Flour
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg*

1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup eggnog

Streusel:
1/2 cup All-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
3 T unsalted butter, melted

*My new Christmas toy--nutmeg grinder!

Preheat oven 325F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with a baking spray.  In a small bowl, make streusel.  Mix all the dry ingredients, then, pour melted butter over it and mix, using a fork.

In the KitchenAid, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.  Add the flavorings and beat again.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the eggnog, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Beat one minute more to full incorporate.
Spoon half of the batter into the prepared bundt pan.  Sprinkle the streusel over the batter, then, top with the remaining batter.

Bake in the preheated oven 55 to 60 minutes--use a wooden skewer to check for doneness.  Let cool about 10-15 minutes before inverted onto the serving plate.  Mix up a glaze of 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp. light Karo syrup, and 2 T hot water in a 2-cup glass measuring cup.  Pour glaze over warm cake and let cool before serving.

Even thought there were miles between us, with the help of SKYPE my husband and I enjoyed having dinner with Erin, Michael, Maddie, Matt and Ari.  At the end of meal, Maddie wanted to sit on Ari's lap and give big hugs for a happy day.  As Clement Clarke Moore wrote..."Merry Christmas to All and to All a good night."  Enjoy!