Are you baking for the holidays? Do you love scones? This recipe for Chocolate Chip Peppermint Scones takes a traditional scone and turns it into a delicious holiday treat that tastes amazing and looks so colorful.
You will love these rich and tender scones with mini chocolate chips and peppermints inside. Add a sweet icing drizzle on top with a sprinkling of crunchy candy canes just adds even more deliciousness to these homemade pastries. These scones are so festive and perfect for your Christmas brunch or a holiday tea. Honestly, they are like a candy cane dessert.
chocolate and peppermint are such a classic pairing
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The wonderful thing about making scones is they take no time at all. You can change up the recipe and add your favorite flavors and toppings like Blueberry Lemon Scones, Mandarin Orange Scones, Orange Cranberry Scones, or Irish Apple Cream Scones. These savory Ham and Asiago Cheese Herb Scones are perfect to serve with a soup or salad.
Scones can be shaped in wedges or circles, but however you like them, they will be beautiful and crusty, and moist and tender on the inside. In other words, they will be delicious.
Scone Ingredients
- Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Milk
- Eggs
- Mini chocolate chips
- Peppermints – you can buy crushed peppermint chips, candy canes, or starlight candies
- Powdered Sugar
What’s the secret to making good scones?
The secret to making moist and tender scones is to combine the cold cubed butter and flour together and just mix the dough until combined. Overmixing will make your scones dense and dry and just not yummy.
Your dough should be a little wet and sticky.
Please don’t knead the dough, you just want to bring all the ingredients together so the dough forms into a ball. Kneading will make the scones tough.
Pat the scone dough for cutting into shapes, rolling can toughen the dough.
If you are using a biscuit cutter to cut the dough, make sure to cut straight down into the dough and not twist the cutter, doing that seals the dough edges which makes the scones not rise as much.
Leave the dough thick so you have nice and thick scones. I like to cut mine in half and maybe add some butter, jam, or maybe whipped or clotted cream. Well, there is no maybe, I just like adding toppings.
Let’s bake
- Start by putting your dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk everything together.
- Cut the cold butter into very small cubes then add to the flour mixture and toss to coat the butter.
- With a pastry blender, or two knives cut the butter into the flour until pea-sized.
- Mix in the mini chocolate chips. Feel free to nibble on a few!
- Mix the wet ingredients together and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredients, gently start stirring with a fork then add the candy cane crunch and finish stirring.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat it into an 8″ circle then cut into circles with a 3″ cutter.
- Alternately, turn the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and form into an 8″ circle then cut into wedges.
- I suggest popping the scones in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking to chill the dough so they hold their shape.
- Whisk together egg whites and water then brush on the scones and bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack.
- Mix the icing ingredients together then drizzle on the cooled scones and sprinkle with more crushed candy canes.
This recipe is all about peppermints and the great thing is you can buy packages of crushed candy cane. Having the small peppermint chips makes it easy to add to baked goods, candies, hot chocolate, or add for cake and cookie toppings. These peppermint chips have so many uses.
You can also crush peppermints by putting them in a Ziplock bag then put that into another Ziplock bag, next gently crush the peppermints with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or hammer. Be gentle so you don’t end up with crushed peppermints everywhere, and I mean everywhere. This is the perfect recipe for leftover candy canes.
To make the nice round scones use a sharp biscuit cutter. I love these round copper biscuit cutters, not only are they pretty but they cut through heavy doughs easily.
These scones are just amazing, actually, they are dangerously delicious. I consider these to be a dessert, but alas I have been known to have them for my breakfast.
If you like giving baked goods as gifts for the holidays these easy made from scratch scones make a delectable treat to share.
Chocolate Chip Peppermint Scones
Equipment
- Biscuit Cutters
Ingredients
Scone Batter
- 2 cups AP flour
- 2 tbls sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. butter cold and cut in cubes
- 3/4 cups milk
- 2 eggs yolks reserve one egg white for brushing top of scones
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup candy cane crunch optional - use crushed candy canes
Peppermint Glaze
- 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 1/3 cup candy cane crunch optional - use crushed candy canes
Instructions
How to make the scone batter
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the cold cubed butter to the flour, toss to coat. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter and flour until they are pea size. You can also use two knives to cut the butter and flour.
- Add the mini chocolate chips to the mixture and mix until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir the milk and egg yolks just to blend. Add this mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Gently stir with a fork to begin combining the wet and dry ingredients then add in the candy cane pieces and gently mix, just enough to incorporate.
- With your hands to gently knead the mixture together until all the dry ingredients are absorbed into the dough and it can be gathered into a moist, shaggy ball. Do not over knead.
- On a floured surface, pat the dough into an 8" circle and using a 3" round cutter, cut dough into rounds. Place each round on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the dough with the egg whites mixed with 1 tsp. of water.
- Alternately, turn the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and pat down to make the dough 1" thick and about 6-8" diameter. You want a thick scone.
- With a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 wedges and slightly separate. Brush the dough with a beaten egg white mixed with 1 tsp. of water.
- Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 18 - 22 minutes until the scones are nicely browned.
Peppermint Glaze
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Drizzle on the cooled scones and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Notes
Nutrition
I actually had this recipe in mind to pair with one of my favorite tea, Golden Assam. This rich dark tea with its malty flavor pairs so well with the robust flavors in the scones. So after you make these scones and brew a pot of tea take a moment to relax and enjoy a bit of solitude from the busyness of the holidays.
don’t forget the sweet icing drizzle
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About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
Happy Holidays
Yvette Munro
These scones look absolutely yummy. I would never have thought to combine chocolate and peppermint, but it really seems to work and adds great color.
Tricia Snow
I love the flavor combination and they are so pretty too! Thanks!
Gillian Kent
I love this idea! Great for after sledding or snowboarding with some hot chocolate!
Jere Cassidy
You are so right, sledding, hot chocolate and scones. All sound perfect.
Tamera
These look like a perfect winter treat! Definitely would pair these with some coffee. Yummmmm!!
Jere Cassidy
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate for sure.
Nicole
Yum, these look perfect for a tea I’m hosting later in the month. I can’t wait to make them!
Jere Cassidy
We made another batch for Christmas brunch and they went fast.
Nyxie
I would never have thought to put the two together if I’m honest, yet I know they go well together as demonstrated by many a tea-time biscuit. Adding both into scones is an excellent idea!
Jere Cassidy
Adding the chocolate and peppermint makes a wonderful flavor for these scones.
Sarah
Wow, this looks phenomenal! Such a perfect winter treat. Definitely going to have to make these 🙂
Jere Cassidy
Yep, perfect for winter with tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
Sri M
One of the best combination ever. Looks so colorful and delicious. Perfect holiday treat!
Alisa Infanti
Scones are one bake good I struggle with and I think you have solved my problem…. I was kneading them and they were just like you said they would be dry and tough. Thanks for the tip!
Jere Cassidy
Yep, just a light touch in making scones and they will come out perfect.
Stine Mari
This is such a clever pairing! I love peppermint with chocolate, especially this time of year (but I eat it all year around). Adding it to scones is such a great idea! I will definitely try this!