Pistachio Cranberry Mini Scones

A festive scone with flecks of bright green pistachio and deep red cranberry, topped with a decadent white chocolate glaze based on the one in this Food52 recipe. These scones are rich, which is why I made them in a smaller size. Freeze them following the instructions in my Scones Primer and you’ll have an easy addition to your holiday cookie tray or brunch. Just let them thaw at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

Related Post: Scones Primer

Print Recipe

Pistachio Cranberry Mini Scones

A small, rich scone, perfect for a holiday cookie platter, featuring pistachios, cranberries and a silky white chocolate glaze.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Cooling & Icing Time20 minutes mins

Course: Snacks

Keyword: Baking, Dessert, Holiday, Scones

Servings: 18 mini scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup 35% cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped (about 30 g)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped (about 33 g)

White Chocolate Glaze

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (about 93 g)
• 3 tbsp 35% cream (about 33 g), approximately

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (See Notes, below.)
• Add all the first four ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together to incorporate.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, cream, and extract. Set aside.
• Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is about pea-sized. The dough will have the texture of crumbs. (See Notes, below. Or see the Scones Primer for pictures.)
• Reserve a heaping tablespoon of pistachios for glaze. Add the remaining pistachios and the cranberries to the flour mixture.
• Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until dry ingredients are incorporated. 
• Gently knead the dough into a ball in the bowl, then turn out and begin patting into a square until it’s about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick. You may need to squeeze the outer edges a bit to incorporate crumbly bits into the dough. 
• Cut the dough into roughly 15 or 18 small squares--3 rows of five or six--and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with 35% cream if desired; this gives a nice sheen to the finished scones. (See Notes, below.)
• Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden.
• Let scones cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, then move them to a wire rack. Place the parchment from the baking pan under the wire rack to catch drips when you ice the scones.
• While the scones are cooling, make the glaze. Put the chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl. Pour whipping cream into a glass measuring cup and heat on high in the microwave in for about 20 seconds. Stir and check the temperature; it should be about 175F. Reheat in 5-second increments until it reaches the right temperature. Do not let it come to a hard boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit undisturbed for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth and then let it cool for about 20 minutes.
• When scones and glaze have cooled for about 20 minutes, spread the glaze on the scones, then press bits of reserved pistachio into the glaze to garnish.

Notes

• Ovens can vary widely in temperature. For this recipe, I set my oven to 400F and bake for about 11 minutes. Watch your scones carefully the first time you make this recipe to ensure they don’t bake too long.
• The cutting process can take a few minutes but you want to be able to see pieces of butter in the dough, so don’t go too long with this step.
• I used a round biscuit cutter for this recipe but do not recommend it. Scone batter is thick and very sensitive to temperature changes. The batter can get stuck in biscuit cutters, and using a round shape means repeatedly patting the dough out to use it all which warms the dough. Cutting the dough into squares is much faster and better for the dough. The size is your choice. You can turn square scones to make a diamond shape when serving for a nice presentation. 

Image of cranberries: 217167780 / Sketch © Kondratenkoei | Dreamstime.com