Cinnamon Chip Scones (GF)

No matter whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter, I grew up with the tradition of having a special holiday breakfast.  My mom would make an egg casserole (which we called “egg bake” in the upper midwest) and cinnamon rolls, and there would also be fruit & juice. Mom would set the table with a festive tablecloth, the crystal juice glasses that otherwise lived in the china cabinet, sometimes the fine china, but always with holiday napkins. After my dad said the blessing, we would clink glasses, toast to whatever holiday it happened to be, and then, of course, eat!

With my insatiable sweet tooth, my personal favorite part was the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls that Mom would bake in a round cake pan. As most siblings do, my sisters and I would all try to vie for the middle roll which usually had the most frosting. I still have a particular fondness, even to this day, for freshly baked Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.

As a somewhat newly married couple, my husband and I are still developing our own traditions. One of the the traditions I’m trying to pass into our “micro-family” is the holiday breakfast concept. Of course there are a few adaptations my husband and I like to make (coffee is a must and sometimes we mix a little bubbly with the juice), but I still dearly wish to include my beloved cinnamon rolls.  Once I started living mostly gluten free, though, suddenly the options changed.  There are very few gluten free options in our small-ish town, unless you want to make things yourself.

I’ve done a fair amount of gluten free baking & cooking these days, but yeasted products still are a bit of a mystery to me. I’m well versed in how bread flour works in artisan breads & I just haven’t mastered how to mimic those items in gluten free versions. Last weekend, I attempted to adapt a cinnamon roll recipe to be gluten free, but the results were not good. The texture was all off & so was the flavor.... I guess it may take a lot more testing before I am confident in adapted gluten filled yeast products to be gluten free.

Luckily, scones ARE easily adapted to be gluten free.  This particular cinnamon chip variation tastes surprisingly a lot like my favorite pillsbury cinnamon rolls.  I added a bit of leftover pumpkin puree to the dough.  Rather than tasting “pumpkin-y,” the puree just adds a bit of extra moisture & helps deepen the complexity of the flavors.  Once the glaze is added they became a perfect substitution--in fact, I couldn’t stop eating my test batch! I had to put the leftovers in the freezer to curb myself.  Since scones fit in the non-yeasted “quickbread” category of baking, they don’t require rising time! I love recipes that save time during busy holidays. These scones absolutely will be making an appearance on this year’s Thanksgiving brunch table.

I hope that wherever you are this Thanksgiving and holiday season, you are able to spend time laughing and giving thanks with friends & family, and that you take time to make & eat good food. Perhaps you can start your own holiday breakfast tradition.

Cinnamon Chip Scones (GF) 
yields 12 to 16 scones, depending on the size

Scones
4 oz / 1 stick Unsalted butter, cold
2/3 c Whole Milk + 1 tsp Lemon Juice (or substitute Buttermilk )
8.5 oz / 2 c Jeanne’s Gluten Free AP Flour Mix (or substitute regular AP flour, if not gluten free) {LINK} 
1.85 oz / 1/4 c Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
120 g / 1/2 c Cinnamon Chips
122 g / 1/2 c Pumpkin Puree 
Tapioca Starch, for dusting

Glaze
Confectioners’ Sugar
Milk 

1. Grate the cold butter, using the large grate part of a box grater, onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Place the grated butter into the freezer while measuring & preparing the remaining ingredients. If not using buttermilk, mix the whole milk with the lemon juice & let stand at room temp. 
2. Measure the remaining ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper & set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, soda, powder, salt & cinnamon.  Add the frozen butter pieces & toss quickly with your hands to combine.  Break up any large clumps.  Add the cinnamon chips & briefly toss to combine. 
4. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk with the pumpkin puree. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients & quickly mix with your hands until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Be careful not to overwork the dough or let the heat from your hands melt all the butter.  
5. Dust the clean counter or board with additional tapioca starch (or AP flour, if not gluten free).  Pat the dough out, adding tapioca starch on top of the dough & onto your hands, until the dough is approximately an inch tall.  Use a small round cutter (or any shape you like) to cut out scones.  Place the cut scones onto the prepared baking sheets. Carefully gather the scraps & re-pat them out, repeating the process until the dough is all used.  (Note: re-rolling works well with the gluten free dough, but if regular flour is used, the re-rolled scones may be a bit tougher.) Alternately, you can use a large cookie scoop to make drop scones by scooping the scone dough out of the bowl & portioning it directly onto the sheet pan. 
6. Use a try pastry brush to brush off any excess tapioca starch.  Bake both pans in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, rotating the pans & swapping the top and bottom pans halfway through.  The scones are done when they are lightly brown & the cinnamon chips begin to caramelize.  
7. Remove the pans from the oven & allow to cool slightly while the glaze is made.    
8. In a separate bowl, sift a little confectioners’ sugar to remove any lumps. Add a splash of milk & whisk until combined. Adjust the amount of milk & confectioners sugar until you achieve a thick glaze. Either stripe the glaze across the slightly warm scones, using either a cornet paper piping bag, a zip-top bag with a corner cut off, or a pastry bag.  Alternately, dip the slightly warm scones into the glaze.  Allow the glaze to set & serve. 
9. Store any leftover scones at room temperature in a covered container for up to 2 days, or freeze for longer.  

Note: As far as cinnamon chips go, I usually use Hershey’s brand.  However, they can be a bit difficult to find sometimes...   In some areas, like I discovered in South Carolina, they are only available during the holiday season, so I recommend stocking up.  Or, King Arthur has they available to order from their website (as does Amazon. ).  

This post contains affiliate links.

Candied Citrus Scones

I’m swamped with editing wedding photos from my dear friend Kelli’s wedding (350 down.... only 100 to go!), but I still wanted to share these wonderful candied citrus scones.

When I lived in Charleston, one of my favorite downtown spots was a store on John Street called Macaron Boutique.  They had amazing macarons (of course), and breakfast pastries, like an almond pain au chocolat (!) and candied citrus scones.

I haven’t been up for trying to make my own laminated doughs at home here in TX yet (I simply don’t have the space in our overstuffed apartment freezer), but I do make scones quite often.

After making the citrus granita, I found myself with a good amount of citrus peel.  I couldn’t bear to simply throw it away.  Instead, I candied it.

Candied citrus is fabulous, all on it’s own, rolled in granulated sugar or even dipped in chocolate. But I decided at least part the citrus should go into a batch of scones & be reminiscent of my favorite Macaron Boutique candied citrus scones.

I candied just the rind of the lemon, the cara cara oranges, and the Minneola Tangelo knowing that the lime & the grapefruit flavors may be a bit too strong for the scones.

My stand-by scone recipe, which I’ve posted previously about with the Zucchini Scones  and the Bittersweet Chocolate & Cherry Scones, was easily adapted for the chopped candied zest addition and for my substitution of gluten free flour.

Usually, I’m a big fan of glazed scones (I do have an insatiable sweet tooth), but Macaron Boutique doesn’t glaze theirs.  They sprinkle the scones, prior to baking, with a coarse sanding sugar instead. The sugar melts slightly in the oven & forms a nice crunchy, slightly sweet crust.  I promise, you won’t even miss the glaze!

After the photoshoot & a few taste tests, these scones became interstate travelers. I packed them as a quick and easy breakfast option while I drove from TX to ND.  The were a welcome, much more gourmet item than anything I could have found at any of our gas station pit stops.

CANDIED CITRUS

Citrus Peel (I used 1 lemon, 2 cara cara oranges, and 1 Mineola Tangelo)
16 fl oz Water, plus additional for blanching
2c/14 oz Sugar
splash lemon juice

1.  Cut the citrus peel (rind & pith) into long strips (or alternately, into small bits, but I prefer to chop the peel after it’s been candied).  
2. Place the strips into a non-reactive, stainless steel sauce pan.  Cover with water.  Bring the pan to a boil over high heat & allow to boil briefly.  Drain off the water. 
3. Re-cover with fresh water & repeat the boiling process until the peel has been blanched 3 times.  This three process blanching will remove most of the bitterness from the peel and pith.  If you leave the citrus pieces in very wide strips, you may want to blanch it a 4th time. 
4. Return the blanched peel to the same sauce pan.  Add the sugar, water & splash of lemon juice.  Stir briefly to combine.  
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer & allow the peel to simmer until tender and almost translucent, 60-80 minutes.  Do not stir.  Do not allow the sugar syrup to caramelize. 
6. Remove from the heat & cool.  
7. Store the candied citrus, in the liquid, in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

Note: any leftover candying liquid would be wonderful added to a cocktail!


CANDIED CITRUS SCONES

4 oz (1 stick) Butter, cold
2 c Flour (I used AP Gluten Free Mix)
1/4 c Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 heaping cup Candied Citrus, chopped
2/3 c Buttermilk
Coarse Sanding Sugar, for garnish

1. Using a box grater, grate the butter onto a plastic-wrap-lined plate.  Transfer the butter to the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the butter is hard.  
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Line to baking sheets with parchment paper. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
4. Gently toss the frozen butter shards, by hand, with the dry ingredients, working quickly so that the heat of your hands does not melt the butter.  
5. Add the chopped citrus peel & stir until just combined.  
6. Add the buttermilk & mix quickly with your hands.  Work the dough only until the mixture comes together & there are not pockets of dry ingredients. 
7. Divide the dough in half.  Shape the first half into a ball, then flatten into a disk.  Place the disk onto a lightly floured surface.  Use a bench cutter or knife to cut the disk into 8 triangles.  
8. Place the triangles onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with a little coarse sanding sugar.  
9. Repeat the process with the second disk of dough.  
10. Bake the scones for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  
11. Cool slightly & serve. 
12. Leftovers will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.  To re-crisp leftover scones (or to reheat), place into a low temp oven until heated through.  Please don’t microwave :)