Both tea and coffee drinkers will delight in the peppermint-y goodness of these freshly baked festive scones from Alice’s Tea Cup for the holidays!

Peppermint Stick Scones

Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of sugar

½ teaspoon of baking soda

2½ teaspoons of baking powder

¾ teaspoon of kosher salt

¾ cup of unsalted butter (cut into ½ inch pieces)

¾ cup of Brach’s Peppermint Star Brites (or similar candy), crushed into small pieces

1¼ cups of buttermilk (“Mom” prefers organic)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

¼ cup of heavy cream, for brushing (“Mom” prefers organic)

¼ cup of Brach’s Peppermint Star Brites, crushed into tiny pieces, for sprinkling

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.

With clean hands, work the butter into the dry mix until it is thoroughly incorporated and the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the crushed peppermint candy, and combine well, so that it is evenly distributed throughout the dry mix.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the center. Combine the ingredients until all dry mix is wet, but do not knead!

Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and gather the dough together and, gently, pat down to about 1 ½ inches thick rectangle. Using a dough cutter, the scones into wedges, about 3½” by 4” by 4” and lay on a non-stick baking sheet. Gather remaining dough together, lightly, to cut out more scones, just don’t knead the dough too much.

Brush the tops of each scone, liberally, with heavy cream and sprinkle with the finely crushed peppermint candy.

Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes.

*Recipe and image courtesy of Alice’s Tea Cup.

ALICE’S TEA CUP

Delectable Recipes for Scones, Cakes, Sandwiches,

and More from New York’s Most Whimsical Tea Spot

By Haley Fox and Lauren Fox

Publication Date: November 2010

William Morrow Cookbooks ∙ Hardcover$24.00/$32.00 (Can.)

240 pages, ISBN: 9780061964923