Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of candy canes. As a kid, I saw other children licking the sugary cavity-sticks but never saw their appeal. On the last day of school before winter break my first year of middle school, a couple of my teachers passed them out, and I took the things just to be polite. They ended up gathering dust on our kitchen windowsill for months until I came to my senses and threw them out. And that was pretty much the last time I remember having any contact with candy canes.
But this week, I saw Hershey’s Candy Cane kisses in the store, and realized that with these colorful candies, I could make a festive dessert for the holidays, and have a photogenic recipe to post on this blog. I thought of making cookies or some sort of peppermint cheesecake, but eventually settled on scones for an indulgent Christmas Eve breakfast.
The scones turned out just as I’d hoped: golden brown and crisp on the outside, soft and dense on the inside. Who says you need a lot of butter to make good scones? I used none, and achieved a tasty result all the same.
The Candy Cane kisses were the most exciting part of the scones. I never appreciated sugary mint candies before, but now that I’ve been introduced to them I’ll have to make up for all the time I lost! I am officially a candy cane convert, at least when the candy cane is in the form of an irresistible Hershey’s kiss! In these scones, it adds a special seasonal flair. Dark chocolatey chunks make add a sensational twist, and the sweetened coconut flakes on top really seal the deal. These cute little scones would make a great addition to a holiday party dessert table, or a wonderful not-so-guilty breakfast indulgence infused with the flavors of holiday cheer. Hurry up and make them before the stores are fresh out of mint-flavored candy!
Mini Mint Chocolate Cheer Scones
based on recipe from Camille Styles from Yummly
makes 16 mini scones
Ingredients:
for dough
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbl baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- small sprinkle cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbl Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2/3 cup skim milk
- 16 Hershey’s Candy Cane flavor kisses, chopped roughly
- 1/2 Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate bar, chopped into small chunks
for wash/topping
- 1 tbl skim milk
- 1 tbl sweetened coconut flakes
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir.
Cut in the Earth Balance and peanut butter. Blend using two knives until mixture is crumbly.
Add vanilla and milk. Mix and knead until all ingredients are incorporated.
Roll dough into a ball and place on a flat surface. Flatten into a circle about an inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 8 triangles, then cut each triangle in half to get 16 mini scones. Alternately, separate into two balls and cut into 16 triangles; this will make for more even scones.
Brush scones with 1 tbl milk. Sprinkle 1 tbl coconut flakes on top of each scone.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until scones are golden brown and cake tester comes out clean.
Dig in and be merry!
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