Hapanese Cuisine

Ah, the week after the holidays. The magic of that time of year has run its course for the season, and life is just about to return to normal. Maybe you’re deciding whether to take down your tree, maybe you’re wondering why the grandparents gave your kid the noisiest toys possible, and maybe you have some leftover candy canes that you want to repurpose.

That was the idea behind these Peppermint Chocolate Scones. I wanted to find out how to get creative with these seasonal flavors with a new favorite pastry. Peppermints are surprisingly versatile, and I was able to use these a couple of different ways in this recipe.

• First, powdered candy replaced white sugar. Since I don’t currently have access to my food processor, I used a coffee grinder to crush up the candy to a consistency slightly finer than regular granulated sugar. It worked amazingly well, and it contributed to the scones having a wonderfully light and fluffy texture.
• Second, I chopped up some of the candies to mix in with chocolate chips. I love this combination, and the peppermints melted into a delicate, crispy counterpoint to the rich dark chocolate chips.

As a tip, you will want your ingredients to be as cold as possible before you put the scones into the oven—especially the butter. Cold butter won’t fully blend into your dough; instead, it’s incorporated in the form of small pieces throughout the dough. When that dough hits a hot oven, the water in the butter will release as steam to create a flaky, irresistible pastry. It does take more time to refrigerate the dough through the process, but the end result is SO worth it.

If you still want a bit of the holiday spirit at any time of year, this light, flavorful treat will be perfect!

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Peppermint Chocolate Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup peppermint candy, powdered

1/2 cup butter, frozen and grated

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1/2 cup chopped peppermint candy

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered candy together in a large bowl, then cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Place in the fridge until you have the wet ingredients mixed together.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Drizzle over the dry ingredients, and stir together with the chopped candy and the chocolate chips until just combined.

Form into a disk shape, and roll about 1/4” thick. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes, then cut like a pizza, brush with a thin layer of heavy cream, then lay pieces 2 inches apart on a large baking pan. Bake at 400 for 18-21 minutes, until golden brown.

Makes about 8 servings.