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Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache

Today’s recipe is dedicated to my avid scone fans and of course, all of those readers who love egg nog.

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

We’re still thinking about breakfast choices over here and clearly I’ve got egg nog on the brain having just posted Egg Nog Crumb Muffins. Today, I’ve got some Egg Nog Scones drizzled with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache for you. Yes…all the yummy words right in a row…Egg Nog! Yum! Scones! Hearts forever! Egg Nog Ganache?!? But of course!

I’ve wanted to make scones with egg nog for a while now. It seems like a natural choice. After all, my typical scone recipe includes cream. Egg nog is rich, just like cream. It was an easy swap. I just needed to add some freshly grated nutmeg. Please tell me you’re not a nutmeg hater. Please?

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

I love nutmeg! For me, it is mand-a-tor-y with my egg nog. Always and forever. And it must be freshly grated. Once I crossed over to freshly grated nutmeg, I just never looked back to the pre-ground stuff again. I love the way it smells. It’s one of those lovely scents that comes with baking… just like vanilla and almond. I always partake in the aroma whenever I’m baking with those flavors. With nutmeg, the aroma wafts up while I’m grating it. I always call the kids over to appreciate the sweet, spicy scent with me. You can omit the nutmeg if you must, (nooooo!) or you can do as I do and add it to every part of the recipe :)

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

For those of you who follow my scone endeavors, I like a nice, buttery, rich, short scone. Short meaning  a high ratio of fat to flour. All those light spots in the photo above? That’s butter, baby!  I like my biscuits fluffy and light and my scones rich. If you love my other scones, like My Favorite Cinnamon Scones, or Fresh Strawberry Cream Scones or these yummy Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones…oh, and you love egg nog…then I’m sure you’re going to love these Egg Nog Scones drizzled with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache.

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

And what about that egg nog ganache? Well, I thought about drizzling these with just an egg nog glaze. That’s a delicious choice. I thought about drizzling them with just melted white chocolate. That’s another delicious choice. Then, I thought, what about an egg nog ganache? It is the holidays after all, why not try something new?

Should I refrain from telling you about my first two attempts at what I thought would be a no brainer ganache recipe? Well, there’s a glass measuring cup in my refrigerator of failed ganache that I was pained to waste after it turned into a gloppy mess. I can’t imagine how I might save it, but there it sits daring me to figure out how to revive it into something delicious. (No worries, I revived it into something good and treated the kids to a special topping for their pancakes :)

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

Basically, ganache is chocolate melted into hot cream. So, I melted white chocolate into hot egg nog. I think I might have cooked the egg nog while warming it :/ Or, maybe I overheated the white chocolate. Clearly I wasn’t giving it my full attention while heating. I was able to make a great ganache using some of the failed ganache but how does one write a recipe from that?

So, I scratched the first batch and started anew, giving the ganache all of the attention that it was due. I combined all of my tips for melting white chocolate and making ganache. First, white chocolate melts faster than chocolate, so watch the time while gently heating, and be conservative with it.

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

Second, when I make a regular white chocolate drizzle, I always add a little shortening to loosen up the mixture. This isn’t usually necessary when using white melting chocolate disks, but I like to use premium white chocolate that doesn’t have hydrogenated fats and then add a little non-hydrogenated fat in myself. Works beautifully and tastes better than the disks or almond bark. At least that’s my opinion.

Finally, adding a little corn syrup does wonders for the texture and gloss of ganache. I used corn syrup in my ganache to glaze these cupcakes, to top these cookies, and to top this cake. I love how shiny it is. It gets a little more matte when it sets, but it is still has a nice gloss.

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

So that’s what I did. I melted white chocolate, egg nog, corn syrup and a bit of shortening together, along with a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, and drizzled it over the scones. Trust me, you’re not going to bite into this scone and not taste the egg nog flavor. Hopefully, you’re not going to bite into this scone and not taste the nutmeg either because you decided to omit it. (I’m lookin’ at you, nutmeg haters ;)

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

I have no idea what I’m making for Christmas breakfast yet. Considering I’ve made multiple test batches of egg nog scones and muffins in the past couple of weeks, I’m thinking my family is going to want something different. One thing I have learned over the years, is not to plan a breakfast that takes me away from the family for long periods of time, while I go into some complicated preparation of gustatory treats. Been there, done that.

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

I’ve found that simple is best. I try to make one fun baked good the night before and then do simple savory dishes, like a typical farmer’s breakfast or some kind of overnight egg bake. I’ll even do pancakes in advance, like Gingerbread pancakes and then just heat them up in the morning. That way, I get to hang out in my pj’s and enjoy a leisurely and joyful Christmas morning with my family. Yep, I’m all about making something special for Christmas breakfast. But it certainly doesn’t have to be hard…

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

in order to be special :)

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache. Rich, buttery egg nog scones are drizzled with a creamy ganache & spiced with freshly grated nutmeg!

Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Egg Nog Ganache

Yield: 12 scones

Ingredients

For the scones:

  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar, or up to 1/2 cup if you like a sweeter scone
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 10 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup or more of full fat egg nog

For the ganache:

  • 2 ounces about heaping 1/4 cup chopped premium white chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
  • 2 teaspoons full fat egg nog
  • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon shortening, I use non-hydrogenated
  • pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
  3. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, two knives or you can rub the butter in with your fingertips, until the mixture is crumbly and you have varied size butter chunks no larger than peas.
  4. Crack an egg in a glass measuring cup then add eggnog until you reach 1/2 cup. Mix with a fork until well blended.
  5. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in the egg nog mixture.Toss gently with a fork until you've distributed the liquid well and mixture begins to hold together a bit. Your mixture is going to seem to be too dry, but try to resist adding more liquid. Your scones will not hold shape as well with too much liquid.
  6. Use your hands to knead the mixture in the bowl until it comes together. This may take a couple of minutes, but as you work the butter and egg nog mixture, it will begin to come together. You don't want to melt the butter, so if you have hot hands, try using a large spoon or a spatula to fold the mixture onto itself in between using your hands.
  7. Once the dough comes together with no dry crumbs, divide the dough in half. Shape first half into a ball and sandwich it between two large sheets of plastic wrap. Pat into a circle about 3/4" thick shaping the edges while you're patting it to make a nice round disk. Wrap up in the plastic wrap and set aside. Repeat the shaping process with the second half of dough and wrap it up as well.
  8. Place the two wrapped disks into the refrigerator or freezer for 20-30 minutes or until firm.
  9. Unwrap each disk and cut into six wedges. You'll get some nice clean cuts once the dough is firm.
  10. Place the cut wedges on an ungreased baking sheet leaving a couple of inches of space between for spreading.
  11. Brush lightly with additional egg nog, if desired (I just use what's left in the measuring cup that I used to mix the egg nog and egg, adding a splash more of egg nog if I need it.) This will create a slightly shiny surfact while baking.
  12. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges. Allow to cool and set up for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.
  13. Once cool, make the ganache.
  14. Combine all ganache ingredients in a small bowl and microwave for 15 seconds at a time, until the chocolate has fully melted. Stir after every 15 seconds being careful not to burn the chocolate. If your mixture is too thick to drizzle, add a little more shortening and maybe a splash of egg nog. Drizzle ganache over cooled scones. You can do this with a fork or, for more control, place ganache into a zip top plastic bag, cut a corner off and pipe the drizzle over the scones.

Notes

*Scones are best freshly baked, but I also love them on day 2. I store this particular scone in an airtight container in the refrigerator (because of the ganache) and warm them up in my toaster oven before serving. You could also just let them come to room temperature.

*The egg nog ganache recipe makes enough for a conservative drizzle on each scone. Double it if you want to cover your scones more generously.

The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2016

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Nancy

Wednesday 3rd of January 2018

I just made these. Can I just say delicious?

Ramona

Wednesday 3rd of January 2018

Why, yes, Nancy! Yes you can! :)

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