These white chocolate macadamia nut scones are perfect for brunch or afternoon tea. Drizzle them with a brown butter white chocolate glaze for a little extra sweetness.
Years ago, I had a delicious white chocolate macadamia nut scone at a bakery on Martha’s Vineyard and I’ve been meaning to try and recreate it. I finally gave it a try. My version is topped with a brown butter white chocolate glaze. I love the flavor brown butter gives to sweets and the white chocolate works well with it.
This recipe makes 16 medium scones.
Tips
- I used a food processor to mix the dough, but you can mix it in a bowl. Blend in the butter with two forks or a pastry cutter. Mix the dough with a flexible scraper.
- If you don’t have a double boiler to make the glaze, you can create one by putting a heat resistant bowl (metal or glass) on top of a pan. The bowl should fit well, with no openings on the side between the bowl and the pan. The bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water.
- Scones are better if the dough is cold. Keep the butter and milk cold. Touch the dough with your hands as little as possible. To ensure that the dough is cold, chill the scones for 10 minutes after cutting them and putting them on the baking sheet.
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients to make these white chocolate macadamia nut scones and the brown butter white chocolate glaze.
Scone Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups white flour, plus extra to press out the scones
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold and cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup while chocolate chips
- 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
- A little whole milk or heavy cream to brush the tops of the scones
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Make the scones. Add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda) to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse them together to mix them.
Add the butter pieces to the dry ingredients and pulse everything several times, just until the butter is blended and the mixture has a crumbly consistency.
Beat the egg. Add the egg and vanilla to the buttermilk and whisk them together. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the food processor (through the top tube) while pulsing the ingredients. Pulse just until the dough comes together. It will make one big ball.
Tip the dough into a large mixing bowl. Using a flexible spatula, add the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts to the dough, and gently mix them in. The dough will be very thick, so you need to create valleys in the dough to mix the nuts and chocolate into the middle of the dough.
Flour a flat surface and put the dough onto it. Pat the dough into a square shape that is about 9 inches by 9 inches. Using a large sharp knife with the blade floured, cut the dough, using my diagram as a guide. Cut diagonally across the square from the top left to lower right corners and top right to lower left corners (cuts 1 and 2). Cut the dough again vertically and horizontally across the centers of the square (cuts 3 and 4). You have 8 triangles at this point. Cut each one of them in half (cut 5).
Place the scones on the baking sheet. Chill them for 10 – 15 minutes. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with heavy cream or whole milk.
Bake the scones for about 15 minutes. They should be just beginning to show a little golden brown in spots.
Cool the scones on the pan for a few minutes and then transfer them to a baking rack. Cool them completely before glazing them. Keep the pan and parchment paper to use for holding the scones while you glaze them.
Make the glaze.
Add water to the bottom pan of a double boiler and heat it to simmering. Be sure that you don’t have so much water that it touches the top pan.
While the water is heating, brown the butter. Add the butter to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Melt it over medium heat, whisking it often. Watch the butter carefully, so that it doesn’t burn. The butter will foam and then the foam subsides. You’ll start to see little bits of brown on the bottom of the pan. When it is nicely browned and has a nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat. Set it aside for a few minutes.
When the water is simmering, turn the heat to low and add the top pan. Make sure that the water is on a low simmer. Add the white chocolate chips and the melted butter to the pan. Stir the chocolate often with a flexible spatula as the chocolate melts. When the chocolate is melted, slowly stir in the heavy cream. When it is blended, remove the top pan from the heat.
Put your cooled scones back on the baking sheet. Using a small spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let it cool and harden before serving the scones.
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