Rich molasses and warm spices make these Gingerbread Scones the perfect holiday treat! These delicious, tender scones are easy to whip up and pair wonderfully with a cup of hot coffee or tea.
If, like me, you love all things gingerbread flavored, you have come to the right place! Gingerbread is easily one of my favorite treats.
While my Gingerbread Cookies are always a welcome treat, why would my gingerbread-loving heart stop there? Each holiday season I love to whip up Gingerbread Biscotti and Gingerbread Syrup to add to all of our coffees, teas, and more.
These gingerbread scones have become a new favorite in our home and with all I’ve shared them with. The warm spices and rich molasses flavors make these perfect for getting into the holiday mood!
The scones have a soft, tender interior with a bit of crunch from coarse sugar sprinkled over them before baking. I’ve drizzled these with a maple glaze for some delicious maple flavor and added sweetness since the scones themselves are not overly sweet. Simply delicious.
Did I mention they are incredibly easy to make too? I love to whip mine up in a food processor but even without one, the process for making scones is simple.
I highly recommend whipping up a batch asap, along with a homemade Gingerbread Latte to really get you in the holiday spirit.
Why we love this recipe
- It’s delicious! The scones are flavored with molasses and warm spices, making them wonderfully gingerbread-y!
- The scones are super easy to make. You can whip up the dough in a food processor. Then you just need to shape, slice, and bake!
- The maple glaze compliments the gingerbread flavors so well.
- Gingerbread scones are great for a holiday breakfast or dessert.
- They travel well so they are perfect for potlucks or gift-giving.
Ingredients in Gingerbread Scones
- Flour: All purpose flour.
- Sugar: 3 types of sugar are used in this recipe. Brown sugar is used in the scone dough. Confectioners sugar (aka icing sugar or powdered sugar) is used to make the maple glaze. I also sprinkle the scones with sparkling sugar to add a bit of crunch, though you can replace this with regular granulated sugar if you prefer.
- Leavener: Baking powder.
- Spices: ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground clove, and ground nutmeg.
- Salt: a little salt for flavor.
- Butter: cold, cubed.
- Egg
- Milk: I use 2% milk but you can substitute another milk such as whole milk, for example.
- Molasses: unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap molasses. I use “Fancy” molasses in my baked goods.
- Maple syrup: for the glaze.
**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
How to make Gingerbread Scones
1. Prep. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a food processor, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix it thoroughly.
3. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Add the butter and pulse until it forms a coarse meal. (If you do not have a food processor, simply stir the dry ingredients in a large bowl and use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to work the butter in until it forms a coarse meal.)
4. Add the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and molasses together. Add it to the flour mixture and pulse until it combines into a wet but crumbly dough.
5. Shape the dough. Transfer everything onto a clean, floured surface. It will be clumpy at this point. Using your hands, work the dough to help bring it together and shape it into a 8 inch disc. (Note:If you feel like your dough is warming up and the butter is getting too warm, cover the discs in plastic food wrap and pop them in the fridge for a bit.)
6. Slice and bake. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and transfer onto the baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between wedges. Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with some coarse sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the scones begin to turn a nice golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.
7. Make the maple glaze. To make the maple glaze, in a bowl, add the confectioners sugar, maple syrup, and milk and stir until it forms the glaze. You can adjust the thickness of the glaze to your own liking by adding in a bit more sugar to make it thicker or more milk to make it thinner. Drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Storing gingerbread scones
Once cooled completely, you can transfer the scones to an airtight container and store them at room temperature. If stored correctly, they will keep for a couple of days.
Can you freeze scones?
Yes! Scones freeze well for longer storage. You can freeze baked scones or the dough itself.
To freeze baked scones, once they are cooled completely, wrap each scone in plastic wrap and then transfer them to a freezer bag or freezer safe container. Wrapping them individually will help prevent freezer burn and make it easy to thaw as many scones as needed when you want them. They will keep for a few months stored correctly.
Freezing unbaked scones can be done similarly. I would recommend slicing the scones and wrapping them individually in plastic food wrap. Then freezing them in a freezer safe container or freezer bag, being mindful not to ruin the shape of the scones before they are frozen. You can bake the frozen scone dough without defrosting them but you will need to add a few minutes of baking time to account for them being frozen. Before baking the frozen scones, you can brush them with milk and sprinkle them with sparkling sugar, as described in the recipe.
I hope you enjoy this gingerbread scone recipe as much as we do!
Happy baking!
-Cathy
Looking for more holiday baking recipes? Be sure to check out:
Gingerbread Cookies
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Apple Ginger Galette
Chocolate Dipped Toffee Shortbread Cookies
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
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Gingerbread Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter cold, cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup molasses fancy molasses (not blackstrap molasses)
- 1 tablespoon milk for brushing the scones before baking
- 1 tablespoon sparkling sugar or coarse sugar, sprinkled on top of scones before baking
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar (icing sugar or powdered sugar)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or more as needed to reach desired consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix it thoroughly.
- Add the butter and pulse until it forms a coarse meal. [If you do not have a food processor, simply stir the dry ingredients in a large bowl and use a pastry cutter or two butter knives to work the butter in until it forms a coarse meal.]
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and molasses together. Add it to the flour mixture and pulse until it combines into a wet but crumbly dough. [Be mindful not to overwork the dough or you will wind up with tougher scones. Once the ingredients are combined, proceed to the next step.]
- Transfer everything onto a clean, floured surface. It will be clumpy at this point. Using your hands, work the dough to help bring it together and shape it into a 8 inch disc. (Note: If you feel like your dough is warming up and the butter is getting too warm, cover the discs in plastic food wrap and pop them in the fridge for a bit.)
- Cut the dough into 8 wedges and transfer onto the baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between wedges. Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with some coarse sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the scones begin to turn a nice golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- To make the maple glaze, in a bowl, add the confectioners sugar, maple syrup, and milk and stir until it forms the glaze. You can adjust the thickness of the glaze to your own liking by adding in a bit more sugar to make it thicker or more milk to make it thinner. Drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Notes
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
