Guest Cheryl St. John with Eggnog Scones

B-r-r-r-r-r!!! It's been a brisk beginning of December here in the Black Hills of South Dakota! Over the last week, negative temperatures have been the norm...but that's perfect to start the Christmas season, isn't it?

Jan here, and I'm so excited to introduce you to our guest in the cafe today! It's Cheryl St. John!!!!! And she has a fabulous recipe to share with us. I tried it out last week. These scones are so sweet, soft and delicious, you'll love them.

But without further ado, here's Cheryl:

I share a passion for eggnog with several of you, and it’s the season! One of my favorite holiday events is a tea, where I get out all my pretty teapots and cups and saucers and bake ahead for a week or more. Scones are my passion at teatime, or any time really.

This is the recipe I’ve come up with after much experimentation. Many scone recipes don’t call for an egg, but I love the texture an egg gives the dough. Heavy cream makes a scone less like a biscuit.  Eggnog is an ingredient I stumbled upon, and the flavor it adds is incredible. Orange juice is another alternative. You many add or substitute ingredients - for example craisins & raisins are interchangeable. Currants are an option.  Walnuts or pecans are a good addition. Guess what--some people like them plain!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Jan here. Notice I opted for Cheryl's Craisin
alternative!

Soak 1/2 cup raisins in warm water.

In mixing bowl sift together:

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup (or less) sugar

Use pastry cutter to cut 1/3 cup butter or margarine into the flour mixture.

Add 1 beaten egg

½ cup egg nog (or heavy cream)

I always make a double batch:

4 cups flour

¾ - 1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

5 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup butter/margarine

2 eggs

1 cup eggnog

            1 cup raisins

Stir with fork till pretty well mixed (it will be dry and crumbly), then turn out onto lightly floured surface or floured waxed paper and knead several times until a dough forms.  Keep a little cup of flour at your fingertips and dust surface and hands with flour until you get a good consistency for pressing out. (If it sticks to your fingers, add more flour.)

Press dough out to about ½ in thickness. You may either

-       cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters or a glass…

-       or roll out the entire batch into a circle (2 if you double the recipe) and cut into pie-shaped wedges.

Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Jan here again: I'll have to make Cheryl's suggested double batch
next time. These barely lasted long enough to get a picture!

Some people brush the tops with milk. I don’t.

Optional: sprinkle with sugar or grated lemon peel

My special topping: sprinkle with lemonade mix!

Another option - a dash of ginger or cinnamon

Scones are so easy to make ahead. These freeze great. Layer with waxed paper and freeze in a tightly sealed container. Thaw them out a few hours before serving.

Serve with preserves, jelly or lemon curd.

Buy your copy HERE!

Cheryl's achievements include over fifty published books in both contemporary and historical romance 
genres, as well as a Writers Digest craft book, WRITING WITH EMOTION, TENSION & CONFLICT. She has received numerous Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and RITA nominations. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real life situations.” She has taught writing on local and national levels, and is in demand as a motivational speaker.

Connecting with the reader on an emotional level is a vital skill that every writer must learn to master. Whatever the genre, emotion, tension, conflict, and pathos are essential to hooking the reader's interest from the very first page. Writing With Emotion, Tension, and Conflict gives writers a variety of intensive tools and techniques for instilling emotion into plots, characters, dialogue, and settings in order to achieve the highest impact with each element.

Wow! Where was this book when I started my writing career?

"A must-have compilation of rock-sound advice from a writer who knows what she's talking about. A book you'll want to inhale whole and then return to time and time again to improve your craft and go deeper in order to write YOUR story. Not only does this book embrace some of the most complex elements of story construction in a clear, easy to digest format, it acts as inspiration for the writer. Sentence upon sentence of outstanding advice!"

- Mary Buckham, author of the Amazon best-selling WRITING ACTIVE SETTINGS series for writers.