Christmas Cranberry White Chocolate Sour Cream Biscuits are the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Sour cream makes the texture as light and fluffy as air. No rolling or cutting required.
Christmas morning breakfast is as special to me as Christmas dinner. It’s a time to stop for a moment and enjoy some peace amidst the excitement.
As the air fills with the aromas of Christmas breakfast, that’s the signal that we will all gather shortly, put down the new gadgets and pretties, and be grateful for the season and each other. Christmas morning breakfast can be elegant and special and simple to make, all at the same time. I’ve been making my Christmas Morning Casserole for years and years. That really takes away the stress because you assemble the night before, store in the refrigerator, and simply pull it out and cook it the next morning. Planning ahead for other menu items for Christmas Day, Christmas Charcuterie Board is a great choice for a more casual food option.
In addition to our traditional breakfast casserole, this year I’m adding these biscuits. I’ll have to admit straight up that I’m downright proud of these biscuits. They meet all the requirements for Christmas breakfast. They’re pleasing to the eye, delicious, and so easy to make. Plus, the red and white colors just look like Christmas to me.
I chose to make these as a drop biscuits instead of rolled and cut to make the preparation as easy and carefree and possible. Anyone can make drop biscuits.
Anyone.
As long as you can measure, stir, and scoop, you can make drop biscuits.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing a sour cream drop biscuit, run to the kitchen, or grocery store, or wherever needed, and get the necessary stuff to make up a batch. The texture is so light and airy, they almost float. They’re more delicate than traditional rolled and cut biscuits. But, they’re not fru-fru or pretentious. They’re ordinary biscuits with a graceful texture.
After I debated the use of fresh cranberries versus dried, I decided on fresh because they would be more obvious in the biscuits than dried. You can look at the biscuits and tell they’re cranberry biscuits. Visual appeal is important. Fresh cranberries make a great salad, also. Check out this Homemade Fresh Cranberry Salad.
The balance of tart/tangy from cranberries and sour cream and sweet from white chocolate and icing is perfect. Everything works together just as I’d hoped. Nobody was stubborn or obstinate.
I wish you a blessed, peaceful, fun, chaotic, noisy, happy, quite Christmas morning. Whatever your vision might be of a perfect morning, I hope you live it.
Christmas Cranberry White Chocolate Sour Cream Biscuits
yield: 10 to 12
preheat oven to 450 degrees
No rolling or cutting required for drop biscuits. There’s a perfect balance between the tart/tangy of sour cream and cranberries and sweet from white chocolate and icing.
make the biscuits
2 cups self-rising flour (I prefer White Lily)
8 ounces sour cream (full fat)
1/4 cup half and half or milk (approx.)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup premium white chocolate morsels
melted butter for tops of biscuits (approx 4 tablespoons)
Prepare a baking sheet by lining with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Add flour to a large bowl. Stir in sour cream.
Add as much half and half as needed until the dough is wet and sticky.
Stir in fresh cranberries and white chocolate.
Scoop onto the baking sheet with about 2 inches space between each biscuit.
Lightly brush biscuit tops with melted butter.
Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for approx. 15 minutes or until tops are brown.
Remove from oven. After they’ve cooled slightly, drizzle with icing.
make the icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons half and half or milk
Whisk together adding the amount of half and half needed for desired consistency.
Christmas Cranberry White Chocolate Sour Cream Biscuits
Ingredients
- yield: 10 to 12
- preheat oven to 450 degrees
- No rolling or cutting required for drop biscuits. There's a perfect balance between the tart/tangy of sour cream and cranberries and sweet from white chocolate and icing.
- make the biscuits
- 2 cups self-rising flour I prefer White Lily
- 8 ounces sour cream full fat
- 1/4 cup half and half or milk approx.
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup premium white chocolate morsels
- melted butter for tops of biscuits approx 4 tablespoons
- make the icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons half and half or milk
Instructions
- make the biscuits:
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining with a baking mat or parchment paper.
- Add flour to a large bowl. Stir in sour cream.
- Add as much half and half as needed until the dough is wet and sticky.
- Stir in fresh cranberries and white chocolate.
- Scoop onto the baking sheet with about 2 inches space between each biscuit.
- Lightly brush biscuit tops with melted butter.
- Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for approx. 15 minutes or until tops are brown.
- Remove from oven. After they’ve cooled slightly, drizzle with icing.
- make the icing:
- Whisk together adding the amount of half and half needed for desired consistency.
Kids cakes says
What a lovely idea,cranberrys and white chocolate look easy to make as well how long will they keep for once baked?
Jackie Garvin says
If you refrigerate, they should keep for a week.
Mary Wooley says
I am not a baker in any way, shape,form or fashion, BUT… OMG I made these just now and can I tell you WOW,just WOW! I followed your instructions to the letter with one caveat..I added the juice of one lemon to the drizzle just to cut the sweetness a bit. It formed a perfect balance. Thank you so much as I plan to serve these Thanksgiving morning as well as Christmas too. Thank you again!
Jackie Garvin says
Hi Mary,
Thank you for letting us know that you enjoyed our recipe. I hope you have many happy mornings while enjoying the biscuits. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.
Sheila Burton says
I made these for the first time last Christmas and oh boy were they good. My guests just went crazy over how good they were. I’ve made them a couple times since for various occasions and even changed the recipe once to use blueberries instead of cranberries and they were still delicious! My teenage daughter insists these are now traditional Christmas morning fare.
Jackie Garvin says
Hi Sheila,
What great news! Your family and guests are so lucky to have such a caring person look after them. I wish you a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas.
Dianne Johnson says
White Lily is a soft wheat flour. It has about 2/3 the protein of a hard winter wheat flour. This makes it perfect for biscuits.
Jackie Garvin says
Yes,indeed. It’s the only flour I use for biscuits.
Tom says
Are these similar to scones? If not, how do they differ?
Jackie Garvin says
Some consider biscuits and scones one and the same. Typically, scones contain sugar and egg, along with ordibary ingredients found in biscuits. These don’t contain egg but white chocolate chips provide sugar. Scones are usually rolled and cut in contrast to these biscuits that are dropped directly onto a baking sheet.
Barbara Dowell says
Jackie, I can hardly wait to make these as they look so great. Plus the reviewers gave them high marks. Can these be frozen before or after baked? Thank you!
Jackie Garvin says
Barbara,
It’s best to freeze biscuit dough before they’re baked. So, prepare the biscuits up to the point they’re ready for baking. Freeze them in a single layer until frozen, then you can remove them to a freezer storage bag. When ready for baking, place them on a baking sheet and bake. They’ll take a few minutes more of bake time, more than likely. Preparing and freezing biscuits ahead of time is a great time saver. Enjoy!
chris mergener says
Hi Jackie, I love this website! I am going to make these Cranberry Biscuits but I am not sure when it says a “scoop” how much is that exactky? Sorry to sound so dumb but I haven’t made anything like this before and I don’t want to mess it up. I haven’t found a good recipe for a scone, as they always seem so dry so I am excited to try this!
Jackie Garvin says
I use a standard size ice cream scoop.
Thea says
These biscuits are delicious! I am not a baker and these are so easy to make anyone can do it. I call these “Company Biscuits” and your company will think you worked for hours on these!
Jackie Garvin says
Nobody has to know unless you want to tell them. Merry Christmas to you and the family.
Mariah Nasir says
I am in Australia and in a very hot environment and want to know if I can use dried cranberries please?
Jackie Garvin says
I’ve never tested this recipe with dried cranberries but see know reason they wouldn’t be a good substitute. If you try it, come back and comment and let us know what you think.
Timothy says
That looks so good , I am certainly going to make them.
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you!
Barbara says
All I have at the moment is frozen cranberries but would love to make these yummy looking biscuits. Would I need to thaw the cranberries first? Thank you. So glad to see you posting again after your break.
Jackie Garvin says
Hi Barbara! It’s good to be back creating content again. Thanks for your sweet comment.
I’ve never made these biscuits with frozen cranberries but I suspect they’d be fine to use frozen since cranberries don’t tend to freeze as hard as a rock. Minimally, you might rinse them a little and give a quick dry before using. I hope you enjoy!
Jen says
Absolutely amazing!!! These were so moist & delicious! I added a little lemon extract to the icing. Best of all, they were simple to make!!!
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Jen. These are a crowd favorite, for certain.
Thank you for your lovely comment and kind review.