An easy cherry scone recipe that anyone can whip up with little effort and ingredients that are always on hand. That was the goal. I think I nailed it. Stock up on cherries and freeze a few pounds for later, because cherry season will be here and gone before you know it.
Scones get a bad reputation sometimes as being either dry and crumbly or too dense. I was on a mission to have neither, but instead a slightly sweet fresh cherry scone recipe that I would be happy to share with you.
Cherry Everything!
Cherry season is so short, about 3-4 weeks actually, that when I see them starting to appear in the markets I can hardly contain myself. I go on cherry overload and I know I’m not alone. I buy bags and bags of them, but then a few days pass and I realize I haven’t touched them. Like most people, I was brought up not to waste food and in professional kitchens, that is a cardinal sin.
There are a couple of pounds of cherries in my fridge and I’ve eaten my fair share of them as is, but I’d like to actually make something with them!
Hmmmm… gears turning, little librarian in my head frantically thumbing through cookbooks, whizzing past shelf after shelf on the rolling ladder… Yes, this is what it’s like in my head.
Cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cherry muffins, cherries jubilee, cherry crisp… Cherry ice cream, cherry slushies, cherry lemonade, cherry jam, cherry tart, black forest cake, cherry galette, cherry crostata…
Cherry Scones!
The cherry recipes are endless and all sound like a great idea, but then it hits me. Cherry scones. Coming up with a fresh cherry scone recipe was the challenge. I could do a dried fruit scone in my sleep, but fresh fruit doesn’t behave the same as dried fruit. A recipe for fresh cherry scones that looks pretty, tastes good, holds together without being too dense and please, oh please, let the cherries be the star.
I don’t own a scone pan, but if you do feel free to break it out. I simply don’t have room for many single purpose items. The other option with these is to pat the dough out to roughly an inch thick and cut scones from there. Lightly flour the counter, shape dough into a rectangle, cut into squares and cut squares on the diagonal to form triangles, like cutting a pb & j.
However, if you also have little to no counter space scooping may be the way to go. Whichever you decide, these scones are going to be a hit.
Put on a pot of tea and pass the clotted cream & jam please…
Cherry Scone Recipe
Sour Cream Cherry Scones
Sour Cream Scones made with Fresh Cherries
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. cherries, pitted and chopped
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold (1 stick)
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp whole milk
- 1/4 c. sour cream
- 1 lg egg
- 4 tbsp coarse sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cherries on a small baking sheet or plate lined with paper towel and into the freezer for a few minutes while you make the dough. Cut butter into small pieces and place in freezer.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together all dry ingredients. Whisk together milk, egg and sour cream in a small bowl until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Add chilled butter to dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add wet ingredients and pulse until just combined. When it starts to clump, it's done. Do not overmix.
- Remove dough from food processor and put in large bowl. Add cherries and mix just until incorporated. Try to be as gentle as possible with this as the cherries will bleed a bit when pressed too much and the dough will become tough if overworked.
- Flour the counter and dump out the dough. Pat out the dough, or gently roll, until it is about an inch and a half thick. Using a square biscuit cutter, cut out dough, then slice diagonally to make triangles. You could also use a medium sized cookie scoop and scoop the dough if you'd rather make drop scones.
- Transfer scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet, top each one with coarse sanding sugar - I used a full teaspoon on each scone. Return to refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill, then bake for 15 - 18 minutes.
- Let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
CHEF'S NOTES:
The dough will be sticky, flour your hands well. If using a rolling pin instead of your hands, flour it generously.
Baking time may vary, depending on your oven. Baking time has varied a few minutes for me in the same oven, so keep an eye on them after 15 minutes.
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MORE CHERRY RECIPES:
- Cherry Chutney (GREAT on grilled meats)
- Cherry Crisp from Scratch
- Cherry Hand Pies
- Cherry Coconut Rum Slushie
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