Fresh cherry scone recipe
An easy, fresh cherry scone recipe that anyone can whip up with little effort and ingredients that are always on hand. Made with sweet cherries, these scones are tender and full of flavor.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
Cherry lovers may also be interested in my cherry daiquiri and cherry muffin recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my fresh cherry recipes – because cherry season will be here and gone before you know it and you’ll want these sweet cherry scones again and again.
For another tasty option using freeze-dried fruit, try this easy strawberry scone recipe.
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Why you should make this cherry scone recipe
For me, there is hardly anything better with a cup of tea or coffee than a slightly sweet baked good. And this scone recipe is just that – they are not overly sweet, even with the sprinkling of coarse sugar on top.
Sometimes scones get a bad reputation as being dry and crumbly. I am happy to report that these are not. They are light and tender, and filled with fresh, sweet cherries.
Ingredients
- Flour – Regular, all-purpose (plain) flour.
- Unsalted Butter – gives our scones moisture and flavor.
- Cherries – fresh, sweet cherries.
- Sugar – Regular granulated (caster) sugar gives the scones a bit of sweetness
- Cream – I recommend using whole milk or cream in this recipe.
- Sour cream – makes the scones tender and gives great flavor.
- Egg – Provides structure, flavor and rise.
- Baking powder & Baking soda – helps the scones to bake up nice and tall.
- Salt – I used fine sea salt, it gives the scones flavor. All baked goods need salt.
- Coarse sugar – provides a little sweetness and great texture to the top of the fresh cherry scones.
How to make them
First, dice butter into small pieces, or grate on a box grater. Place it into the freezer for a few minutes while you measure the dry ingredients.
Next, mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, then add cold butter and work it into the flour mixture using a dough blender, a fork or your fingers until it looks like coarse crumbs.
Whisk egg, sour cream and milk/cream together, then mix into the dough with a spatula. Once you no longer see big pockets of flour, and the dough is starting to come together on its own, you’re done. Gently incorporate the chopped cherries before patting out the scone dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 1-inch thick circle. Do not knead the dough, press it together as you are forming a circle or square.
Brush the tops with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
Tools and equipment
You’ll need the basics for this cherry scone recipe, plus a couple of items that are very helpful in the kitchen.
- Mixing bowls – These stainless steel bowls will last forever.
- Measuring cups and spoons – The prettiest cups and spoons set!
- Rubber spatula – My favorite spatula, this is my go to.
- Chef’s knife – The same one I own and use every single day.
- Cookie cutter / Biscuit cutters – This set comes in a few sizes and they have handles.
- A kitchen scale is also recommended. This is the same scale that I own, and using a scale to measure in baking versus cups will give you more accurate measurements.
Fresh cherry scone recipe Q & A
Scones are best served on the day they baked. They can be refreshed in the microwave or a warm oven the next day.
Yes! You can freeze them for up to 3 months. If freezing, I recommend omitting the sugar sprinkled on top.
Yes, you can. However, they will need to be thawed and patted dry. Frozen fruit tends to get watery, so I’d say use fresh if possible.
You’ve worked the cherries into the dough too much and they’ve bled. Be very gentle when mixing the fruit into the dough, as it will let out some of its juice.
Variations
This cherry scone recipe is delicious as is. However, if you’re like me and you like to change it up sometimes, here are a few suggestions:
- Add 1 tbsp. fresh lemon zest to the dough for a citrusy zing.
- A teaspoon of vanilla extract will give them even more flavor.
- For a sweet and nutty twist, add a teaspoon of almond extract and top with sliced almonds.
More fresh cherry recipes
- Cherry Chutney (GREAT on grilled meats)
- Cherry Crisp from Scratch
- Cherry Hand Pies
- Cherry Coconut Rum Slushie
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Fresh cherry scones with sour cream
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 350 gr
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. sour cream
- 1/4 c. whole milk//half & half//light cream + 2 tbsp. for brushing tops
- 1 c. cherries pitted and chopped
- 3 tbsp. coarse sanding sugar for tops optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C / Gas mark 6.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- Cut butter into small pieces and place in freezer.
- Whisk together milk, egg and sour cream in a small bowl until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Add cold butter to dry ingredients and use a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers to work the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir gently (I use a rubber spatula) until it just starts to comes together.
- Add cherries and gently fold them into the crumbly dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and press together – do not knead dough. Press out into a 1 inch thick round or square.
- To make smaller scones: Dip a medium-sized cutter into flour, then press straight down into dough and pull straight up. Do not twist the cutter. Place scones on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Gather and lightly press dough together to cut the last few. To make 8 large scones, cut square of dough into 8 equal pieces with a knife or a bench scraper.
- Brush tops with reserved cream, sprinkle each scone with 1 tsp. coarse sugar and bake. Medium scones will bake for 14 – 16 minutes, large scones 18 – 20 minutes.
- Let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Baking time may vary, depending on your oven. Scones are best on the day they are baked.
Nutrition
Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂
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Originally published 6/4/18, most recent update 7/19/22.
How would this wonderful recipe work with berries, including frozen blueberries, or with cut up peaches?
Hi Lee 🙂
I think it would work well! The only thing I’d be careful about with the frozen blueberries is making sure they are drained really well. That added liquid from the berries could make the dough mushy. As long as you do that, I think you are good to go!
Can I use sour cherries instead of sweet ones? And if so, would I need to add more sugar?
Hi Celine, I haven’t used sour cherries, but I would say you can use them. I wouldn’t add more sugar to the dough. There is sugar sprinkled on top, so you can add a tiny bit more to the tops if you want to. I think that’s just a trade off – if you are going to use sour cherries, the scones just won’t be as sweet, and that’s totally fine! 🙂