Cherry Almond Scones

Today’s delicious recipe share is another wonderful baked good from my sister Anastasia’s kitchen in Alaska – Cherry Almond Scones.

These Cherry Almond Scones are tender, with a slight crumble, loaded with the delicious combination of tart cherries and almonds, drizzled with an almond glaze. Perfection.

Scones make a wonderful addition to any breakfast, brunch or lunch. They also make a delicious snack served with coffee and tea (scones are usually served with a hot beverage). Best of all, they are a cinch to make and freeze well.

I like my scones served slightly warm with a cup of coffee – heaven. For this recipe, you can enjoy them warm or at room temperature.

People often get confused when it comes to the difference between scones and biscuits. Bon Appétit has a great article on this subject –  Important: A Scone Is Not a Biscuit

I love, love,  love, biscuits – Butter Dip Biscuits and Quick & Easy Drop Biscuits are my fave!! But make no mistake, biscuits are not scones.

My sister is known for her amazing baking skills. When I visit I can always count on her making a fresh batch of scones, along with several loaves of  her famous sourdough bread. She usually has a variety of scones in her freezer, ready for last minute visitors – all she needs to do is thaw, reheat, serve…enjoy.

Scones:

• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 5 Tablespoons very cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 Cup dried, tart cherries, chopped *be sure to use tart dried cherries
• 1 Cup very cold heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:

• 1 Cup confectioners sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1/2 Cup almonds, sliced

To make the scones:

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425°F.

Place the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse about six times to mix the ingredients together.

Drop the cubes of butter evenly over the flour mixture in the food processor. Cover and pulse 10-12 times until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some larger, pea-sized chunks. The smaller particles of butter will tenderize, while the larger will create flaky texture.

Remove the cover and add the chopped cherries. Cover and pulse 2-3 times to incorporate the cherries into the flour mixture.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Add the almond extract to the heavy cream. Pour the heavy cream with the extract into the bowl with the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir the cream into the flour mixture until dough begins to form. Note: Once you add liquid, stir the dough only enough to combine; don’t over-mix, or scones will be tough. Note: it’s normal to have some dry bits of flour.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, about 5 to 10 seconds. Next, place the dough into an 8” or 9” round cake pan and press into the pan until the dough is level. Turn the rounded dough onto a lightly floured countertop and cut the dough round into eight wedges (First, cut the round in half, then cut each half into four equal wedges).

Place the wedges onto an ungreased baking sheet.Note: For soft-sided scones, bake very close together or spread them apart for crispy-sided scones.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light brown. Glaze the scones.

To make the glaze:

Mix all the ingredients (except almonds) in a small bowl. You want the mixture thick enough to glaze, but thin enough to drizzle. If needed, add very small additional amounts of milk and/or sugar to get the desired consistency.

Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the scones and immediately sprinkle with the sliced almonds (you want the almonds to stick to the glaze).

Enjoy these scones warm or at room temperature! 

Baking tips:

If you have time, freezing the pan of scones for 30 minutes before baking relaxes the flour’s gluten, which encourages tenderness, and chills the fat, which enhances a flaky texture.

Bake scones until they’re barely done: their interior will be fully baked (not doughy), but still moist. An over-baked scone is a dry scone.

You can you use lower-fat or nonfat dairy (skim milk, low-fat yogurt) as your liquid, but scones will be dry and hard. The higher their fat content, the more tender the scones.