These Old Fashioned Almond Cherry Scones will make your house smell better than Cinnabon
and tempt EVERYONE you know to break their diet. At least that’s what happened
at my house this week.
I baked these scones on Monday, the day we usually “start” our diets around here, until
Friday….. of course.
I tried to “hide” the scones from my husband, but the whole house smelled like a bakery.
After his low carb dinner, he sniffed the Cinnabon scented air and declared, “I want a cookie.”
“They aren’t cookies,” I said, “they’re scones.”
“Okay,” he said, “then I want a scone.”
I went to the laundry room where the scones were hiding and came back with the smallest
one.
“THAT WAS GOOD!” he said, surprised.
“Can I have another?”
He. ate. five. more.
On the last bite of his sixth scone, he said:
“That may be one of the best things you’ve ever made.”
I didn’t plan to make scones this week, but a friend of mine was complaining that she stopped
buying scones at Whole Foods because they were too expensive.
We can make our own scones, I told her; as good, if not better than the ones at Whole Foods.
Adapting a simple recipe from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything The Basics,
we made delicious scones together in 35 minutes!
Crunchy on the outside, soft and tender inside, these
Old Fashioned Almond Cherry Scones
just may be the best thing YOU have ever baked.
I call these scones old fashioned. But that does not mean they take lots of time to make.
Old fashioned here refers to the tradition of “cutting” the butter into the flour by hand.
No mixer required.
Use a simple pastry blender (shown above), two knives or rub the butter in with your fingers.
You want the butter very cold so that it creates pockets of steam in the oven and produces lots
of flaky layers.
One Recipe = Endless Variations
Replace almonds/ cherries with 1/2 cup of
- nuts/seeds
- dried fruit
- chocolate chips
- herbs & cheese (leave out the sugar).
Scones = Sandwiches
Fill plain or savory scones with
- eggs & cheese
- ham & brie
- nut butter & jelly
Old Fashioned baking is always in style, so
Pin >> and Dig in!
More scones and baking ideas:
Red, White and Blueberry Buckle
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DROP ME A LINE anytime at dana@diginwithdana.com.
PrintOld Fashioned Almond Cherry Scones
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 13 mins
- Total Time: 33 mins
- Yield: 12 large 1x
- Category: Breakfast/Brunch/Snack
- Cuisine: British
Why pay $3 + for one scone at Whole Foods when you can make a dozen Old Fashioned Almond Cherry Scones at home using everyday ingredients? Stir in almonds and cherries or your favorite combination for fast, delicious homemade scones anytime of day.
Ingredients
- 2+ cups all purpose flour or gluten free flour mix (260 gm)
- (set aside 2 tablespoons for shaping dough)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2 gm)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (10 gm)
- 5 tablespoons sugar, divided (75 gm)
- 5 tablespoons COLD butter (71 gm)
- 1/2 cup cream or coconut cream (120 ml)+ more for brushing the top
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds (45 gm)
- 1/3 cup dried cherries (65 gm)
- OR 1/2 cup of one or more of the following: dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, seeds, shredded cheese (if using cheese, leave out sugar)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450 F or 425 F convection. Set aside a sheet pan, lined with parchment or a silpat.
- In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and 4 tablespoons sugar.
- Chop COLD butter into tiny pieces and toss to cover with flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingers to gently “cut” the butter into flour until it is the size of peas.
- In separate measuring cup, mix together cream + egg (+ almond or vanilla extract, if using) with a fork to break up the yolk.
- Pour cream and egg into flour mixture. Use a rubber spoon or your hands to gently combine ingredients to form a sticky dough.
- Dough too dry: add in a little cream, one tablespoon at a time.
- Dough too sticky: sprinkle in just a little flour.
- Spread 2 tablespoons reserved flour onto a clean counter top and dump out the dough.
- Toss almonds and cherries or mix ins of choice on top of dough. Gently fold dough over mix ins and use the heel of your palm to press dough away from you. Give the dough a quarter turn each time, just until mix ins are blended. Handle dough as little as possible.
- Press dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle, then brush the top with cream and sprinkle generously with a 1 – 2 tablespoons sugar. Use a long sharp knife to cut like a pizza into 12 wedges.
- Use a spatula to transfer scone wedges one at a time to baking sheet. Place scones one inch apart.
- Bake for 12- 13 minutes, until scones are golden brown.
- Let cool 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Scones are best eaten the same day.
- Wrap remainder well and freeze for up to three months.
Sound wonderful! May have to try these over the weekend…
★★★★★
I hope you do Paige! I have had great reports from friends who made it this weekend. One swapped the cherries for dark chocolate chips, another added in 1 tsp almond flavoring. Please take a photo and tag it #diginwithdana so we can see your work!
Email comment from my friend Elaine:
We loved your scone recipe. I will never go back to my old one again. Thank you for sharing.
Love, Elaine
So glad to help you bake a better scone, Elaine. Thank YOU!
Looks amazing! Can I make this with fresh cherries?
YES! Make these adjustments:
Wash, dry, pit and cut cherries in half. Freeze cherries until ready to use (so they don’t burn).
Reduce baking time to 400 F and bake 13-15 minutes.
XOXO
I love almonds and cherries together and these look fabulous.
Would it be possible to make these with maraschino cherries because I don’t have any dried cherries on hand and I do have some maraschino cherries🤔
HI Diana, dried fruit like raisins or chopped apricots would work or even chocolate chips. If you use the maraschino cherries, pat them dry first, chop them and mix them with 1-2 teaspoons of flour before adding them into your batter. Cherries and almonds are just one of MANY combinations that you can use to make all sorts of yummy scones. This is THE MOST POPULAR RECIPE ON MY BLOG because they are absolutely delicious. Make them often and have fun experimenting!
This is the best scone recipe! I found that using ice cold butter from the freezer is key. The scone is so flaky. I use Bob’s unsweetened coconut, tart organic cherries from Costco, and finely chopped pecans. Outtathisworld!
★★★★★
Sandi, I am thrilled that you found diginwithdana and my favorite scone recipe! You are right about the butter: I GRATE cold butter, the same way you would grate a block of cheese, then freeze it before using it in the scone recipe.
This scone is HIGHLY adaptable and can be made savory by omitting sugar and adding herbs and or cheese instead…
You can make a yummy dessert scone with chocolate chips too!
Keep baking and thanks for your comments.