Dried Cherry Scones

Name: Dried Cherry Scones
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour ((plus more for flouring the work surface)); ⅓ cup sugar; 1 tablespoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 10 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter ((cut into small pieces)); ¾ cup roughly chopped dried cherries; 1 cup half-and-half ((plus more for brushing the scones)); 1 large egg yolk; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; Butter, jam, or jelly and/or lemon curd

By Katie Workman

5 from 2 votes

Updated Jan 30, 2026

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These dried cherry scones are tender, lightly sweet, and dotted with little pops of tart dried cherries. The dough is intentionally soft, and a quick chill is the secret to scones that bake up golden, buttery, and bakery-worthy every time.

Golden brown dried cherry scone on parchment-lined pan with knives.

These dried cherry scones are super tender, like you want your scones to be, not at all dry or crumbly. Lightly sweet, definitely buttery, and studded with chewy, tart dried cherries, with a soft bakery-level interior.

The dough is wetter than you might expect (stick with me), and a short chill is the trick that turns it into a beautifully golden, flaky scone. I make this on repeat (most recently for my friend’s birthday tea party — a huge hit).

Tender dried cherry scones baked until golden brown on baking sheet with parchment.

There is nothing like a homemade scone. These are sweet and super tender, with a sweet tart little chew from the dried cherries (or dried fruit of your choice).

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Scone Special Delivery

When I was applying for jobs straight out of college, hoping to find a spot as an editorial assistant to a cookbook editor (spoiler alert: I did), I decided that it would be a nice touch to drop off some scones with my application letters.

I trekked around New York City with my little boxes of chocolate chip scones and my earnest letter, and my “resume” (good god, what a short piece of literature that must have been) and waited for the phone to ring. And it worked! I got some calls, and I went on some interviews. And I got a job working for a woman named Pam Krauss, who is still one of the best cookbook editors and overall culinary smarties in the business, and also one of my best friends.

And here’s the kicker. Many, many months after I started working, I found a copy of my original letter to her. Where I spelled her name Krause. I can only feel lucky that she was able to overlook such a dopey mistake.

Moral #1: Bring baked goods. Moral #2: Check the spelling of your intended’s name.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour
Sugar
Baking powder
Salt
Unsalted butter
Dried cherries
Half-and-half
Egg yolk
Pure vanilla extract

How to Make Dried Cherry Scones

Mix the dry ingredients and butter: In a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, pulsing until it’s pea-sized but still unevenly crumbly. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, and stir in the cherries.
Finish the dough: In a separate small bowl, mix the half-and-half, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients slowly, stirring with a fork just until a soft, sticky dough forms.
Form and chill the scone: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add a light dusting of flour. Turn the dough out onto the sheet and pat with lightly floured hands into a 1-inch thick circle. Refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours. Use a baking sheet or a flat plate if you don’t have room in the fridge.
Bake the scone: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Score the top of the dough about 1/4-inch deep to create 8 wedges. Brush the top with a light amount of half-and-half, then bake for 24-28 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool and serve: Let the scones cool slightly, just until warm or at room temperature. Serve with the condiment of your choice.

Woman slicing freshly baked cherry scones and serving with jam.

Tips for Tender Scones

The dough is wet, which makes the scones very tender, but also makes the dough sticky and the chilling process pretty necessary. I hate giving you any kind of extra work, as I hope you know, but these scones were SO good that I need to share both the recipe and the little things you need to do to get them just so.

Make sure your butter is cold. If you don’t have a food processor or just want to do this by hand, you can also cut the butter into the flour mixture using two knives, a pastry cutter, or your fingers if you work quickly.
You have to chill the dough after forming it into a circle on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Actually, for the sake of freezer space, you could shape it into a circle on the parchment-lined plate for the chilling portion, since baking sheets are annoying to get into the fridge or freezer (you have two choices for chilling).
Short on time? Freeze the scone dough for 30 minutes. Chilling the dough makes the scone more tender.

Variation: Scones with Dried Fruit

I love dried cherries and use them often in dishes, both savory and sweet. They can be pricey, though, so feel free to substitute other chopped or tiny dried fruit. Try these scones with:

Dried cranberries
Chopped dried apricots
Golden raisins
Dried blueberries

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About Katie Workman

Katie Workman is a cook, a writer, a mother of two, an activist in hunger issues, and an enthusiastic advocate for family meals, which is the inspiration behind her two beloved cookbooks, Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook.