Dried Cherry Scones

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

5 from 2 votes

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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: English

Servings: People

Author: Katie Workman

Cost: $10

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

To Serve

Butter, jam, or jelly and/or lemon curd

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Add the butter, and pulse to blend in the butter until the biggest pieces of butter are pea-sized, but the mixture is not blended — you want it to be unevenly crumbly, with some little bits of butter throughout. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries.
Mix together the half-and-half, egg yolk, and vanilla in a small bowl until well blended. Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork just until it comes together into a very soft, very sticky dough.
Very lightly flour a piece of parchment paper at least 12 x12 inches and place it on a baking sheet or a flat plate. This will be going into your refrigerator so choose whatever will fit. Turn the dough onto the floured surface, getting all of it out of the bowl. Lightly flour your hands and pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Chill the unbaked scone round in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 12 or place in the freezer for 30 minutes. (This makes them a bit more tender as the butter will be able to rechill, and also allows you to score the top; unchilled, the dough is too soft.)
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a sharp knife to score the top of the circle (this means cut into it only about 1/4-inch deep to create 8 wedges…so slice across, then from top to bottom to make a cross, then two more times to divide each quarter into halves, resulting in 8 triangles. Brush the tops of the scones lightly with half-and-half. Bake for about 24 to 28 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Cool the scones on the baking sheet until warm or room temperature. Split and serve with the condiment of your choice.

Notes

You have to chill the dough after forming it into a circle on the parchment-lined baking sheet. To save freezer space, shape it into a circle on a parchment-lined plate for the chilling portion, since baking sheets are annoying to get into the fridge or freezer.

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