Description
These buttermilk Cherry Scones are sweet, but not overly so, with a pop of fresh juicy cherries that are frozen before assembling to keep the fruit from bursting too early.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 c. chilled butter, cut into chunks
- 1 c. freshly frozen cherries
- 1 c. buttermilk
- 3 tbsp. melted butter
- 1/2 c. turbinado
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- At least 3 hours before making scones, wash, dry, cut, and freeze cherries. This will keep the cherries from bursting in the dough.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Combine turbinado and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- With a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal (chunks the size of a pea).
- Make a well in the center of the mixture, and pour in buttermilk.
- Mix with pastry fork until the dough comes together. Knead dough on clean surface until just incorporated. Don’t worry, dough will be somewhat dry.
- Press dough into a shallow rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Press 1/2 cup of the fruit into half of the dough. Fold over using the pastry knife to loosen. Shape dough back into a rectangle. Press remaining fruit into the top of the dough.
- Using the pastry knife, cut dough into four equal rectangles. Then cut each rectangle diagonally, making 8 scones.
- Place scones on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Brush tops with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon turbinado mixture. Place in freezer for 5-10 minutes. Chilling the dough helps it to hold its shape while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Notes
• Whole wheat flour can be substituted for all-purpose flour.
• Cherries are easily interchangeable for other fruits or fillings. Just remember to freeze the fruit before making scones.
• Chunks of butter are your friend. They create those beautiful layers in the scone. Don’t be tempted to overwork them.
• Work quickly to keep the dough cold. If the dough gets too warm, the butter chunks will melt. Pop it into the freezer for 5 minutes.
• Do not freeze dough for later use. Up until a couple months ago I used to do this, but it makes for flat and off-colored scones. Bleh! Fresh scones are the best scones.