“We need to go more places; we’re not doing enough,” he said.
My husband has made this statement a few times before and I am usually quick to agree with him, being the homebodies that we are. We travel, yes, but when our luggage is on vacation we are home most evenings, dinner done and put away before 7 pm. Any evening event–even a dinner invitation–that starts at 8 pm is late for us and we only break from habit to be in the company of good friends.
My husband had clearly been feeling adventure-deprived when he made this declaration again recently and I had to remind him that we have spent part of virtually every month this year away from home. Hawaii, Mexico, Arizona, Spain, France, Idaho, in this order. The weeks at home in between have been spent either preparing for or recovering from a trip; we haven’t been home more than two or three weeks at a time.
Do I love our adventures? Yes! But as I get older I find myself also enjoying our quiet days at home, especially now that I have a succulent garden to tend to.
We’ve just returned home from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference in Ketchum, Idaho, a yearly event we attend with friends. It’s an edifying four days listening to talks by authors from around the world covering a wide range of topics. The days are full but we balance the week with less cerebral activities like hiking and cycling by day and art walks and wine auctions at night. I’ve highlighted our visits to Sun Valley over the years and it’s always a fun time.
It was only a few days ago that I put away our luggage from this Sun Valley trip. A short-lived break, they’re reporting for duty again as I try to clean out the refrigerator that I have just recently restocked. As I was organizing the recipes that I had stockpiled this summer while the blog was getting a makeover, I realized that there is one treat that I turn to over and over again to make me feel settled and at home: scones.
I baked these scones shortly after returning from Spain and France in June. Being jet-lagged and wide awake at 2 am when we return from these long-distance trips, one of the first things I crave is to bake something–anything–and scones always make it to the top of my list.
What’s not to love, though? Scones require a very short prep time and are adaptable for countless flavor variations. Since cherry season was still in full swing when we returned home I couldn’t help but celebrate with these scones. Loaded with fresh cherries and accented with almonds, I had a new way to enjoy my favorite get-settled-at-home treat.
Most baked goods featuring cherries use the dried variety but fresh works well here. Their season is fleeting and it always brings out the hoarder in me so I baked up a storm in June. Don’t be surprised if the next recipe I share is cherry-studded, too. I think you’ll like it as much as this one.
Fresh-Cherry Almond Scones
Don't let a fleeting cherry season limit the ways you can enjoy them. These scones are studded with fresh cherries and just enough almond flavor to make classic teatime fare new again.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup heavy cream plus 1 tablespoon for brushing half and half works too
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled plus more for dusting work surface
- 4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into small cubes can use up to 6 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- turbinado sugar
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425ºF. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal with a few small pieces of butter remaining.
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Stir in the cherries and most of the sliced almonds, reserving a small portion to sprinkle on top of the scones. Then stir in the cream and vanilla extract with a fork until just combined. Do not overwork the dough; it should be crumbly.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and pat the dough into roughly a six inch disk. Cut it into six wedges (they'll be big scones) and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining heavy cream, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and the remaining sliced almonds.
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Bake for roughly 20 minutes or until golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
If you bake in an oven with a convection feature these scones will be done in about 16 minutes at 400ºF.
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
There’s nothing better than cherries with almonds, what dreamy scones! 🙂
Vicky says
Can the flour part with butter go in the food processor
Jean says
Hi, Vicky. Yes, you can use your food processor for this part. 🙂
Emilie says
These scones were delicious! I didn’t have almonds but really wanted to make cherry scones with some delicious fresh cherries we bought this week, so I skipped the almonds and added a bit of lemon zest instead. I was a little nervous about the cut cherries leaking into the dough too much, so I patted them dry with a paper towel beforehand, though I’m not sure it was necessary. I doubled the recipe to make a dozen large scones (two balls of dough cut into 6 scones each). I was short on cream, so I used about 2/3 cream to 1/3 milk, which seemed to work just fine. The texture of the scones was perfect. I’d definitely make Them again. They were scrumptious! Thank you for this recipe!
Jean says
Hi, Emilie. I’m so glad you liked these scones and made them your own. It really is flexible and works well for other flavor combinations. Thanks so much for your feedback–much appreciated! 🙂
Emilie says
Hi! I was wondering if these can be frozen at all? Either the unbaked dough or the baked scones… they are so good right out of the oven! I might make them again Today!
Jean says
Hi, Emilie! I’ve not tried freezing the unbaked scones but I freeze the baked ones all the time and reheat with great results. They come out tasting fresh baked when reheated. 🙂
Terri Lee says
These turned out ok, but a little dry. Trying to figure out why. The only substitute I made was amaretto for the vanilla extract because I thought it would compliment the almonds and used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour along with 1.5 cups white flour. Perhaps it was the wheat flour. Any suggestions?
Jean says
Hi, Terri. Whole grain flour tends to absorb more liquid than all-purpose flour so I’m thinking you’re right that it was the substitution that might have caused your batch to be on the dry side. You can up the milk a little next time if you choose to stick with the 25% whole wheat flour. Or maybe even an extra tablespoon or two of butter to offset the more absorbent flour. Another thought: when I measure flour, before scooping with a measuring cup, I fluff up the flour to loosen it in my container. By weight this might yield less flour than what your measurement might have been. Just a thought. Hope this helps–thanks for giving the recipe a try. 🙂
Rosamaria says
These are delicious, making them for the third weekend in a row. The first batch I delivered warm to friends, they raved about them. Moist, delicious, perfect. So, now I’m making a batch every weekend and delivering as a weekend treat to various friends. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Jean says
Rosamaria, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback. I’m so glad you and your friends have been enjoying these scones. Thanks for giving the recipe a chance!! 🙂
Billie says
I made these with fresh picked pie cherries. I substitute vanilla flavored Greek yogurt For the cream with excellent results. Better and healthier than made with cream.
Jean says
Hi, Billie. Thanks for the tip on using Greek yogurt! So glad you liked this recipe and I appreciate you trying it. 🙂
Briann says
Excellent! I added a full cup of cherries cut into smaller pieces than halves and it worked great. I also subbed sugar topping for icing of heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and almond extract. This was a great recipe to follow and expand upon. Thank you!
Jean says
Hi, Briann. Thanks so much for trying this recipe and I love that you’ve made it your own with your delicious additions. Thank you!!
Marilyn says
Can you use frozen cherries?
Jean says
Hi Marilyn. I’ve used frozen blueberries in scones so cherries might work, too. If you’ve given them a try, would love to know.