Easy to make cherry scones using fresh cherries, lemon and orange zest, with additional flavor notes of vanilla and almond. Enjoy these homemade scones full of cherries for breakfast or a simple sweet treat.
These delicious scones remind me of the end of summer. The days are still long but slowly getting shorter. I'm spending as much time as I can having breakfast outside. Cherries are showing up at the farmer's markets and baking with citrus zest compliments the sweetness. I suggest making a batch, then find a spot to sit in the grass, and just lay around looking at the clouds and snacking on the last warm days of the year.
🌿 Ingredients You Need & Why
- Fresh Cherries
- Opt for ripe, sweet cherries like Bing or Rainier to impart natural sweetness and juiciness to the scones.
- The firmness of these varieties helps maintain their shape during baking, preventing excessive bleeding into the dough.
- If using frozen cherries, ensure they are thawed and patted dry with paper towels to minimize added moisture, which can affect the scone's final texture.
- Fresh Lemon and Orange Zest
- I love the combo of both lemon and orange zest for bright, aromatic citrus notes that complement the sweet cherries.
- Pure Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract
- Vanilla extract adds a warm, sweet undertone that enhances the richness of the scone, while almond extract introduces a subtle nutty flavor that pairs exceptionally well with cherries, reminiscent of classic cherry almond desserts.
- Heavy Cream
- Heavy cream with a high fat content of 33-35% creates a lovely moist and tender crumb.
- Brushing the tops of the scones with heavy cream before baking gives them a golden-brown finish without the need of egg wash.
How To Make Cherry Scones
Before making the dough, let's prep the cherries. Tos the slices cherries with a tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl. The sugar will activate the fruit to start releasing juices. Let them sit for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then strain out the juice.
Scones are an easy mix and bake quick bread, that can be made in a large bowl and shaped by hand. Start by working the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the texture resembles cornmeal. Some of the butter can stay the size of peas.
Add in the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to form a shaggy dough. Hand knead in the chopped cherries then transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into either a rectangle or a thick circle using a rolling pin or by patting with your hands. Cut the dough into squares or even triangles with a bench scraper or sharp knife.
Transfer the scones to a parchment paper lined baking tray. Brush the tops with a thin coating of heavy cream and top with a sprinkle of coarse sugar, like sparkling or turbinado sugar. I use heavy cream instead of an egg wash to prevent over browning of the tops. Finally, bake on the middle oven rack until golden brown.
What Kind of Cherries To Use
Fresh Cherry Scones
Fresh red sweet cherries also known as "bing cherries" and work best for this scone dough. Use ripe cherries, make sure to remove the stem and pit.
Frozen Cherry Scones
Frozen cherries can have extra moisture and may make the dough too soggy. To remove some of the added water from the ice and condensation, let the frozen cherries thaw to room temperature on paper towels before adding them into the mix. The paper towels will help soak up any additional moisture.
Tips for Cherry Scones
- Use ripe sweet cherries for fresh fruit flavor in every bite.
- Let the cherry juices drain and toss them in a little flour before adding to them to the dough.
- Pick up a cherry pitter, to make removing the pits so much easier.
- If you like sour cherries, give them a try or mix them half and half with the sweet cherries.
- Make sure the heavy cream, egg, egg yolk, and butter are cold when adding them to the scone dough.
- Knead the dough lightly with floured hands 1-2 times to shape and pack in the cherries. Don't overwork the dough or it will be tough and the cherries will bleed too much and make everything soggy.
- Dress up your scones by adding in ¼ cup of chopped dark chocolate for chocolate cherry scones.
- Hand shape the dough into a circle and slice for even triangle scones.
- After you brush the tops with heavy cream, add a few sliced almonds for a crunchy nut topping.
- Line your baking tray with two layers of parchment paper to absorb juices and prevent the bottom of the scones from over browning.
storage & leftovers
Store cooled scones in an air tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also wrap them in aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To freeze scones, allow them to completely before placing them in a freezer safe air tight plastic bag with a piece of parchment paper between them to prevent then from sticking to each other. Scones will stay fresh in freezer for up to 3 months.
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Cherry Scones Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Fresh cherries can release a lot of fruit juice. To prevent your scone dough from being too wet, place cherry slices in a bowl, toss with the granulated sugar and let the juices drain for about 10 minutes. Discard the juice.185 grams (1 ¼ cup) fresh sweet cherries1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Toss the cherries with 1 tablespoon of flour to absorb any leftover juice.1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest, and salt.313 grams (2.5 cups) all purpose flour67 grams (⅓ cup) granulated sugar15 grams (1 tablespoon) baking powder2 teaspoons lemon zest2 teaspoons orange zest½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Cut in cold butter cubes with pastry grinder and/or fingers until resembles cornmeal.84 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- Place flour mixture in freezer for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl whisk together egg, egg yolk, cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract.120 grams (½ cup) cold heavy cream1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 large egg1 large egg yolk1 teaspoon almond extract
- Remove flour mixture from freezer, the pour in the egg and cream mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon until just combined. Mix in the cherries and any leftover flour, to form a shaggy dough in a loose lump.
- Place the dough on a well floured surface and gently knead to combine any loose flour. Careful not to overwork the dough.185 grams (1 ¼ cup) fresh sweet cherries
- Using floured hands, pat the dough into an 7 to 8-inch circle about 1-inch thick. Cut the circle in half with a bench scraper or sharp knife and then each half into thirds for a total of six triangles.
- The dough is more moist than traditional scone dough, so I use a pie server or flat spatula to transfer the scones onto the baking sheet, spacing them 1.5-2 inches apart.
- Use the remaining heavy cream to paint a thin coating on top of the scones. Generously sprinkle with coarse or sparkling sugar.3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Chill the cherry scones in the fridge for about 15 minutes while the oven preheats.turbinado or sparkling sugar
- Preheat oven to 400℉ / 200℃ / 180℃ Fan (convection).
- Place pan on the middle oven rack and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden on the edges.
- Let pan cool on baking rack for 10 minutes before removing scones and eating!!
Video
Notes
- How to Store Cherry Scones: Store cooled scones in an air tight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
- Freeze Scones: You can definitely freeze scones after they have been baked and completely cooled. Place them in a freezer safe air tight plastic bag with a piece of parchment paper between them to prevent then from sticking to each other. Scones will stay fresh in freezer for up to 3 months.
- Cherry Type: Fresh red sweet cherries also known as "bing cherries" work best for this scone dough. Choose ripe cherries and make sure to remove the pit.
- Frozen cherries can have extra moisture and may make the dough too soggy. To remove some of the added water from ice and condensation, let the frozen cherries thaw to room temperature on a few paper towels before adding into the mix. the paper towels will help soak up any additional moisture.
Taylor
Hi there ! What steps would I change if using frozen cherries ?
Thank You !
Jenn
You can use frozen cherries too! Just let them thaw to room temp on a few paper towels before adding into the mix:)
Cindy
Yummy recipe! What can I substitute for the heavy whipping cream?
Thank you!
Jenn
Hi Cindy! You can swap the heavy whipping cream for whole milk.
audri
can i use dried cherries?
Jenn
Yes 🙂 But, you may need to add more heavy cream, as the juice from the fresh cherries adds lots of moisture.
Blonda
I use dried cherries. I simply rehydrate them. Let them sit in VERY hot water for a few minutes. Drain well. This may not be proper but it has worked well in this recipe. Cool the cherries and mix into dry ingredients before combining. They are moist and tender every time.
Sandy B.
Super tasty! Love the citrus “pop” from the zest, and the almond extract adds a lovely nutty base. I used frozen bing cherries and only cut them in half (while frozen). Turned out great!
Jenn
Hi Sandy!!
I'm so glad you liked them!!
mbp
well they are in the oven and i too used frozen bing cherries with my nordicware mini scone pan. liked the fact you said "of course substitute whole milk for heavy cream". i used 1/2 whole fat yogurt and 1/2 whole milk....didnt see your comment before substituting.
looking forward to tasting.
Lynn
I made them tonight with soft dried cherries. They look great! Didn’t have almond extract so I used Amaretto. They smell amazing!
Holly
Hi
Made them this June with sour cherries, sweet cherries and lastly black currants. Today will be black currants and slightly under ripe plums knocked off by birds. Yummy
Natasha
It didn’t seem to have enough liquid. I couldn’t even need it as it was too dry. Checked the ingredients twice and I had all the measurements correct. Not sure what went wrong!
Jenn
Hi Natasha, It should be pretty moist with the juice from the fresh cherries and the heavy cream. Were your cherries ripe? You can also always add more cream as needed to get the right texture.
Michelle Faircloth
Yum my family loved them! Will definitely make again
Lise Worthington
Hello I made these cherry scones , I topped them with Crème Fraiche and cherry preserves, need I say more…… absolute deliciousness. My question is can I make this recipe with blueberries or raspberries? Cherries are seasonal where I live but I can get the others year round . If I change the to a different berry does anything else in the recipe need to change?
Best scones ever , thanks for sharing
Janaiyah
I substituted the whipping cream for coconut milk and the batter came out like a thick cake batter. Should I have used less coconut milk as opposed to the half cup?
Rose
Love love this recipe!
Although a bit labor- heavy, always a win! 🥰
LJ
These were delicious and so moist! Thank you for the recipe.
I added 1/2 c. Chocolate mini chips because my friend had done that.
I made the night before, and shaped into round. Then in the morning, I took it out, cut into pieces, and let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Added the cream and coconut sugar to the top, then baked. Worked really well. I may try freezing the round while the cherries are in season!
donna
Can you use jarred cherries?
Jenn
Hi Donna, I haven't tested this recipe with canned cherries yet, but I would make sure to drain them well before using. Also taste a couple to see how sweet or tart they are. You can then adjust the sugar for the filling a little if needed. Please let me know how it goes. Jenn