Fresh Cherry Scone Recipe
Stock up on cherries NOW,
these scones are my NEW favorite…
and I served them with Cherry Lime Curd so really they were Double DELICIOUSNESS!
I’m thinking of grabbing a few extra bags of cherries and pitting them and freezing them so I can continue to make these for the rest of the summer.
I known cherry season is short and I’m freaking out a little…it’s not like I know the exact day they won’t have cherries….why don’t they tell me, I want SPECIFICS!
In the meantime, while the CHERRY people get it together and pinpoint the last cherries I will see, I will stock up.
I wash, dry and pit the cherries, cut them in half, then place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze them until firm them place them in a zipper bag.
The cherry pitter is the life saver here, I have a couple but this one from OXO is my favorite.
I’m also freaking out over this Cast Iron Scone Pan, it’s from Old Mountain a super-sweet and thoughtful friend gave it to me, so I made scones to thank her….she said she was in a store on the way home from a trip and was trying to decide which piece of cast iron to get me then she saw the scone pan and knew that was the one she would get, she said it’s because she loves my scones and they are her favorite thing I make. She is one of my official samplers. She lives across the street and gets to try EVERYTHING!
I LOVE her so much for thinking of me, and I am LOVING this scone pan more than I can possibly say!
The scones baked up light and fluffy, it must be the design that helps them rise so much.
- 1 cup fresh cherries, measure after pitting and cutting in half or quarters
- 1 cup flour (plus about 1/4 cup additional flour)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Blend flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut in cold butter with pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add in heavy cream, egg, vanilla extract. Mix until all combined.
- Gently stir in cherries until they are barely incorporated.
- Darker cherries that are overmixed with turn the dough blueish, so just fold them.
- If your cherries are soft and not firm, freeze them for 10 minutes so they mix easier.
- Place dough into a greased cast iron scone pan (the scones don't get as crisp in the cast iron but they taste great) I have pre-heated my cast iron and tried it also and the timing was about 15 minutes, but they still didn't get a crisp edge.
- Alternatively, I like to GENTLY knead out on the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use extra flour if dough is sticky.
- Knead may be to strong of a word for these fruit scones, GENTLY FOLD the dough over twice to combine it on a well-floured surface.
- Bake scones on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Feel free to add in more flour, these fruit scones are on the sticky side, but as I mentioned I really just FOLD the dough over to combine the cherries into the dough.
You can use 1/2 cup cherries if you are rolling them out, or they are over ripe to ensure the dough won't be too wet.
After receiving some reader questions I made these scones 3 times to test the recipe to be sure it was accurate in measurements and they are. I do find fruit scones to be more challenging as they definitely have more moisture in them, simply don’t over mix the dough, flour your hands and the surface well and just fold the dough over two times to cut them into triangles to bake them or place the dough in a cast iron scone pan. This is a small batch recipe, it makes 8 small scones.
Now I’m off to the store to get more cherries!
If you like cherries you will want to try this Homemade Cherry Syrup and Cherry Italian Cream Soda.
If you like this or any other recipe at 
Mary Lee says
I’m knee-deep in cherries and midway through the curd recipe. Thanks so much. Your blog is spectacular.
iNdian recipes says
I got some cherries from a friend as well and they are sitting in my freezer begging me to get creative! This looks yummy!
Diane says
I’m going to freeze some today, so I can make these long after cherry season is over. Happy Baking!
Luci says
Are you using sweet or tart cherries?? I made your syrup and just finished my first Italian Cherry Cream Soda…yum (I made with some of the 30 lbs of sour cherries) Trying to come up with LOTS of cherry recipes. Already have made 3 batches of cherry jam. …oh, and I love scones, so guess what I wil make next???
Diane says
I used sweet cherries, they are from Washington. I’m sure it was great with the sour cherries. I can’t seem to find sour cherries here, I bet I would love them. OH my 30 lbs of sour cherries, I’d pit and freeze a bunch to bake with in the winter 😉 and they’d be great in banana bread (I bet they’d be good in this recipe https://www.createdby-diane.com/2013/04/blueberry-banana-chocolate-chip-cake.html) Did you see my cherry lime curd…that is so yummy https://www.createdby-diane.com/2014/07/how-to-make-cherry-lime-curd.html (that my kids ask to eat by the spoonful) and well it’s hot here today so I’d say a cherry granita would be great: here is a recipe https://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2012/07/cherry-lemon-granita/.
Enjoy all your cherries….I’m jealous!
Kelly says
Oh goodness gracious! These scones look delicious — and I loooove cherries!
Jay says
I followed the recipe exactly and baked them in a cast iron skillet, like the one in the picture. The taste was great, the texture was a little light, but really delicious. I’m going to try them again on a floured surface next time to see if I prefer them with a more firm outside.
Jay says
I baked these, froze them, and the next day heated them up from the frozen state, at 400 degrees F. They were delicious.
Jeremy says
I LOVE cherries and these scones were delicious, thanks for the recipe. I agree do not overmix is the key.
Anonymous says
Love to have cherries in this season, really good one!
Katherine B. says
Great recipe and instructions. I baked them in a toaster oven so I knew I had to reduce both the temperature and bake time from experience. The scones were delicious- crispy on the outside and light and fluffy inside.
Cathleen says
They turned out perfectly!!!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Just made these and love them! I added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract because I think almond really brings out the cherry flavor. I made 6 scones since I didn’t have your fancy pan…LOVE THEM!