Scones are some of my favorite things and these Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones are some of my favorite scones. I think they are positively addicting and I bet you will, too.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
Back home in Minnesota I knew exactly where to find the best scones (two friends had opened a shop behind a gas station located literally in the country between Oakdale and Stillwater) but I have been at a loss since I’ve been in Georgia. Today that ends.
About Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones:
First, though, I do have a couple of confessions to make. It’s been a while since I’ve made these scones, and why I didn’t immediately publish the recipe, I haven’t a clue.
The other is that the recipe isn’t my own creation. It’s a variation of one from King Arthur’s Baking Company (I believe) that I’ve been using for ages. The “I believe?” See I always like to credit the original source and/or inspiration of recipes I make, but I couldn’t seem to locate these on their site. If you know differently feel free to comment!
Regardless, I love these scones not only for their fabulous Dark Chocolate/Cherry flavor combo, but also for their texture. They are a little softer than some scones, maybe just a bit more “cake like” if that makes sense. And while I’ve never met a scone I didn’t like, I have to admit I have run across some that have been a little on the dry side, a little crumbly, even. These scones are not those scones!
If you are interested in scones and how the American scones differ from British scones, and how they are served, this article from Tea with Marie has a fun explanation.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
Other Favorite Scones:
I also have two other scone recipes on this site, both as different as they can be from this one. If you’d like to, check out my Mardi Gras King Cake Scones and my Dried Blueberry Lemon Scones.
Both of these scone recipes can be varied; the Mardi Gras recipe would be fabulous with other colors of sanding sugar if made for another occasion or with just a whisp of a glaze and no sanding sugar at all.
The Blueberry Lemon Scone recipe gives a lot of suggestions on how to tweak them with different dried fruits, citrus, and flavor combinations. Rather than repeat all that here, check out that post; who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to tweak these scones – if you do, leave a comment. I would love to hear how you’ve changed things up.
Making Scones:
Scones are easy and pretty fast to make. There are a few things to keep in mind. One is to keep the butter cold. That means working quickly (don’t overthink or overdo) with a minimum of hands-on work.
Use a light hand; overworking your scones warms the butter and can make the scones heavy and tough. Mix until the scones just begin to come together and then dump the mixture out of the bowl. Pinch and prod any dry areas, working them into the areas with more moisture.
For the highest rise and the most tender scones, place them after they are formed, in the freezer for 30 minutes. That does two things.
- It helps relax the gluten which allows a higher rise.
- The cold butter forms pockets before it melts which makes the scones airier.
If you are interested in the lightest scones, make them with pastry flour.
Don’t overbake the scones. It’s ok if they feel just a teensy bit squishy; they will firm up as they cool. Do not attempt to cook long enough to “brown” the scones – mine were actually baked a wee bit longer than they should have been! They should be pale in color; once they have started to brown, they will tend be dry.
Saving Money on Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones:
First of all, making your own baked goods will almost always save money in the long run, and scones are a perfect example. One of the nice things about scones is that the ingredients are inexpensive, especially if you shop well, and the only hardware you need is a bowl and a baking sheet.
General Baking Items:
It seems as if my standard advice for saving on any baking items is to stock up during your grocery holiday sales. Cream and butter are some of the priciest baking items, often up to half off before a big holiday.
Aldi or Lidl, if you have one nearby, has great pricing on baking items year-round, as does your buyer’s club. A few things to keep in mind:
- At your buyer’s club, you may need to buy in larger quantities.
- Your buyer’s club can’t touch Aldi’s price on cream.
- Discount stores, especially Lidl sometimes have holiday sales on butter and other baking goods.
- Grocery store holiday sales pricing on butter is usually better than either your buyer’s clubs or the discount stores.
- Stock up on butter and freeze when it’s at a great price. If necessary and if the price is great but limited to a quantity, you can always go to the store more than once.
Good Chocolate:
- The sky’s the limit when it comes to buying good chocolate, and whether or not you decide to use a premium one is up to you.
- I like to use the dark chocolate candy bars from Aldi. Barring that, Ghirardelli chips are a good budget option and can be roughly chopped; they’re a little larger than most chips.
Dried Fruit:
- I do like Costco for the dried fruit; they’re dirt cheap and packed in heavy, resealable bags; the issue is that buyer’s clubs do not always have the items in stock. If that’s not an option, your discount store will have great pricing and these days usually have a wide variety.
- If buying at your grocery store, the best sales on dried fruit are around Thanksgiving and Christmas or before Easter.
- Dried cherries can be pricey; a lower budget option would be dried cranberries.
General Savings:
- If you’d like to see what may be on sale at your grocery before any of the major food holidays, check out this link Win at the Grocers. It will take you to a post that gives a little general information on leveraging holiday food sales, but most importantly, towards the bottom of the page, has clickable links for the major “food” holidays.
- Each holiday has its own breakdown of what are the best items to watch out for during the holiday sales, what to stock up on, and what to leave behind.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
- Prep Time: 20 minutes plus 30 minute chill
- Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes
- Total Time: about an hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 12 scones 1x
- Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup cold butter in pieces about the size of a tablespoon
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped dried cherries
- 1/2 cup Nestle’s chocolate chunks
- 3 to 4 ounces good dark chocolate, roughly chunked
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice
- 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half (see note)
- A little milk or half and half to brush the tops of the scones
- sparkling or sanding sugar, or a little cinnamon sugar, optional
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. Stir in the dried cherries and chocolate.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and half and half. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until mixture starts to hold together. Dump out and carefully pinch and pull the dough until all is incorporated.
Sprinkle a bit of flour atop a baking sheet. Divide dough in half and place each half on the baking sheet. Form each into a five to six-inch circle about 3/4’s of an inch high. If using a scone pan, see note, below.
Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired. Using a knife or bench knife that you’ve run under cold water, slice each circle into 6 wedges.
Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit; there should be about 1/2″ space between them, at their outer edges.
For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Chilling the scones relaxes the gluten in the flour, which makes the scones more tender and allows them to rise higher. It also chills the fat, which will make the scones a bit flakier. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. When you pull one away from the others, it should look baked all the way through; the edge shouldn’t look wet or unbaked.
Remove the scones from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan. Serve warm. They’re delicious as is, but add butter and/or jam, if you like. When the scones are completely cool, wrap them in plastic and store at room temperature for up to several days. To reheat room-temperature scones, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.
Notes:
Since the scones I baked were baked in January, when the humidity is low and flour is dry, these scones used the full amount of liquid.
If using a scone pan, the full amount of dough will fit into the pan. I found 1/2 cup scoop worked well to distribute the dough in the eight slots. There’s no need to freeze the dough. For these particular scones, I did not brush with butter or sprinkle with sugar.
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