When I was a child, I was unjustifiably jealous of my best friend. When she had a real tamagotchi, I had a “pet”agochi fake. When she had a black lab to play with, I had my older sister. But what made me most jealous was the fruit tree growing in her backyard; she had a cherry tree, and I had a half-rotten apple tree. Her tree stretched up into the sky, lending fruit daily. Mine, bent over towards the ground, had misshapen arms and insect-ridden apples. Summer and cherries go hand in hand - wouldn’t you agree? And though they don’t grow from a tree in my backyard, they grow close enough for me to dig in and stain my lips red this season!
Hallelujah summer! You know summer has arrived when cherries have made their grand entrance, fresh off the truck from Niagara region. This cherry-tree-friend of mine has been dying to make scones for years, so I figured the time was ripe! I really wanted to use fresh cherries (not dried) in these scones, and I stumbled upon an incredibly simple recipe from Foodland Ontario which we personalized. We made a few adjustments to settle my sweet tooth, including adding almond slivers and chocolate chunks. Try these today - they’re easier thank you think, and you won’t be disappointed!
Cherry-Almond-Chocolate Scones
2 cups cherries
2 cups flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp cold butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
¾ cup milk
1.5 tsp. vanilla
¼ sliced almonds
¼ cup chocolate chunks
¼ cup large sugar crystals
1. Preheat oven to 450 degree farenheit
2. Pit and chop cherries, then leave to drain on paper towel
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
4. Use your hands to mix butter into dry ingredients
5. Add in cherries
6. Pour in oil, milk, and vanilla, then use hands to mix all ingredients
7. Place dough on well-floured surface, and knead the dough 4-5 times
8. Divide in half. In one half, we placed almond slivers. In the other, we kneaded in chocolate chunks.
9. Flatten each half into a disk, then slice the disk into 6 wedges each.
10. Place each wedge on an oiled baking sheet, and top with large sugar crystals.
11. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes, until scones are golden and fully cooked.
12. Enjoy warm, with butter and jam. Yum yum yum!
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