Cherry Almond Coconut Scones

Yesterday, I was at the grocery and spotted bags of fresh cherries at a great price. Immediately, I pictured scones (big surprise) with fresh cherries. I'd never made scones with cherries, but cherries are one of my very favorite fruits, and I was eager to give it a try. Plus, I've been wanting to try the cherry pitter that my mom bought last week (which I'm IN LOVE WITH; that thing is magical!). So I took to Pinterest and found a recipe for Cherry Almond Scones from Tutti Dolci.

I made some changes to the recipe I used. First, I thought that some toasted coconut would pair nicely with the cherry and almond flavors, so I added some to the dough. I also doubled the amount of almond extract, because I just love that stuff. Then, I whipped up an almond glaze (the same one I used for the Raspberry Almond Scones I made last week) to drizzle on top.

These are seriously some of the best scones that I have ever eaten. Cherries and scones are a match made in heaven! Plus, the coconut and almond flavors are subtle but they work really well with the tartness of the cherries. MAKE THESE SCONES. You won't regret it. Well, you might regret it if you devour all 12 scones within 5 minutes of them coming out of the oven. Which is a very real danger. 

CHERRY ALMOND COCONUT SCONES
2 cups plus 1 Tbsp flour, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
1 cup cherries, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup toasted coconut
 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
for the glaze-
1 cup powdered sugar
4 T heavy cream
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Dice butter into 1/2-inch pieces; sprinkle over flour mixture and use a pastry cutter to cut in evenly until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Place cherries between layers of paper towels and press gently to remove moisture. Combine with 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl; toss with a fork to coat. Add cherry mixture to flour mixture, folding in gently.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and almond extract in a small bowl; add to flour mixture and fold in just until moist. Add in coconut.

Scrape dough out onto prepared baking sheet; lightly flour hands and pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Score into 12 wedges. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. 

After scones have cooled down a little, drizzle on your glaze and eat those babies up. Or share with your family, if you can resist the urge to inhale the whole batch. No judgment here. In any case, enjoy!

Fresh cherries are so pretty!

I have a crush on the new cherry pitter. I'm convinced that it works using witchcraft.

Raspberry Almond Scones

Scones might just be my favorite food. I like them so much that I named my blog after them. They are simultaneously flaky, buttery, crumbly, and delicious. Plus, there are SO many variations. Let's have a moment of silence to reflect on how magnificent scones truly are...

Sorry, but I'm not even ashamed. I love them that much. At my house, there's a running "Scone of the Week" in which I (you guessed it) make a different kind of scone each week. This week, I made Raspberry Almond Scones that I found on Two Peas & Their Pod.  

They were some of the best I've ever made. I doubled the amount of almond extract in the scones and the glaze, and the almond flavor was killer with the fresh raspberries. Plus, they were SO pretty (trust me, my pictures don't do them justice)! Try these scones; you won't regret it. 

RASPBERRY ALMOND SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

3 T sugar

1/2 t salt

6 T butter, cold and cut into chunks

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 t almond extract

1/3 c sliced almonds

1 c raspberries

for the glaze-

1 cup powdered sugar

4 T heavy cream

1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add in chunks of butter and cut into flour mixture with fork or pastry blender. 

Once mixture resembles course crumbs, pour in heavy cream and almond extract. Stir just until batter starts to come together; don't overstir. Stir in almonds and rasberries until incorporated into the dough.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a circle about 3/4 inches thick. Use a flour-dipped knife to cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to a cookie sheet (but make sure to flour your hands first; the dough will be sticky). Brush the top of the scones with a bit of heavy cream. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until scones are golden and beautiful!

While your scones are baking, whisk all the glaze ingredients together. When it's time to glaze the scones, pour glaze into ziploc bag, cut a tiny hole in the corner, and pipe onto scones. You can also use a fork to swirl glaze on, or just dip those bad boys straight in the glaze; I was making them for company so I was feeling a little fancy. Then marvel at the beauty of your creation and eat up!