scone

I have been buying cherries non-stop this Summer. Almost every trip to the grocery store results in at least one bag of cherries. They are a perfect snack, dessert, or filling.

Earlier this summer I added fresh cherries to my red, white, and blue pie for Memorial Day. I added them to a batch of sangria for 4th of July. So it only seemed appropriate that I toss them into the chocolate chip scones I made over Labor Day. What a fitting way to bid farewell to the Summer.

You would think that after all these cherry baking projects that I would invest in a cherry pitter.

I still haven’t learned my lesson.

I love making scones because they sort of like a fancy biscuit, but they are just as easy as making biscuits.

First, cut cold butter into to the flour until it’s basically the consistency of gravel. Then stir in the liquid ingredients until it forms a sticky dough.

Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips so they are peppered throughout the dough. Then turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap up into a disc. Pop in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. I promise it will be so much easier to work with if it’s chilled.

Now, there are several ways you can form a scone. I have made them in wedges (like above) and I have also made them in rounds (like a biscuit). I have also seen them in square form. You can pick whatever shape speaks to you.

In this case, I didn’t feel like breaking out the rolling pin (the old girl needs a break from rolling out cookie dough) or the biscuit cutter so I took the disc of dough and cut it into 8 wedges.

I also sprinkled a little raw sugar on top to give it a little extra crunch.

After a few minutes in the oven, the cherry chocolate chip scones should be nice and golden brown; crunchy on the outside, and super soft and steamy on the inside. The cherries will be nice and soft and the chocolate chips will be slightly melted.

I recommend eating them shortly after they come out of the oven so that you can split one in half and melt a bit of butter on the inside. It’s the way scones are meant to be eaten. I assume.

[yumprint-recipe id=’131′]

Leave it to me to find breakfast inspiration from a drink. Last week we had friends in town which is all the excuse I needed to indulge in a fancy cocktail. We took them out to one of our favorite restaurants that is more of a speak-easy bar than a restaurant, so you can probably imagine how great the drinks are. I can’t even tell you what I ordered except that it had muddled strawberry and a rosemary sprig. I would have never thought to put the two together before, but they were delicious! As I was taking my first sip I immediately thought that this would make a great scone or muffin recipe. Minus the gin, of course.

I didn’t just want this to be any old strawberry scone, so along with a hint of rosemary, I roasted the strawberries for an extra, unexpected flavor. Roasted strawberries are just a little bit sweeter, softer, and since the juice has had a chance to cook out, they mix in perfectly with the scone dough so that it isn’t too soggy

The rest of the scone recipe is pretty basic, almost like a biscuit dough. Cubes of butter are cut into the flour and sugar and then mixed with milk, an egg, and some vanilla. I have ruined a few scone recipes before by over mixing the dough, so now I know that it’s okay if the dough is a little lumpy. In fact, it’s preferred. All those little lumps of butter will melt and make the scones light and flaky!

Right at the end, I mixed in some chopped up fresh rosemary leaves and the roasted strawberries. Typically I roll out the dough and cut it into rounds, like biscuits (0r you could cut them into wedges). In an attempt to be a little rustic (and because I was lazy), I just dropped spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet. And then because they looked a little too rustic once baked, I camouflaged them with a drizzle of strawberry glaze made with the reserved strawberry juice and some powdered sugar.

I will admit, I was a little nervous about the rosemary in a sweet and fruity scone, but it just worked! Normally I pair rosemary with garlic so I think of it as a savory herb, but now I know it doesn’t have to be.

But if that doesn’t convince you, you can just drop the rosemary all together and just make these roasted strawberry scones, instead. They will still be delicious!

Also, if you haven’t signed up for Yummly, I would highly recommend it! It’s a great way to find and collect recipes. If you are on Yummly, I would really appreciate it if you “Yum” my recipe,by clicking that little orange button.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:33]

Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones

Roasted Strawberry and Rosemary Scones