Almond Cherry Scones
Almond cherry scones have big plump dried cherries right in the scone itself and a pretty almond glaze drizzled over the top. The dough is so easy, the scones will be ready to go in the oven before it is finished preheating!
Just in time for a sweet holiday breakfast for your family, these heart-shaped almond cherry scones bake up so quickly.
Drizzle that easy almond glaze over the top and serve them fresh as a breakfast pastry, tea time snack, or even as a simple holiday dessert.
Why This is the Best Recipe
I've been baking scones with my kids since they were big enough to stand on a kitchen chair to reach the counter. It's such a popular treat to bake together, that I included a basic scone recipe for kids in my cookbook: The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook.
But when you're ready to try the next step, this is the best almond cherry scone recipe because:
- Perfect Texture: If you've never tried homemade scones before, you're going to love this recipe. They are crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.
- Big Plump Cherries: Even though this recipe uses dried cherries, they plump up as they bake and you get big flavorful bites of cherry in each scone.
- Sweet Almond Glaze Drizzle: The almond flavor is all in the glaze on top. If you really love almond flavor, you could add some to the dough if you want.
- Festive Shapes: I baked these as an early Valentine's Day treat for my kids so I took an extra minute or two to cut them with a heart-shaped cookie cutter.
Ingredients
These easy almond cherry scones only need a few ingredients to make them:
- Dried Cherries: Fresh cherries are too juicy for this recipe. Dried cherries keep the scone dough consistency perfect and actually plump up while baking.
- Almond Extract: For the almond flavor, I used almond extract in the drizzle over the top. You could add it to the scone dough, too if you really love almond.
- Flour
- Sugar
- Heavy Cream
- Butter
- Baking Powder
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk: This will only be in the glaze. I used 2% milk, you can use whatever you have on hand.
Make the Scone Dough
Homemade scones are so easy to prep.
Start by whisking together all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and just whisk them together.
Add the dried cherries and toss them in the flour. This helps prevent them from sticking all together in the dough.
Pour the heavy cream into the mixing bowl and stir the scone dough together.
This would be the time to add more almond extract if you want the actual scones to taste more almond-y. I'd add 1/2 teaspoon with the heavy cream if you want.
The scone dough will start to come together and become very thick. Stop stirring when no more dry pockets of flour remain.
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Shape the Scones
You have 3 choices for shaping scones:
- Spoon and Drop: You can use a spoon to just scoop the dough and drop them in rounds on the baking sheet. They'll look just like my blueberry scones here.
- Bake in a Scone Pan: You can buy a specialty scone pan that helps shape your scones into triangles. They'll look just like my peach scones here.
- Cut with a Cookie Cutter: You can pat the dough into a disc and use a cutter to shape the dough. That's what I chose to do to make the heart-shaped scones you see in the pictures.
Sprinkle a little flour on a baking mat and transfer the almond cherry scone dough to this surface.
Use your hands to pat it into a large disc about 1/2-inch thick.
Place parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a large baking sheet.
Then use your cutter to cut the scones and transfer them to the prepared pan.
I used a 3-inch heart shaped cutter and got 9 scones from the batch.
Run your fingers lightly over the cut edges to help shape the dough and give the scones a smooth finish.
Then brush the melted butter over the tops so they get nice and golden brown.
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375ยฐF.
Bake the almond cherry scones for 15 - 20 minutes or until they turn a light golden brown.
Make the Almond Glaze
The simple almond glaze drizzle over the top is the perfect finishing touch for these sweet scones.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk.
The glaze should be thick but still run off the whisk when you pull it up from the bowl.
If the glaze is too thick to work with, add a little more milk just 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the proper consistency is reached.
Then drizzle the glaze over the tops of the scones:
Make Ahead Tips
Fresh baked scones are the most delicious on the day you bake them.
If you want to save time, you could prep the scone dough and store it in the fridge overnight. Keep it in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out.
You could also form the scones and place them on a prepared baking tray. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
Then just bake the scones fresh in the morning.
Serving Suggestions
The light and flaky scones with sweet almond and cherries make an extra special breakfast for your family.
If you cut them into heart shapes, they'd be adorable for a Valentine's Day treat for the kids and they'd be right at home on a Christmas breakfast table.
Serve them with coffee, milk, and a side of fresh fruit for a quick and easy breakfast even on a busy school morning.
More Scone Recipes
My blueberry scones and peach scones are similar variations to these almond cherry scones but if you love them you will also love my hot cross biscuits and these easy buttermilk drop biscuits.
More Almond and Cherry Recipes
Almond and cherry together are one of my favorite flavor pairings. If you love almond cherry recipes too, you won't want to miss my cherry pancake with almonds or my cherry almond streusel coffee cake.
My classic almond cake has a thick almond icing and would taste amazing with fresh cherries on top. My cherry cake made with cherry pie filling tastes amazing with that same almond icing on top.
The almond crunch cake would be amazing if you served a slice with a drizzle of cherry sauce on the plate for garnish.
๐ Recipe
Almond Cherry Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones:
- 1 1/2 cups flour + more for the baking mat
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 (5 oz) bag of dried cherries or approximately 1/2 cup
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
For the Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons milk plus more as needed for consistency
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375หF. ย Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; stir to combine.ย Toss in the dried cherries and stir to coat in flour.
- Add the heavy cream to the flour mixture, stirring just until a dough forms and the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to a baking mat lined with flour. Pat the dough into a flat disk about 1/2-inch thick. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the scones. Roll the scraps together, roll flat, and cut again as needed to use up all the dough. You should get about 8 3-inch heart-shaped scones.
- Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with melted butter. ย
- Bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Let the scones cool before icing.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk with a fork. The mixture should be smooth and glossy and slightly thick but runny enough to drizzle. Add additional milk just 1/2 teaspoon at a time for proper consistency.
- Drizzle the almond icing over the cooled scones. Let set and serve.
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