Like the Tomato Soup with Brown Butter Croutons, this recipe come’s from Seattle’s Dahlia Bakery, one of my favorite places to eat downtown. They’ve been closed during the pandemic and it has been more motivation for me to try their recipes at home! I made these scones for brunch last weekend, with soft scrambled eggs, chicken sausages, and green smoothies on the side, and my kids oohed and aahed over them! They’re not overly sweet but plenty buttery. And quite addictive with a crackly sugar top, bits of tart dried cherry, and crunchy almond flakes. I added lemon zest as directed but think they’d be just as, maybe more, delicious with orange zest!

Dahlia Bakery’s Cherry Almond Scones

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar + extra for sprinkling
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated lemon zest (or orange zest)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
10 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted and cooled (mine weren’t blanched and it was fine)
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
1/4 cup heavy cream, for brushing (I used whole milk in a pinch)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. In a small pan, toast almonds over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let cool completely.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and baking soda. Cut the butter into the dry mixture, using a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Mix in the cherries and almonds.
4. Add buttermilk and extracts. Using rubber spatula, mix until dough just comes together.
5. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly and quickly with hands until buttermilk is evenly incorporated into dry ingredients, being careful not to overwork the dough. Pat dough with your hands into a 9-inch round about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges with a floured knife or metal bench knife.
6. Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush them with the heavy cream and sprinkle them generously with sugar.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, rotate the baking pan, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and finish baking until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool briefly on a wire rack. Serve the scones while they are still warm.

Makes 8 scones.

(Adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle and Luci’s Morsels)