Walnut Cherry Scones

Amazing Walnut Cherry Scones, slathered in lemon curd. A weekend breakfast treat that can’t be beat.

My husband Lt. Dan is social, to put it mildly. Always on the phone, making plans, inviting people over. Rewind… Inviting people over on short notice.

After the initial annoyance died off, I’ve decided this is actually a good thing for me.

Prone to being a bit of a hermit, if I hadn’t married someone so people oriented, I might very well have ended up in a mountain cabin somewhere huddled away in a flannel nightgown. Dan brings out my friendly side.

Being a planner, I’ve set up some ground rules for his habitual inviting, in order to keep myself sane.

Ground Rule #1 – The dog hair must be swept up before guests enter my house. Big hairy dog, hardwood floors. Enough said.

Ground Rule #2 – There must be pre-existing food in the fridge or pantry. The thought of loading the kids in the car and making a mad dash to the grocery store gives me hives.

Clearly, these two stipulations are reasonable, aren’t they?

We have friends over for dinner often, and almost as often I find myself serving brunch. I decided some time ago it would be wise to stay prepared for this.

Nowadays, I always have bacon in the freezer as well as frozen southern-style hash browns, for quickie casseroles, scrambles, and hash. Eggs, butter, cheese, and all dried baking ingredients are must haves to be prepared for the impromptu breakfast or brunch.

As long as the kitchen is continually stocked with these items, Dan can invite ’til his heart’s content, and we both enjoy our guests.

“Quick bread” items like biscuits, muffins, and scones are a nice touch for a brunch. They look like they take more time and effort than they really do. When guests think you’ve “fussed” over them, they tend to feel extra special.

There are two distinct varieties of scones.

The first being the original English scone. Biscuit-like, slightly sweet, light and flaky. These scones are meant to be eaten leisurely slathered with jam, clotted cheese, or curd.

American scones however, are meant to be eaten dry… As one races out of the coffeehouse door, loaded down with laptop, cellphone, and a grande triple-shot soy latte. American scones are much heavier and sweeter than their predecessors, with a cake-like texture and added ingredients for flavor. When I make scones, I like to combine the best of both. Biscuit-like and slightly sweet, but with the added flavor of the American variety.

Another pantry item you might want to consider keeping around for the spontaneous brunch is lemon curd. It’s not terribly hard to make, but not something I want to mess with on short notice.

Personally, I could eat a jar of lemon curd with a spoon. But here I’ve served it with warm, flaky warm Walnut Cherry Scones. Incredible!

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Walnut Cherry Scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Warm Walnut Cherry Scones with Lemon Curd. A tender scone recipe with tangy cherries speckled throughout.

Servings: 8 large or 16 mini scones

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed
• 3/4 cup cold whole milk or cream
• 1/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 jar lemon curd for serving

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all dry ingredients. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds to stir. Chop the cold butter into cubes, and add it to the dry mixture.
• Mix on low until the butter is cut into pea-sized pieces. (You could also do this with a hand-pastry cutter or a food processor.) Add the milk, and mix until just combined. Stir in the cherries and walnuts. Quickly dump the dough onto a floured work surface.
• Roll or hand press the dough into a 1 1/4-inch thick square. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into quarters, then cut each quarter in half, making 8 large triangles. You could cut each triangle in half again to make mini scones.
• Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush them with milk and bake immediately for 10 minutes. (You could put the cookie sheet in the fridge if you want to bake them later.) Serve warm or room temperature, slathered with lemon curd!

Notes

NOTES: The two most important things to remember about making scones are: Don't overwork the dough. It makes the scones tough. Second, work fast so the dough is cold when it goes in the oven. If you get a phone call while you're making these and can't multi-task, put the mixing bowl in the fridge until you're done!

Using milk makes an English biscuit-like fluffy scone. Heavy cream creates a denser cake-like American scone. I used milk, but it’s a preference thing!

Nutrition

Calories: 285kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 232mg, Potassium: 237mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 480IU, Calcium: 107mg, Iron: 1.8mg

Course: Biscuits

Cuisine: American, English

Author: Sommer Collier

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