Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones

These amazing Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones will stop you in your tracks with the first melt-in-your-mouth delicious bite! The vanilla almond-kissed glaze really seals the deal and you can put them together in less than 10 minutes (hands-on time)!

I've decided that I'm either getting old or soft. Why? Well, when my kids were growing up they'd sometimes (longingly) ask if we could buy Cocoa Puffs (is that still a thing?)  chocolate cereal. I always told them, "We don't do chocolate for breakfast!". Now I'm thinking that maybe I was wrong. Or maybe these FABULOUS Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones just made me turn over a new leaf!

Actually, I don't really care if you call me old or soft... these scones make breakfast, (or brunch, afternoon tea... any time of day) extraordinarily special and my new mantra is this, "Starting the day with a little chocolate makes everything a little better." (please don't tell my kids)!

In defense of these delicious scones, there's only a half cup of mini chocolate chips in the recipe so you're really not indulging terribly, just a little taste of chocolate in each bite.

The vanilla almond-kissed glaze is kind of the crème de la crème for these sweet treats. I call it almond-kissed because there's just a hint of almond extract in the glaze. I love almond extract (and think cherries and almonds are a match made in heaven) but it is a strong flavor and it can easily be overdone.

Great scones aren't so easy

If you've ever made scones (really good scones) in the past, you know that they can be a little tricky as you don't just throw everything in a bowl and stir it up. But not these guys! With a simple brilliantly genius trick, you can have these Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones ready for the oven in less than 10 minutes (hands-on time).

How does it work?

I was hoping you'd ask! I love this amazing little trick for making biscuits and scones that I learned a number of years ago from the super-smart folks over at Cook's Illustrated. They figured out that flaky traditional biscuits, which required a somewhat laborsome technique of  "cutting butter into flour" creating small pockets of butter could be achieved in a much easier way.

They somehow figured out that if you chilled buttermilk in the freezer for a short stint then added melted butter to the cold buttermilk, it would create little "globules" of butter (see the pic below) suspended in the liquid. When added to the dry ingredients (flour, leavening agents, sugar and salt), the same little pockets of butter would appear.

I tried it with biscuits and the results were phenomenal, so I applied the same technique to scones and the rest is history! We have a myriad of biscuit and scone recipes (including these Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones) that use this easy technique. Because it truly is so much easier than the classic technique we dubbed the new technique Ridiculously Easy.

Ridiculously Easy

If you're a newcomer to The Café you may not be aware that we have a whole category of recipes called Ridiculously Easy. Here is just a smattering of the many comments from our readers regarding these recipes:

• I think this recipe looks outstanding. We have tried some other Ridiculously Easy recipes and they are SO good and SO easy!!
• Thank you so much for ALL your ridiculously easy recipes!
• By the way, I love all your jam recipes as well as the ridiculously easy recipes. You make me look like a fabulous cook!!
• Please keep your Ridiculously Easy recipes coming. They make us look like great cooks…
• This, like all of your ridiculously easy recipes that I have tried, was great. The directions were clear and the end result was all I could have hoped for. Thanks for another great recipe!
• I am a true believer in your ridiculously easy recipes. I have made your Maple-Pecan Scones and Brioche dinner rolls. Absolutely delicious and so “ridiculously easy“ to make.
• What a great idea! I love your ridiculously easy recipes. Even people who love to cook appreciate fabulous results with minimal effort.

You can read more about our Ridiculously Easy recipes in this post but my "nutshell" definition is they're the recipes that will make you look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your part. Want to join the club? You might want to start with these Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones and work your way down the list!

Although you might be tempted, these melt-in-your-mouth delicious scones are too good to keep for yourself and make a wonderful gift.

We've created a pretty little label that you're welcome to request. Simply leave us a comment in the comment section at the very bottom of this post and we will email you a free printable PDF along with instructions on how to use it. (Don't worry, it's super simple!)

I love to use these pretty pink bakery boxes to gift my scones, but you could also simply use a disposable plate covered with plastic or cellophane wrap. Add the colorful label and you've got a gorgeous homemade gift!

So learn a little lesson from me and embrace chocolate for breakfast, brunch, lunch... anytime.! Especially if it comes in the form of these delicious Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones. Life's too short to get too set in your ways! Bon Appétit!

Café Tips for Making these Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones

• If your cream mixture doesn’t form the “clumps” or “globules”, your cream probably wasn’t cold enough. You can stick the whole mixture in the freezer for another 5-8 minutes, then stir with a fork and you should see the clumps.
• Dried cherries are quite large so I like to chop them roughly with a knife before adding them to the dry ingredients. You get a nice taste of cherry with each bite but they're not overwhelming.
• Dried cherries can be kind of hard especially if they're not perfectly fresh. This recipe compensates for that by soaking the cherries in boiling water for a short time before chopping and adding to the recipe. Just be sure to drain them well and follow the directions for drying them off (with a paper towel). You don't want a lot of extra water or the scones will spread too much in the oven.
• Don't skip the cornstarch. I've discovered that a spoonful of cornstarch helps keep the scones from spreading in the oven.
• Don’t overmix scone dough but make sure all of the flour at the bottom of the bowl is incorporated before scooping up the scones.
• You can make these scones up to 12 hours ahead of time. Just scoop them up onto your sheet pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap and pop the whole tray into the refrigerator. When ready to bake, transfer to the oven and bake as directed. They will take a minute or two longer to bake.
• You can also make these Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones and freeze them, unbaked. Pull as many as you want out of the freezer and bake as directed, adding about 3-5 minutes extra to the total baking time. You want to look for a pretty golden brown color..
• Scones are really best on the day that they’re made. However, if you have some leftover, just pop them (one at a time) in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. They will be almost like fresh out of the oven.
• I use a 2-ounce (4-tablespoon) cookie scoop for these scones and get a yield of 12-14 round scones. A retractable cookie scoop (aka ice cream scooper) like this is super useful for making uniform-shaped, cookies, biscuits, scones, etc.
• I like to spray the scoop with cooking spray to prevent the dough from sticking to the scoop.
• This recipe calls for lining a sheet pan with parchment paper. This is optional but is nice for easy cleanup. I love these pre-cut parchment paper sheets. They come in a flat box for easy storage, are perfect for cookies, scones, biscuits, cake, etc. and a box will last forever.
• One last little trick. This scone recipe (and many other recipes) calls for melting butter in the microwave. If you’ve ever melted butter in the microwave, you know that it can spatter and make a mess. It helps to cover the bowl with a paper towel but often, when you open the microwave, you’ll discover that the fan or the motion (if you have a turntable) has blown the paper towel off and there’s still a mess. If you simply wash your hands and dry them on the paper towel before using it in the microwave, the dampness will keep it in place and your microwave will stay sparkling clean!

Thought for the day:

Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed,
for I am your God;
I will strengthen you,
I will help you,
I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Highs and Lows

If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

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Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones

These amazing Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones will stop you in your tracks with the first melt-in-your-mouth delicious bite! And you can put them together in less than 10 minutes (hands-on time)!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 45 mins

Servings: 14

Calories: 290 kcal

Ingredients

For the scones:

• ½ cup dried cherries
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips

For the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoon milk or half and half maybe more
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the scones:

1. Place the cherries in a small bowl and cover with boil water. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (you'll need 2 sheet pans for smaller scones). Set an oven rack on the middle level of the oven.
3. Measure 1 cup heavy cream and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel and heat on high for 1 minute. If not completely melted, return to the microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.
4. Whisk flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-size bowl. Stir to combine and then add the chocolate chips and stir again. Set aside.

5. Drain the cherries well then turn out onto several thicknesses of paper toweling. Wrap the cherries in the paper towels tightly to remove any excess moisture. Transfer the cherries to a cutting board and roughly chop them with a sharp knife.

6. Transfer the cherries to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir well.

7. After heavy cream has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules (see the picture above in the post).
8. Add the cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until all flour is incorporated. The batter will be very thick, like cookie dough. Don’t over mix it, but you do make sure all the little flour bits are incorporated.
9. Spray a cookie scooper (see Café Tips above) or large spoon with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop up scones in mounds onto the prepared pan. Space the scones at least 2-inches apart to allow for some spreading.
10. Refrigerate scones for at least 15 minutes (longer is fine).
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.

For the glaze:

1. While the scones are baking, make the vanilla almond glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, milk (or half and half) and extracts in a medium-size bowl. Whisk well until smooth to make a thick, but spoonable glaze. (If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar, if too thick add a little more milk or half and half.) Place a sheet pan or piece of foil under the cooling rack and spoon the glaze over the warm scones as soon as they come out of the oven, You can either come the scones completely or just drizzle the icing over the scones. Any excess icing will drip onto the sheet pan or foil. If you can wait, let the glaze set before serving.
2. Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips.

The recipe makes 12-14 average-size scones. You can make them bigger or smaller to your preference.

Calories 290kcal

Fat 15g

Saturated fat 9g

Trans fat 1g

Cholesterol 43mg

Sodium 194mg

Potassium 127mg

Carbohydrates 37g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 20g

Protein 3g

Vitamin A 633%

Vitamin C 1%

Calcium 69%

Iron 1%