In her comment under my recipe for baked beans, my sister said that she especially loves my dried cherry scones. I have to agree that it is a delicious recipe. It is a bit sweet and can even be used almost like a cookie. Lots of good cherry flavor in it too!
1 cup butter, cut into bits
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 6-oz. pkg. dried cherries
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter bits into the flour mixture until it is like coarse crumbs. Stir in the dried cherries. Mix the almond extract together with the buttermilk and then pour into flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly together, until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Gather the dough into a ball and lightly knead 3-4 times. Pat into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. Either cut into 8 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet or you can also cut the wedges into smaller pieces and place on the baking sheet. If you like, you can brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar or just bake as is. Bake about 10-15 minutes, or until the tops are crusty and lightly browned. Cool slightly before removing from the baking sheet. Enjoy!
