The Most AMAZING Cherry Scone Recipe!
Stuffed with fresh cherries, sliced almonds, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze, these flaky cherry scones are fantastic with your morning coffee! Perfect for breakfast, this super-easy cherry scone recipe uses cream cheese to keep the dough wonderfully moist, tender, and completely delicious!
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I absolutely love baking with fresh fruit! As soon as the fresh cherries hit the stores and farmers market, I’m loading up my basket to bake up some goodies. Much like my Cherry Almond Crumble Tart and Cherry Crisp, these scones are amazing fresh out of the oven!
Loaded with sweet chunks of fresh cherries, lots of sliced almonds, and a delicious almond-cream cheese glaze, these scones are amazing for breakfast!
Are these cherry scones easy to make?
This scone recipe is super-simple to mix up and bake. Scones are wonderful in the fact that you simply mix your dough, shape into a disk, cut into wedges with a knife and bake. I had my 8-year-old help make these, and for the most part, he did the majority of it himself!
The one task that will take the most time is pitting the cherries – however, even this task will only take about 10 minutes. I use OXO Good Grips Cherry and Olive Pitter.
If you don’t have fresh cherries available where you are, or they are out of season, grab a bag of cherries from the freezer case in the grocery store. These will already be pitted. Simply rinse and cut into quarters.
Love cooking and baking with fresh cherries? Check out our other recipes that use fresh cherries:
- Cherry Jello Pretzel Salad
- Cherry Smoothie
- Cherry Bread Recipe
- Very Cherry Cupcakes
- Cherry Overnight Oats with Greek Yogurt
- Cherry Cobbler with Cake Mix
- Healthy Broccoli Salad with Apples and Cherries
- Cherry Crisp with Almond Crumble
- Cherry Tart Recipe
- Cherry Milkshake
What goes into the batter to keep this cherry scone recipe flaky and moist?
In addition to the butter in this recipe, I also added cream cheese. Not only does it keep the scone flaky, it also provides some additional moisture.
I also added cream cheese to the glaze, which makes for an amazing frosting for this breakfast pastry.
Where to add the almonds:
Sliced almonds are baked into the scone and added to the top after baking. The almonds adds a great crunch to every bite, and the topping looks pretty as well.
What type of almonds work best in these cherry almond scones?
I recommend sliced almonds, as they add a great texture and crunch. You can also use slivered almond or chop your own from whole almonds.
FAQ’s when baking cherry scones?
I can’t find fresh cherries. What else can I use?
When fresh cherries are not in season, I would recommend frozen cherries from the frozen food section. You can also use dried cherries (about 1/2 cup). Plump-up dried cherries by placing in a bowl and pouring boiling water over the top. Let sit for 10 minutes, drain and then add to the scone batter. Y
Do I have to use almonds?
No. If you would prefer to not have almond in your cherry scones, feel free to leave them out.
How long do cherry almond scones last?
These cherry scones will be at their best and freshest the first day you make them. If you have extras, I recommend wrapping individually and freezing in an airtight container or freezer bag. For best results, freeze the same day they are made.
Can scones be made in advance?
Scones are best when served fresh and made the same day. If you must make ahead, bake, let cool then wrap individually. Store wrapped scones in a freezer bag and freeze until ready to use. Thaw at room temperature.
If you loved these cherry scones, be sure to check out some of my other breakfast recipes:
- Apple Scones
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
- Cranberry Coffee Cake
- Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Cherry Almond Breakfast Cookies at Real Housemoms
- Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
- Blueberry Overnight Oats
- Cherry Smoothie
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
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Cream Cheese Cherry Almond Scones
Equipment
- Sheet Pan These USA stainless steel sheet pans are great for one-pan meals!
- Parchment Paper Sheets These pre-cut parchment paper sheets are super convenient and the perfect size for lining a loaf pan.
- Pastry Blender Fantastic tool for cutting in butter to dry ingredients for scone, biscuits and pie crusts.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons cold butter
- 4 Tablespoons cold cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/3 cups fresh cherries pitted and halved
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds + 2 Tbsp. for topping
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese room temperature
- 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. To the dry ingredients, add the cold butter and cream cheese. Cut in with a pastry cutter or forks until mixture becomes gravel-like.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the cream, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix together with a fork or whisk, and pour into the flour mixture. Gently mix together until all ingredients are moistened. Add in the cherries and almonds and mix until just combined. Try not to over-work the dough.
- Transfer the dough onto the lined baking sheet. (Flour your hands and surface to help keep dough from sticking.) Shape into a ball, and then press into a disk that is about 1" thick. Cut the disk into 8 slices, and separate slightly for even baking.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Mix together the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, cream cheese, cream and extract. Mix until thick, but smooth. Add a few additional splashes of cream if necessary. Drizzle over the warm scones. Top with the additional almond slices. Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
I can’t resist a good scone! I’d love one of these with my coffee in the morning!
Oh my goodness. These look so good. I’ve not made scones in forever. I may have to make some tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!
Great idea for tea time! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Can you you frozen cherries? It’s winter and I don’t have access to fresh
Yes, you can certainly use frozen cherries. I would recommend cutting the frozen cherries in half, as they tend to be rather large. Cherries can still be slightly frozen when mixed into the scone batter. Enjoy! -Erin
Can you put more things I love in this recipe? I don’t think so! Thanks for partying with us on Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesdays. I always love to see what you share with us.
Oh, my! These look mouth-watering good! Great recipe! Thank you for sharing on Family Joy Blog Link-Up Party. Have a great week!
The scones look delicious. Interesting touch – mixing in the cream cheese with the butter. #ThrowbackThursday
I agree, these have so many things I love in one scone! They look delicious.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight party. Pinned & shared.
Oh my gosh, there goes my diet!!
I love making scones, and this recipe sounds delicious! Found you at #throwbackThursday!
I love scones and these may be the best scones I have ever had. I got so many compliments from these!
Is It possible to substitute fresh blueberries?
I made these this morning and they turned out great. Delicious. I left the pitted cherries whole and I froze them for a bit before adding them to the batter so that they wouldn’t bleed too much into the dough. It worked well and it took about 28 minutes in my oven.
I just made these scones for Sunday brunch. So easy to make and sooo delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Made these this morning during the ice storm….absolute delight!! This recipe is definitely going into the favs!! Thank you!
Made these tonight. This was my first time making and eating scones. Super delicious. Thank you.
Easy to follow recipe and possibly my favorite scone yet! I’m not a cream cheese fan, but there is a minimal amount to make these moist (enough) but still flaky. I’ve had scones that were so dry before and this was perfection with an excellent flavor!
Too many cherries as directed. Made it too wet and I had to add a lot more flour. Otherwise good
This recipe was so easy to follow. It turned out DELICIOUS! I made it for girls weekend, and everyone claimed these to be the best scones they’ve ever eaten! I made them again 2 days later because I couldn’t get enough. Thank you!
These are amazing! If the recipe catches your eye, don’t look any further. It is one of my all time favorites! My family and friends also gave it rave reviews!
Can dried cherries be used in place of fresh cherries?
Yes. Dried cherries can be used in place of fresh cherries. For best results, use 1/2 cup of dried cherries. Place the cherries in a bowl and pour boiling water over the top. Let set for 10 minutes. This will help the cherries plump up and the texture after baking will be softer. Enjoy!
Can you make these ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze?
Scones are best when they are fresh and made the same day. If you need to prep beforehand, wrap the scones individually and freeze in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature. Enjoy!
I made these today with my sister, absolutely delicious! I will be making them again. Maybe add some dark chocolate bits.
Love the idea of adding dark chocolate chunks or chips! Brilliant! Glad you got to enjoy. -Erin
Can I prep them the night before and bake in the morning?
Yes, mixing and cut the dough then keep refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator to let the dough come to room temperature before baking. Enjoy! -Erin
Wonderful. Can I make these with strawberries?
Yes, you could definitely use strawberries. Dice your strawberries into a smaller size, approximately 1/4″ as this will help the moisture in the berries dissipate, thus helping the scones bake more evenly. Enjoy!
I made these with some fresh cherries and I was Totally impressed. First time making cherry scones. I have been making scones for a few years now and these will certainly be on my to make again list. I think the cream cheese made them a little lighter.
Can you use dried cherries instead of fresh?
Yes, definitely. I would recommend approximately 1/2 cup. To plump them up soak in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain water. The re-hydrated/dried cherries will bake better and be less hard and chewy. Good luck! -Erin