Cherry season is short! Better get your fresh cherries now to make these red, white, and blue scones, perfect for breakfast on Independence Day!
Sometime last week, I dragged the husband to Mood’s Farm.
For these…
This is round two, by the way. Round one was for the sweet cherries.
These are sour cherries. So hard to find in regular stores. So hard to find in irregular stores. So hard to find, period. Never seen them fresh in any stores. Maybe canned, but not fresh.
Only way to get them is to pick them yaself. But pickin’ by yaself is no fun. Hence, the dragging of the husband. Besides, I needed someone taller to reach for those tall branches.
And I promised him cider donuts. Mood’s makes them fresh in the morning.
He inhaled three in one minute.
I did the other three.
Maybe they were the real reason to go. I swear I smelled them in my sleep.
We brought home another bag to our sleepy kids. 10 am and they were still barely out of bed!! Oy, lazy Summer!!
Not for mom (that’s moi). I was busy.
Pitting these little suckers.
With a fondue fork. No need for a cherry pitter. Seriously!
Sour cherries are soft and their pits come out easily. Their juice doesn’t stain, either. It’s yellow!
And then of course, the power went out. The second time last week. And my cherries had to wait. But cherries, as you know, don’t really wait, once you wash them. So…
I boiled some in wine and sugar to preserve them.
Good! Very good!
Some I was able to store in a cooler packed in ice.
Today, most went to the freezer.
But some went into the scones. Along with the blueberries we also picked as an afterthought. They were there!
I didn’t exactly plan this but I think I just made a red, white, and blue breakfast. Perfect for the upcoming 4th of July, don’t you think?
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- ⅔ to ¾ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup pitted sour cherries
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup white chocolate morsels
- Heat oven to 400° F.
- Combine flours, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
- Stir in buttermilk, just until moistened.
- Add fruits, stir gently.
- On floured surface, gently knead dough 5-6 times. Do not overwork the dough.
- Flatten dough to ½ inch thickness.
- Cut with floured 2-inch round cutter.
- Place scones on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before applying chocolate glaze.
- For the glaze, melt white chocolate morsels in a microwave for 30 seconds. Stir with a fork. Microwave for another 20 to 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over scones with a fork.
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I shared these scones with my good friends, who give the best party on Saturdays.
Love these pictures!
Thank you, Cynthia! So glad you stopped by! 🙂
What delicious looking cherries! Pretty photos!
Thanks, Rena! We’ll see what foodgawker has to say 🙂 So hard to please them!
Good luck to you, Angie! I know exactly how you feel, but I’ve stopped trying a while ago.
They accepted it, Rena! But really, sometimes I feel they’re too technical. I have a photo published in a magazine that I’m pretty sure would have been rejected. It’s not what I consider technically well executed shot, but I was going for a certain look. To each his/her own, I suppose.
Congrats Angie! 🙂
Thanks, Rena!
Using a fondue fork to pit the cherries is brilliant! I’ll be trying that tomorrow!
These cherries are so soft that I had no trouble getting the pits with the fork, but I would think it’d be difficult with those hard sweet Bing cherries. Give it a try though! 🙂
These scones look so good! I love sour cherries, but cannot find them anywhere.
Thanks, Vera! Maybe you can find frozen or canned? And dried as well. I’ve never seen sour cherries at the grocery stores myself. 🙂
Wow! Your photography is stunning. I am going to have a go at theses beautiful scones in my own kitchen. Thank you for sharing such a mouth watering recipe.
Emma xx
Thank you, Emma! Please do try them. They’re easy to make and considering all the fruits in them, quite healthy 😀
These look so good Angie! I grew up picking wild “merises” I think maybe a choke cherry. Much smaller but throwing a goid sour punch. Bet they would work in this scone. Heading home to Canada next week and will see if they are in season. Love the drizzle to finish the scones with a tasty flourish!
You know, when I was at the farm, I also picked these tiny “cherries” not much bigger than blueberries. Some are in my photos. I’m not sure I’ve seen cherries that small before. Maybe they’re choke cherries?? But they’re sweeter and darker than the sour cherries. I should have asked what they were. I just mixed them with the rest of the cherries and they didn’t say anything. Try these scones, Johanne. They’re very easy to make! It actually took me longer pitting the cherries than making the scones 🙂
These scones are absolutely beautiful!! I completely agree – tart cherries are SO hard to find, and I live in *Michigan*! Last year I was a little overzealous when I finally managed to find a U-pick that had them…and I’ve STILL got some in the freezer. A good problem to have, though!
Now I have the same problem! I probably only used 1/10 of what I picked! But like you said, it’s a good problem to have 🙂 Thanks for the compliment!
Wow Angie!! The colors just pop! Although I am not a big fan of scones, those are one of the prettiest scones I have seen! Happy 4th of July weekend to you!! 🙂
xo
Thanks so much, Ranjana! You are so sweet! Happy 4th to you, too! 🙂
Oh wow Angie, I would say that you have found a great way to take advantage of the short cherry season! Despite the boring job of pitting cherries, I’m sure it would be totally worth is make these scones!
The scones were fantastic! Slightly tart from the fruits and not too sweet from the little amount of sugar and chocolate. Just right! You would like these, Margy. You can even sub oats for half of the flour and make them healthier 🙂
We were just taking about how short cherry season is today at our dinner table. These look beautiful, yet sophisticated for the upcoming Independence day! Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
I know! The farm I go to has sour cherry listed only for 1 week, the previous week for the sweet. That amounts to 2 weekends for all cherries! Too short! Fortunately I was able to freeze some for later. Have a happy 4th, Kaila! XOXO
It must have been fun picking these little cherries and be able to get them fresh. These look amazing and adorable, Angie. Happy 4th of July to you. 🙂 xx
It was! Although it was mostly hubby who did, haha… I was distracted by many things. Weeds, wild asparagus, etc. Thanks, Jhuls! Have a wonderful weekend! XOXO
Hey Angie, the scones look gorgeous, perfect for Independence Day and perfect for summer, I’ve never had or even seen fresh sour cherries before, but the white flesh is beautiful, I imagine tart, yet juicy and flavorful, anyhow thanks for sharing and Happy FF, hugs:)
Thanks, Lily! You should try these sour cherries. I imagine in your hands, they can be turned into so many delicious desserts. Other than for scones and jams and pies, I really haven’t used them much. Maybe I should send you some to experiment 😀 If only you live close by!
Aah…those scones are picture perfect! Sour cherries!…must look for them. I am quite new to all these fruits and their seasons…very slow to learn! This is a good recipe to remember the cherry picking time of the year. I should start visiting some farms around here. Awesome recipe and those doughnuts are lovely! Happy Independence day!
Thanks, Sridevi! FYI, blueberries are also in season now. Next should be peaches and plums, maybe within the next two weeks. Unless of course it’s California or Georgia. I think they’ve been enjoying peaches for a while now. I know you’re in Canada, the seasons should be pretty close to ours. Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi I have some small cherries a little sweet… do I just throw them in the batter or do I have to boil them first? If so, how long, with wine….? Thank you & happy Fourth!
Yes, you use them raw in the batter (pitted first, of course!) No need to boil first. If your cherries are small then you can use them whole, like what I did. Otherwise cut in half. By small I mean about big blueberry size. Many of mine were that small! 🙂
Thank you so much Angie! This will be my first time working with cherries – so appreciate your help and inspiration – we will celebrate Independence Day all this week ;))!!
No problem. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Looking stunning, Angie! As you know I don’t have a sweet tooth but, as many Europeans, I eat pastries and cookies for breakfast sipping my cappuccino. That’s the only time of the day! Your beautiful scones would be perfect for any breakfast of any day! Even the waking time is perfect for me (I’m not an early riser and I love, love my bed).
Beautiful photography … worthy of one of the most important celebration.
Happy 4th of July to you and your family!
Thanks so much, Francesca! I think you’ll like these scones since they’re not too sweet and loaded with fruits, and most importantly, quick to make 🙂 We love our beds, too, lol…my family can sleep all day! Happy 4th to you, too! XOXO
These scones look lovely Angie And those are some lovely cherries you picked. Good idea to drag the husband! They do come in handy at times! LOL! 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend!
Thanks, Indu! I hope you had a great weekend yourself! We’re the lucky ones, aren’t we, w/ such understanding husbands? I still remember yours buying you a bouquet of lemongrass. Mine bought me a big bag of habaneros. He had no idea how hot they were! He thought maybe I could use the cute mini peppers for my blog! 😀
LOL! that’s so funny! bringing habaneros! Maybe that was symbolic for how ‘HOT’ you are! 🙂 LOL! yeah my hubby gets me lemon grass and occasionally papayas since he knows how much I love them 🙂 We are blessed! 🙂
These look so delicious & festive!! The cider donut bribe is classic- love it… the farm where we have gone apple picking has fresh donuts for sale in a cart outside- it is all you can smell in the fields- AMAZING!! I have never picked sour cherries- or sweet cherries, actually. 😉 Love the idea of putting them in scones too! Hope that you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
Actually picking apples is a little more fun than cherries or strawberries. Apples fill up the basket faster, haha… I hope you had a wonderful weekend yourself and are enjoying co-hosting! XOXO
1) These are divine. 2) I have to find a place where I can pick sour cherries. I didn’t even know that was a thing. 3) We have cider donuts after apple picking in the fall and I died a little bit when you brought those up. 4) Your blog is gorgeous. 5) Thanks for linking up at #SaucySaturdays.
I think that covers it.
1) Thank you so much, Christine! 2) Sour cherries are definitely a good thing. 3) Now I feel like I need to repeat the donut experience again in the Fall 4) Thank you again! 5) No problem! I’d like to extend my invitation for you to join Fiesta Friday Blog Party as well.
I love how organized your comment is. It forces me to be organized in my reply and God knows I need that! 😀
I’m only organized when I’m trying to be funny. Is the party on, say, Friday, perhaps?
😀 I love funny and organized! Yes, Fiesta Friday starts on Fridays at 8 am. Dini is a regular there. Swayam, too.
Awesome. I’ll be there!
See you tomorrow!