Dried Cherry and Pecan Scones

What to have for breakfast after our walk this morning? That was the question. These yummy scones were the answer. I used up the last of the dried cherries (which means another visit to the Farmers' Market to buy some more!) and finished off the pecan pieces.

I usually use all milk for my scones, but used some Greek yoghurt as well, and it added a bit of richness, which was nice. Raspberry jam, a cup of hot coffee...what a great start to the week!

Start by turning the oven on to heat up to 375F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Measure the dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder

Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until you have a crumbly texture:

4 tablespoons softened butter

Stir in:

1/4 cup roughly chopped dried cherries
2 tablespoons pecan pieces

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients:

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
Milk to bring the amount to 2/3 cup total
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add half of the liquid.

Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, adding the rest of the liquid in as you mix, until a rough dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a very lightly floured board and knead very gently two or three times, just enough to bring the dough together.

Using your fingertips, press the dough out into an 8" - 9" circle, and cut into 8 wedges.

Place the dough wedges onto the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with a bit of milk.

Bake until the tops of the scones are golden, about 15 - 18 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.







I served mine with soft butter, melting into the hot scone, and raspberry jam for those who wanted a little bit of extra sweetness and flavour.

• Use any dried fruit you have on hand; chopped apricots, raisins, cranberries, mango even candied ginger would work well.
• Nuts, of course, are interchangeable, or can be omitted.
• If you use fresh or frozen fruit, remember that they will add extra liquid to the scone, so keep the dough a bit drier than you think it should be, adding only about 1/2 cup of  milk, and then judging from there.
• Add spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ground aniseed, ginger.
• Sweeten it up by adding finely chopped or grated chocolate.
• Use a cookie cutter to make round scones, split them in half when cool and turn into berry shortcakes by topping with a berry compote (warm or cold) and whipped cream.