Flaky yet tender scones, filled with lemon and cherries, topped with a lemon glaze.
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cherry lemon scones with lemon glaze
Hello hello! I’m here today with another scone recipe to add to the collection. These cherry lemon scones are super fresh, made with fresh lemon zest and cherries in the dough, and topped off with a fresh lemon glaze. They’re also the perfect balance of being light, fluffy, and flaky all at the same time. I know some people steer clear of scones because they believe them to just be dry – but I assure you there are no dry scones here! The sour cream in these scones keeps them extra moist.
why you’ll love these lemon cherry scones:
- They’re moist and flaky. A lot of scones are sad and dry – and while scones need to be a little dry for their signature shape and rise, these are *way* more moist than you’d expect.
- The fresh flavors. The sharp lemon flavor in the scones and in the glaze along with the fresh sweetness of the cherries makes these the perfect spring scone.
- They’re super easy to make. Scones are actually super easy to make, can easily be made ahead of time and baked off at a later date, and are *perfect* for sharing.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
keep the dough and ingredients cold:
The trick to getting those flaky layers and butter pockets is to keep the dough cold. If you notice the butter getting too warm at any point while making the scones, just pop the dough into the freezer for 5-10 minutes to harden it up again. You’ll also want to keep your egg & sour cream in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
Mix the dough carefully:
Be careful to knead the dough just until it comes together. Over-kneading the dough can lead to a drier, tougher scone.
freeze the dough before baking it
This step is super important because it ensures that the scones will not spread much in the oven, and will bake up nice and tall! Freeze the dough for at least 30 minutes before slicing them and baking them off. If you’re freezing the dough overnight or longer, make sure you wrap the dough up tightly in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out. Also – you will probably need to let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before it’s soft enough to slice in to.
how to cut butter into the scones
There are multiple different ways that you can incorporate butter into your scones. I find it’s easiest to cube up the butter and then smush it into the flour with my fingers until the pieces are fairly tiny. You can also use a pastry blender, or two forks to kind of cut the butter up into the flour. If you wanted to prep the night before, you could use a cheese grater to grate the stick of butter and then freeze it until you’re ready to make the scones.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for lemon cherry scones:
cherry lemon scones:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Baking powder: for helping the scones rise.
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the scones.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and making those delicious flaky layers. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to remove the excess salt from the dough!
- Light brown sugar: for lightly sweetening and for moisture. You can easily substitute in granulated or dark brown sugar.
- Lemon: you will need 1 large lemon to put the zest into the dough.
- Lemon extract: lemon extract is how we’ll get a stronger punch of lemon flavor into the scones to go along with the zest.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
- Sour cream: makes these scones nice and tender and keeps them from being dry. I recommend full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
- Cherries: I used rainier cherries because I just think they’re gorgeous, but any cherry will work here.
lemon glaze:
- Powdered sugar: the base of the glaze.
- Lemon juice: fresh works best and you can just use the lemon that you zested for the scones!
cherry lemon scones recipe q&a
can I make these scones ahead of time?
Yes, you can! There are two ways you could go about this.
- Prepping the night before: After making the scone dough and shaping it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and leave in the freezer overnight. In the morning you can bake these scones off as stated in the recipe.
- Prepping further in advance: After making the scone dough and shaping it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze the dough for up to 1 month before baking. You can bake the scones right from frozen, they will just need a couple more minutes in the oven!
can I double this recipe?
Of course! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe and divide the dough into even circles. I (even more) strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
can I use frozen cherries instead of fresh cherries?
Yes, of course! They are a little bit more finicky to work with but honestly, fresh fruit can be expensive (especially if not in-season) so frozen is always a great back-up option. (Also, cherries are quite expensive even when they’re in season!) They will also bleed a lot more so your dough may be more pink than the ones you see in this post, but that won’t make them any less delicious.
how to store scones
Like most baked goods, these scones will taste the best on the day that they are baked, but will keep well for 3-5 days in an airtight container stored at room temperature.
american scones vs. british scones
These are very much American scones. British scones are more akin to American biscuits and likewise, do not contain any egg (while British biscuits are more like shortbread in America!) These scones contain one egg which helps make them light, fluffy, and moist.
My scones turned out super dry
The #1 reason for baked goods coming out super dry is not measuring the flour properly. I seriously can’t recommend using a scale enough for the best baking experience and outcome! They may also turn out dry if you over-kneaded the dough (only knead until it comes together), or if you browned the butter for too long and too much moisture evaporated.
My scones spread a lot in the oven
There are three reasons this may have occurred –
- The dough was not chilled for long enough. Freeze the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. This allows all the ingredients to get cold again, which leads to less spreading in the oven.
- Your oven temperature is wrong. I recommend getting an oven thermometer, you might be surprised to find out that your oven runs too hot or cold!
- Your baking powder might be expired. You can test if your baking powder is active by dropping some in a small amount of water. If it bubbles, it’s active, if not, it’s expired.
tools and ingredients:
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other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Cherry Lemon Scones
Ingredients
Cherry Lemon Scones
- 1 egg
- 95 g sour cream (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 35 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp.)
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 240 g all purpose flour (2 c.)
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 113 g unsalted butter cold, cubed (½ c.)
- 120 g cherries pitted, halved (¾ c.)
Lemon Glaze
- 180 g powdered sugar (1 ½ c.)
- 2-4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Cherry Lemon Scones
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, and lemon extract. Set the mixture in the fridge.
- To a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the brown sugar and zest in the lemon. Use your fingers to rub the zest and sugar together to help release some of the oil from the zest.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cube up your cold butter stick and add it into the dry ingredients.
- Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are quite small.
- Make a well in the center of the ingredients, then pour in the sour cream/egg mixture. Lightly mix the ingredients together, then add in the cherries.
- Use your hands to lightly knead the scone dough together until it comes together.
- Form the dough into a circle that is 6" in diameter. Cover the dough and let it rest in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Slice the scones into 8 equally sized triangles. Evenly space them apart on the lined baking sheet.
- If desired, you can brush a little bit of heavy cream on top of the scones to encourage the tops to brown. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown on top.
Lemon Glaze
- Add the powdered sugar to a small mixing bowl. Slowly add in lemon juice until the glaze reaches the consisteny you want (I tend to make mine quite thick!)
- Once the scones have cooled to room temperature, top them with the glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
These look fabulous! It looks like the amount of cherries is missing.
Oops – thank you so much for letting me know, the amount is in there now!