These sourdough cherry scones are even better than those you get at the coffee shop! This recipe for cherry scones gives you a treat that is tender and lightly sweet with just a hint of tartness from orange zest. And as a bonus, it’s the perfect recipe for discard starter!
I have a confession to make.
I love breakfast.
But only if it happens after 9am…
So Saturday and Sunday mornings I putter around in the kitchen making all kinds of amazingly delicious breakfast-y stuff.
Confession number 2: I adore scones!
They are so fast and easy to put together.
And they make me feel so fancy!
So there I was, puttering, and I decided I needed to make some scones.
I was getting ready to feed Beowulf (my sourdough starter) and I was packaging up some cherries I had just dehydrated.
I’m sure you can see where this is going…
So I decided to get a little crazy and use the sourdough discard starter AND some of the cherries and mix it all up and see what happened.
And, can I just say, what happened was pretty darn tasty!
And that’s the story of how these Sourdough Cherry Scones came about.
I felt that was important to include because I know how much people enjoy these little stories on recipe sites. 😉
Let’s get to puttering!
Sourdough Cherry Scones
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/4 sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 stick cold butter (10 Tbsp)
- 3/4 cup diced dried cherries
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter (unfed)
- 2 tsp homemade vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (OR regular milk)
Glaze
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
The first thing to do is chop up those dried cherries. I usually dry mine in halves, so they will get pretty big during baking if I don’t chop them smaller.
You can either use a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears.
Mixing the dough
Grab your favorite medium mixing bowl. Whisk together the flour, sugar, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Cut your cold butter into small pieces. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have crumbs about the size of a pea.
Now mix the diced cherries and grated orange zest into the flour & butter mixture until it’s all evenly distributed.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, the vanilla, and the heavy cream.
Depending on how thin your starter is, you may need to add more heavy cream (or milk) than the recipe calls for. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter.
You want to mix it well here so that you don’t have to mix the dough a lot. Too much mixing will make the scones tough.
Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until moistened.
This is supposed to be a dry dough. It should almost be like bread dough.
So don’t think you did something wrong.
Press the dough into a ball.
Then turn it out onto a VERY lightly floured surface. You need just enough so that it doesn’t stick. Too much and the scones will be really dry.
Flatten the dough into a disc about 8 inches across.
Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the disc like a pie into 8 wedges.
Put the pie piece shaped scones onto a baking stone or a greased or parchment lined baking tray. Or you could line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
If your kitchen is on the warm side you may need to pop those guys in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Only don’t put your baking stone in the fridge. Cuz then you can’t put it in the oven when it’s cold.
That would be so very not good!
Stony shards.
Everywhere.
Just don’t do it.
Now that the PSA is over…
let’s get the glaze together
Glaze
In a really small bowl or tea cup, mix the sugar and cinnamon well. Add the heavy cream and mix it up with a pastry brush until it’s combined.
Brush the top of the sourdough scones with the glaze. I like to go over them once before I bake them, and then use the rest of the glaze on them after I take them out of the oven.
But you could just go ahead and use it all before you bake them.
Then bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Serve these beautiful sourdough cherry scones warm.
Or cold.
They are amazing both ways. Which makes them perfect for a make ahead breakfast!
Or, ya know, just to nibble on all afternoon…no judgement here…
Frequently Asked Questions About Sourdough Cherry Scones
These scones will keep for 3 to 5 days in an airtight container or zip top baggie.
Absolutely! Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put them into a freezer baggie. Then toss them in the freezer. They will keep for 4 to 5 months in the freezer.
To thaw, just let them sit out on the counter for an hour or 2. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.
Yes! I do it all the time. I love baking one fresh to drink with my afternoon tea.
After you cut the wedges, put them on a parchment covered baking sheet and put them in the freezer. After about 3 hours put wrap them tightly and put them into a freezer baggie.
You can bake these straight from the freezer in a preheated 400°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Here’s more amazing sourdough goodies you should bake:
Sourdough Cherry Scones
Ingredients
Scone Dough
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/4 sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 stick cold butter 10 Tbsp
- 3/4 cup diced dried cherries
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter unfed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup heavy cream OR regular milk
Topping
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Chop up those dried cherries with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Cut your cold butter into small pieces. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have crumbs about the size of a pea.
- Now mix the diced cherries and grated orange zest into the flour & butter mixture until it’s all evenly distributed.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, the vanilla, and the heavy cream.
- Depending on how thin your starter is, you may need to add more heavy cream (or milk) than the recipe calls for. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter.
- Now with a fork stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
- This is supposed to be a dry dough. It should almost be like bread dough.
- Press the dough into a ball.
- Then turn it out onto a VERY lightly floured surface.
- Flatten the dough into a disc about 8 inches across.
- Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the disc like a pie into 8 pieces.
- Put the pie piece shaped scones onto a baking stone or a greased baking sheet. Or you could line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- If your kitchen is on the warm side you may need to pop those guys in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- In a really small bowl or tea cup, mix the sugar and cinnamon well. Add the heavy cream and mix it up with a pastry brush until it’s combined.
- Brush the top of the scones with the topping. I like to go over them once before I bake them, and then use the rest of the topping on them after I take them out of the oven.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.