Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones
What’s better than juicy cherries and scones? When they come together to make these delicious cherry chocolate chip scones! Bursting with juicy cherry pieces and creamy chocolate chips, these are the perfect scones to celebrate peak cherry season. They’re surprisingly easy to whip up, requiring only basic pantry staples and minimal effort. So, preheat your oven, grab a bowl, and get ready to bake up a batch of these sweet cherry scones that are sure to become a new weekend brunch favorite.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full affiliate link disclosure here.
To be truthfully honest, I had never heard of cherry chocolate chip scones before, but I love scone recipes that require fruit and chocolate. I was craving some scones AND chocolate covered cherries, so I decided I was going to test a new scone recipe. It turns out that fresh cherries and scones make for an irresistible combination. I was honestly shocked, they were some of the best scones I had ever had. Now they’re one of my favorite things and I make them fairly often, especially during cherry season. There’s just something about the sweet vanilla glaze with a touch of cherry flavor, to the fluffy scones with bites of juicy cherries and rich chocolate chips. It just makes this chocolate cherry scones recipe the best.
What kind of cherries can I use for this recipe?
I personally love going to a local farm stand and buying fresh cherries, or picking them fresh myself. And this is one of those recipes I use those cherrieses in. Although fresh cherry scones are my favorite, you can also use frozen cherries. if you are using frozen, let them come up to room temperature before using them in your scone dough. And if you are sticking to the recipe, using fresh, make sure you have ripe sweet cherries for the most delicious scones!
Feel free to also try this recipe with dried cherries as well
So, what is a scone?
I always like to tell people it’s like a mix somewhere in between a biscuit and a muffin. It’s texture is somewhat like a biscuit (minus the flaky layers), but I say it’s a little more moist, and crumbly like a muffin. It’s one of those things you just need to try to understand. I really prefer a scone because it is not too sweet, but really the perfect amount of sweetness.
Tips for making the most delicious scone:
- Do not over mix the dough: The more you stir, mix, and work the dough, the more you activate the gluten, making the dough tough. It becomes more like bread than a light, fluffy, pastry.
- Keep the butter cold: For the best texture, during the baking process, the butter will begin to melt inside the dough. This will create steam and air pockets, giving the scones additional rise and a fluffy, tender texture. If the butter is too soft before hitting the oven, the scone will end up greasy and dense. This is why the step of putting the scones in the fridge is very important.
- Use heavy cream: The additional fat from the heavy cream will keep the scones from drying out and keep the dough moist and tender.
- Do not over bake: The scones are ready to come out of the oven when they are just starting to brown on the edges, but are still light in color. Leaving them in too long will cause them to dry out, and nobody likes dry scones!!
- Add a twist of flavor: You can add almond extract in place of the vanilla extract of the scone recipe. If you like almond extract, it gives these scones such a unique flavor!
- Diced Cherries: You can dice your peaches smaller or larger, depending on your taste preference. I usually dice mine slightly larger than a pea, and they taste amazing!
What is the best method for keeping the butter cold?
I personally use a cheese grater, I grate the butter very quickly with a cheese grater (box grater) so that it stays cold. Some people use a food processor, pastry cutter, or just a sharp knife. I have done it every way, and the cheese grater (in my opinion) is the most effective way to keep the pieces of butter cold. If you are using something besides a cheese grater, make sure you get your butter in small cubes.
How long will these cherry chocolate chip scones last?
Typically they don’t even last a full day in our house, but when stored in an airtight container, they should stay fresh for about 2 days. You can also freeze this recipe for up to 2 months. If you plan on freezing, I would leave off the glaze, and store the glaze separately (or make later). Whenever you pull them out of the freezer, take them out of their container and let them come up to room temperature. Once they are at room temperature, you can either eat them, or heat them up in the oven for a little to make them nice and warm!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for flouring your work surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 – 1 cup cherries, fresh or frozen
1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cherry syrup (optional)
Instructions for making the scones:
- Preheat the oven to 375º and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Grate your cold butter with a cheese grater (use the side with the larger holes)
- Add in the cold butter and incorporate with your hands, working quickly, and also without handing the butter too much – the mixture should look like sand.
- Toss in your cherries and chocolate chips, till they are lightly coated with the flour mixture.
- Next, add heavy cream and vanilla extract to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the ingredients are just combined.
- On a lightly floured surface or a piece of parchment paper, gently form the dough into a ball
- Then shape the dough into a disc, about 3/4″ thick.
- Cut the dough into eight even triangles. (I like to use a bench scraper to do this)
- Place the scone triangles on to a parchment lined baking sheet, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes
- Take the scones out of the fridge and brush some heavy whipping cream on the tops of the scones
- Then bake at 375º for 12-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on a cooling rack and drizzle your Vanilla Cherry Glaze over the cooled scones.
To Make the Sweet Vanilla Cherry Glaze:
- Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and optional cherry syrup in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon.
- Drizzle the icing over the scones and allow to set.
Notes
- You don’t have to use the cherry syrup for the glaze, but it does give the glaze a subtle cherry flavor, you can also add more cherry syrup for a stronger cherry flavor.
- I only use a half cup of chocolate chips for this recipe, so it won’t be too sweet, but if you don’t want the glaze, you can use a full cup of the white chocolate chips for a sweeter scones.
- I use 1/2 – 1 cup of cherries, because some people might want more or less of a cherry flavor! If you want to meet in the middle just use 3/4 cup!
- You can also use dark chocolate chunks instead of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips! I really enjoy using white chocolate chips too!
- You can cut the cherries into smaller pieces, or larger depending on your preference.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus a little extra for flouring your work surface
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1/2 – 1 cup cherries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cherry syrup optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Grate your cold butter with a cheese grater (use the side with the larger holes)
- Add in the cold butter and incorporate with your hands, working quickly, and also without handing the butter too much – the mixture should look like sand.
- Toss in your cherries and chocolate chips, till they are lightly coated with the flour mixture.
- Next, add heavy cream and vanilla extract to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the ingredients are just combined.
- On a lightly floured surface or a piece of parchment paper, gently form the dough into a ball
- Then shape the dough into a disc, about 3/4″ thick.
- Cut the dough into eight even triangles. (I like to use a bench scraper to do this)
- Place the scone triangles on to a parchment lined baking sheet, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes
- Take the scones out of the fridge and brush some heavy whipping cream on the tops of the scones
- Then bake at 375º for 12-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on a cooling rack and drizzle your Vanilla Cherry Glaze over the cooled scones.
Glaze Instructions
- Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and optional cherry syrup in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon.
- Drizzle the icing over the scones and allow to set.
Notes
- You don’t have to use the cherry syrup for the glaze, but it does give the glaze a subtle cherry flavor, you can also add more cherry syrup for a stronger cherry flavor.
- I only use a half cup of chocolate chips for this recipe, so it won’t be too sweet, but if you don’t want the glaze, you can use a full cup of the white chocolate chips for a sweeter scones.
- I use 1/2 – 1 cup of cherries, because some people might want more or less of a cherry flavor! If you want to meet in the middle just use 3/4 cup!
- You can also use dark chocolate chunks instead of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips! I really enjoy using white chocolate chips too!
- You can cut the cherries into smaller pieces, or larger depending on your preference.
Fresh from the oven, these cherry chocolate chip scones are a delightful indulgence. The tender, flaky dough melts in your mouth, while the sweet cherries and creamy chocolate chips add bursts of flavor with every bite. They’re perfect enjoyed warm on their own, perhaps with a steaming cup of coffee or tea. No matter how you choose to enjoy them, these scones are sure to leave you wanting more. So, bake a batch this weekend and experience the taste of summer in every bite! And as always don’t forget to share with your friends and family!
Pin for later & share with friends!
