Scones: First Baking Project

This morning was Bereket's first time helping me bake. Sure, she's stirred things before, but this was her first time helping to measure, dump, mix, and pulse the Cuisinart. She didn't want our baking adventure to end. The result was some delicious Cherry Almond Scones that she (and I) couldn't get enough of. This is my tried and true scone recipe. Try it...you'll see why.

Cherry Almond Scones

Ingredients

• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a cuisinart, grate frozen butter. Place in a separate bowl and put back in the freezer.
3. Mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse butter into mixture, it should resemble coarse meal)
4. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, almond extract and egg until smooth. Add to bowl and pulse a couple of times.
5. Add cherries and almonds, pulse a few more times. 
6. Turn crumbly dough onto a smooth surface. The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.
7. Pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of course sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.