Cherry Almond Scones
2 1/4 cups flour (spelt or whole wheat pastry)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup spectrum shortening or safflower oil
1/3 cup soy milk (vanilla flavored if desired)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or other mild vinegar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon "cake spice" (any mix of nutmeg, cloves, etc.)
1/3 cup turbinado sugar (more for generous coating)
1 bag frozen organic cherries
approximately 1 cup raw organic almonds (chopped in food processor)
Preheat oven to 375.
Defrost cherries (fresh cherries would be great, but only seasonal), and squeeze out as much liquid with paper towels before and after roughly chopping them.
Chop almonds in food processor if not pre-chopped.
In a mixing bowl combine flour (this batch I used 1 1/4 cup spelt and 1 cup quinoa flour, but any combination comes out well- quinoa gives a more earthy flavor, whole wheat pastry flour is great too), salt, baking powder, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of turbinado sugar (I like to hold back on the sugar- you can always add more later), and spices (to taste- I like generous amounts of cinnamon and the cake spice mix. any will do.)
Add shortening or oil, and mix in. You should use your hands to mix into a fine crumble.
Add in soymilk, vanilla and vinegar, and mix. The dough should be relatively dense. Mix in the chopped almonds and chopped cherries until distributed evenly. Don't over mix. The cherries will be juicy, regardless of how much you squeeze them. I find this adds good moisture.
Form into mounds, and press into turbinado sugar on a plate or other surface. Completely cover scones on all sides in the sugar- it bakes into a nice crust.
Place onto a lightly oiled aluminum foil lined baking sheet and bake for 18-25 minutes. (Longer for bigger scones. Eye them.)
I make 6 large scones, or 8 medium scones out of this recipe. I've used the same recipe with endless fruit/nut combinations- currant/pine nut, date/crystallized ginger, apple/walnut, etc. It's endless!
Enjoy. Hope it works for you.
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Nice!! I made some mistakes so I really can't rate the recipe, but these did come out very tasty! I wasn't paying much attention, so I did the "muffin" method instead of the "biscuit" method of combining ingredients. Also, I used fresh cherries, and didn't heed the pressing advice strongly enough.
I used about 2 cups of cherries, and they kept giving moisture to the scones. I think it was the right amount of cherries, but next time I will press them better. I also added some almond extract, just a few drops, which definitely added to the taste. My "cake spice" mix was 1/2 t ground ( :() cardamom, 1/4 t ginger and 1/4 t mace. Next time, I might sub in some nutmeg and increase the spices a little. I would also take up your advice to coat more generously in sugar, leaving some of the sugar out of the batter.
This was an excellent recipe all in all. I will definitely repeat, and will rate it after I get it right! But just a warning to future makers: follow the recipe!! Press your cherries, rub in your oil, and don't skimp the sugar! :)