Cherry Almond Scottish Scones...Made in a Muffin Tin!

Cherry Almond Scottish Scones...Made in a Muffin Tin! Ah, scones...I can never get enough of them. This scone recipe reminds me of the scones you get at a tea house in London or Ireland. I originally saw this recipe on BigOven and had to try it...of course, with a few changes:). I have never been to Scotland, but I can attest to having similar scones in Ireland and London. The scones overseas are not very sweet ... they are similar to the biscuits we know here. The addition of clotted cream and jam complements the scones and sweetens them up nicely. I like my scones a tiny bit sweeter than the regular biscuit, so I add 4 TBS of sugar instead of the 3 TBS the recipe calls for. This is a basic recipe.. you can make a ton of variations off of it. I decided to make a cherry almond scone...but a blueberry and lemon sounds wonderful as well. Using a food processor helps a great deal, as the dough comes together rather quickly. But you can easily use a pastry cutter instead. Kneading the dough a bit will also help the scones rise higher... vs. just patting it. If you just pat it, you will get a more crumbly scone. I learned this tip from America's Test Kitchen. I tried their method on a few scone recipes. By simply just patting it, I noticed it to be more crumbly, but still tender.On another batch, I kneaded it a bit ... they rose much higher. So, it's true:)...You just don't want to over knead it, as it will get tough... remember to knead with a very light hand. Of course, this goes for the biscuit-like scones... I decided to make my scones in a muffin tin...I like the crispy exterior it gets from the muffin tin, a cross between a cookie and a scone. Placing the scones in a muffin tin is purely optional, but I think it helps the scones to rise up nicely. The scones tend to fall to the side... so the muffin tin prevents them from doing so. But if you don't want to place them in a muffin tin, you can easily just place them on a cookie sheet instead. We really liked these scones. They are best served with some clotted cream and jam. Hope you enjoy...

You will need: Slightly adapted from BigOven

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

6 TBS cold butter, cut up

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup dried cherries

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp almond extract

Topping:

beaten egg

Directions:

in a measuring cup add milk, egg and extract. Mix to combine and set aside.

In a food processor, place flours, butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Pulse a few times till you form small crumbs size of peas.

Add cherries and pulse a few more times until the mixture is similar to coarse sand. Place mixture in a bowl and add milk mixture slowly as you gently fold.

When the dough just comes together, plop it on a floured countertop. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough and your hands. Lightly knead about 4-5 times until the dough comes together in a ball. Kneading the dough a bit will help the scones rise higher... vs. just patting it. If you just pat it, you will get a more crumbly scone. You don't want any crumbly pieces.

Pat dough out into a circle about 1 1/2-2 inches high. Cut circles with a rounds sharp biscuit the size of a regular muffin tin... ideally a tiny bit smaller than the muffin tin opening. Butter the muffin tin and place scones inside the muffin tin. Brush with a beaten egg.

Preheat oven to 425 and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.