Cream Scones

If you think scones are dry bricks of dense dough, that's OK. You've just had terrible scones. Try this. I've made this recipe 10+ times, and they're consistently the best scones I've ever eaten.

Best part: the more laid back you are about making them perfect, the better they turn out...

Cream Scones
barely adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter (cold)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup heavy cream

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Preheat oven to 450 F.

Mix flour, baking power, sugar, salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch cubes, and drop it into the dry-ingredients bowl. Refrigerate the bowl with the butter.

While the bowl is chilling in the fridge, eat dinner cut the cherries into smaller pieces. Add cherries to the dry ingredients bowl.

Working with a pastry cutter, or two butter knives (if you're skilled like that), cut the butter into the flour mixture until it's about pea sized and evenly distributed. Add the cream and fold with a spatula until the dough comes together. This whole step should only take 2-3 minutes. Less is more here.

With floured hands, take the dough out of the bowl and put on a floured counter. It's OK if it's a mess and doesn't totally come together. Quickly massage the dough into a 2 inch tall disk, and cut it like a pizza into 8 pieces. Arrange the pieces on a baking sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes. You know, until they look like baked scones.