Chocolate-cherry whole wheat scones. I could eat these every day. One of these days, I will share with you what I really do eat every morning. But these are my special treat. In my freezer, there is a bag of frozen raw scones, so I can always have melty, tender, warm scones right out of the oven. A cappuccino on the side. Now that’s breakfast. Also try the Blueberry-Meyer Lemon scones!

This is a buttermilk batter. It is wet!!! Absolutely make sure everything is cold – butter, buttermilk, eggs, your kitchen. No small feat when you’re baking in Miami. This was in and out of the refrigerator several times. Ultimately, because I got distracted and busy, the batter sat in my fridge for 3 days before rolling out. I don’t think it was any the worse for it, and possibly was better.

Chocolate Cherry Scones

adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains

2 1/2 cups (8 1/8 oz) whole wheat pastry (King Arthur organic, of course)
1 cup (4 1/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) granulated sugar (I use Florida crystals, though they’re a little brown)
1/4 cup (1 7/8 oz) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power (I use Hain’s featherlight, since there’s no corn in it)
1/2 tsp salt (I like Maldon for, well, all baking)
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz) cold unsalted butter, sliced
3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) dried sour cherries (I used organic)
3/4 cup (4 1/2 oz) chocolate chunks (I used Scharffen Berger bittersweet)
1 large egg
1 cup (8 oz) buttermilk (I confess, I used Organic Valley powdered buttermilk)
2 tsp vanilla extract (Singing Dog vanilla paste, actually – the best!)

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease a baking sheet, line it with parchment paper, or use a Silpat.

Whisk together the flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. It helps if the butter is very cold. Put it in the freezer or a cup of ice water. Add the cherries and chcolate, and stir with a fork just to mix them in.

Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla in a separate bowl or large measuring cup. I like the stick blender for this. Add, all at once, to the dry ingredients, and stir lightly and quickly with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened.

Put the dough into the refrigerator for an hour (or, as I did, 3 days!). Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead two or three times.

The first time I made this, I patted it out into a rectangle about 8 x 10 inches, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut it in half lengthwise, then in quarters. Cut each quarter diagonally, for a total of 16 wedges. Bake these for 22-25 minutes. A few minutes longer if you freeze them.

The last time, I rolled out the dough to 3/4 inch (with plastic wrap to keep it from sticking). Then, I cut it with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter. I bake these at 400° for 15 minutes.

To freeze, cut them out and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat and put the tray in the freezer. When they are frozen, peel them off the cookie sheet and place them in a freezer bag. Squeeze out the air. I hear they’ll keep for a month. They never last that long!