On July 6th, the newest book of one of my favorite series comes out. The Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell explores the Chosen One trope through the character Simon Snow, but also explores what is like to be best friends with the Chosen One, in love with him, and what happens to the crew mentally and physically after the great big battle. I love this series so much because of how deep it goes on what it is truly like to be a Chosen One and the mental struggles behind it. Not to mention each chapter is in a different character's POV which helps you get a deeper understanding of the story and in the first book of the series, Carry On, makes it more of a mystery.
In honor of the latest book, I've decided to make Simon's favorite treat: cherry scones. In Carry On, Simon marks these scones as one of the things he misses about school when he is away and I adore scones so I thought why not. Well, he specifically likes tart cherry scones but since this is my first time making them, I thought about sticking with the basics and doing plain cherry scones. Again, I have never made scones in my life.
Cherry Scones
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and then freeze while prepping
1/2 cup of white granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup+3 Tablespoons of heavy cream, divided
1 large egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cherries
*Note: best to keep all ingredients cold as possible before and during working. I put my flour in the freezer for about 15 minutes before starting. The colder the butter and ingredients, the better.
In a large bowl combine sugar, baking powder, salt and sifted flour. Whisk until blended
In a small bowl whisk together the 1/2 cup of heavy cream, egg and vanilla extract (Note: a lot of scone recipes recommend almond extract and that would be great to add, I kept it out since I'm allergic but feel free to use it with the vanilla)
Add the butter to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter to mix/cut it into tiny pieces. After butter is cut, create a small well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour in the wet mixture and gently combine the ingredients. As soon as a dough forms add in the cherries and gently combine. Mix as little as possible at this point.
On a floured surface, gently form your dough into a ball before pressing it into a thick disc. If your dough is too wet add a little flour, if it is too dry add a little more cream. Cut this disc in half to create two smaller discs. Wrap the discs in plastic and chill for 10-15 mins. After chilled, cut straight through the discs (no wiggling the knife) to form your wedges. Brush the tops with cream and chill again for another 20 minutes.
Bake at 400 for about 17-25 minutes. Mine were done (well...) in 20 mins, so pull them out as soon as they are browned around the edges and lightly browned on top. Don't overbake your scones!
Like I did:
So they burned on the bottom and are definitely not the prettiest scones, but not bad for a first try and they still tasted pretty good. I like to think Simon would still eat them. I wish you good luck on your own scone adventures while I sit over here and count down the days till Any Way the Wind Blows is released!
Comments