Saturday and Sunday mornings have a certain routine Chez Besotted – wake up, snooze, wake up, snooze, wake up, make coffee, make bacon & eggs, eat. I would never want anything to disrupt the rhythm and tradition of the first 6 activities, but, every once in awhile, even my beloved bacon & eggs get a bit stale.

Mixing it up with pancakes or muffins can be fun, but my absolute favorite breakfast pastry is a hot, buttery scone. If your only exposure to scones is Starbucks ersatz leaden imposters, try a homemade (or real bakery) version, and you’ll see how far from reality the S-bux kind are.

I made my first scone recipe out of the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook, and instantly fell in love with this puff of delicious, buttery flaky goodness. Whether made with fruit, maple syrup and oatmeal, or cheese, scones make an unbelievably special treat, particularly on blustery winter weekend mornings.

The recipe below is a personal concoction of dried cherries, cream, and ginger. A little sweet a little spice, and a little silken creaminess make a tremendous scone. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Cherry and Ginger Cream Scones, Yields 12

Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Baking Time: 25 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 70 Minutes

Ingredients:

4 Cups Flour

2 Tbls. Sugar

2 Tbls. Baking Powder

2 Tsp. Salt

1 ½ Cups Butter

5 Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

¾ Cup Dried Sour Cherries

1 Tbls. Candied Ginger

2 Tbls. Fresh Ginger, chopped

2 Tbls. Ground Ginger

Splash Milk

Raw Sugar

Preparation:

Before you do anything, get your butter and eggs prepared by beating 4 of the eggs and chopping the butter into small cubes (about ½ inch square). Once they’re done, put the eggs and butter back into the fridge to keep them extra cold – for that matter, keep the cream in the refrigerator until you need it.

Once you’re ready to go, preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Do all of the following actions very quickly, as you want the ingredients as cold as possible….

Add the butter pieces and mix on low speed until the butter is broken up into gravelly pieces (no bigger than a pea).

Add the eggs, fresh ginger, ground ginger, candied sugar, and heavy cream and mix until just blended. Stir in the sour cherries with a wooden spoon.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface with well-floured hands – the dough is very sticky, so use as much flour as you need in small increments, but be careful not to make the dough too dry.

Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out to a thickness of ¾ of an inch. Using a 2.5-3.5 inch cutter round (depending on the width that you desire), cut out rounds of dough and arrange on the baking sheet.

Once the dough rounds are lined up on the baking sheet, mix the last egg with a splash of milk to create the egg wash. Brush the dough with the egg wash, sprinkle with the raw sugar, and put into the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool, split, butter, serve, and enjoy!