If you’ve visited Henry and me in Berkeley, we’ve probably dragged you to the Cheese Board a co-op which sells delicious pizza, cheese, and baked goods. They are basically “the bee’s knees.” I recently bought their book which happily includes a recipe for one of my favorite things they have on a semi-regular basis: corn cherry scones. Its mama was a scone, its daddy was a cornbread, and it has been “making frisky” with the neighborhood cherries. What is not to like?
Corn cherry scones (adapted from The Cheese Board Collective Works, makes 10-12 scones)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda*
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup and also 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal*
- 2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, cut into small “pea-sized” cubes
- 3/4 cup dried sweet cherries
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk*
Preheat the oven to 425˚F, bitches! Mix the flour, baking powder and soda together and then sift it into a mixing bowl of highest quality. Add the salt, 2/3 cup of sugar, and cornmeal, and mix with a wooden spoon until it is nigh on homogeneous. Add the butter and use your fingertips to incorporate the little butter-chunks into the dough (don’t mix it too much, though, just get the dry ingredients to adhere nicely to the outside of the butter). Mix the cherries in so that they are mingling casually with the dry ingredients, then make a well in the center of the bowl, pour the buttermilk in, and mix/fold until just combined.
Separate the dough into 10-12 scone-sized rounded chunks and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with the remaining sugar so the tops are coated nicely and then stick ‘em in the oven and immediately bring the temperature down to 375˚F. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are done. [Mine needed 25 minutes or so.]
* Notes on the ingredients: I think these might need a smidgen more baking soda. I couldn’t find any gradations of cornmeal other than “cornmeal” and “polenta,” but the latter is probably too coarse, so use the former (which seems right). I used %1 buttermilk and that also seems to have worked fine; who knows what difference whole buttermilk would make though?
Some notes for future reference:
- Got “coarse grind” cornmeal at Whole Foods: it is WAY too coarse. There were chunks of corn all up in this piece, tho the flavor was pretty much perfection. Next time, will probably just downgrade to normal cornmeal from Safeway.
- The dough is wicked wet, even when the scones turned out texturally great. This is not a “turn out dough, roll, cut” scone recipe. I tried one batch forming triangles on my parchment paper, and even that was a headache. I’d say mix the last step somewhat casually, and just before all of the cornmeal is integrated in, smoosh the scone shapes out with your hands.
- Now that I’ve done it once, I can’t stop doing it: turbinado sugar makes the most beaaaautiful, sparkly top.
I am glad you made them! :v
- I think normal cornmeal is the medium-grind stuff, yeah.
- They’re more drop scones than the triangulate-able kind. I probably should have mentioned that, but these may have been the first scones I ever made.
- Turbinado is the shit.
When you come visit Berkeley, we will take you to the cheeseboard and you can COMPARE YOURS TO THE ORIGINAL in situ.
I couldn’t remember where this recipe came from, and lo and behold, we were the first result on the second page on a google search for “cornmeal cherry scones”. For a site barely in use, our SEO is pretty good!
Just wanted to let you know that I am taking another crack at these Thursday night. They will be consumed Friday… AT DISTANT WORLDS THE FINAL FANTASY CONCERT. :OOOOOO