This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
If you’ve never tried cherry chocolate scones, you’re missing out! These fresh cherry scones made with zero refined sugars are THE BEST double chocolate scones you’ll try!
I had to sneak in one last recipe using stone fruits before fall really begins. In true Calgary form, it hailed a few days ago, so I guess we’re well on the way to winter (insert sob)!!
Anyway, you can still find a lot of delicious summer fruits at the stores, so I stocked up on watermelon, cherries and blueberries. Next weekend I’m headed to the annual Harvest Sale at Heritage Park. Last year I came home with SO much produce on the cheap! I can’t wait to see what I find this year. Stay tuned to my Instagram stories because I’ll be showing it all off there!
So I bought and photographed these cherries a few weeks ago, and you know what? I’ve made them twice since, because they are SO good. I’ve made the base without any refined sugar, so I basically feel like these are health food. And yet they taste sooo much more decadent than that!
What’s in these chocolate cherry scones?
The usual scone ingredient suspects make up the foundation of these scones: butter, flour, baking powder, salt, and cream. Rather than including granulated sugar in the recipe, I’ve swapped it for maple syrup. The result is a less intensely sweet scone, but if you’re a fan of dark chocolate, you’ll love these! Besides, the chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle on top make up for any lost sweetness.
You’ll need cocoa powder to make these scones chocolatey, and some vanilla extract for flavor.
In total, the recipe uses about 6 ounces of fresh cherries (pitted and diced).
Can you use frozen cherries in this recipe?
Yes! Just dice them from frozen and do not thaw beforehand. I haven’t tried the recipe with maraschino cherries; however, I suspect they’d be pretty good! Just a lot sweeter and “candied”.
How do you make chocolate cherry scones?
Start the recipe by whisking together the dry ingredients:
- all-purpose flour
- cocoa powder
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- salt
Then, cut in the frozen butter using a pastry cutter or two forks. I like to use a box grater on the frozen butter to create little shreds of butter. It actually looks like mozzarella cheese! Then use that butter to cut in to the mixture until it forms small clumps.
Then in another bowl, whisk together the cream, maple syrup, vanilla and egg. Pour this into the dry, and gently mix together with a large wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed. Toss in the cherries and chocolate chips and combine.
Form the dough into a 8″ circle and place it on to a piece of parchment paper, on a baking sheet. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the circle into 8 equal wedges. Bake the scones in the oven for 18-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Using a knife again, reinforce the lines of the scones and then gently remove them from the circle, placing them on a cooling rack.
Once cooled, drizzle melted chocolate on top and enjoy!
Some other delicious scone recipes from the blog:
PrintChocolate Cherry Scones
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
Description
If you’ve never tried cherry chocolate scones, you’re missing out! These fresh cherry scones made with zero refined sugars are THE BEST double chocolate scones you’ll try!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 6 oz fresh cherries, pitted and diced*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a large box-hole grater, grate the frozen butter thoroughly. Add the frozen butter to the dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut in the butter until a pea-like mixture is formed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, maple syrup, egg and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir everything together until just combined. Add in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and cherries and stir together.
- Empty the scone dough on to a lightly floured surface, and using floured hands, shape the dough into an 8″ circle. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour to the dough and/or your hands. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the circle into 8 equal pieces. Place the pieces on the prepared baking pan. Bake the scones for 18-19 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once you remove the scones from the oven, use a sharp knife to separate the individual scones, and use a spatula to gently remove them from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Once cooled, melt the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, heating in 30 second increments until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate all over the baked scones. Enjoy!
Leftover scones will keep at room temperature, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
*You can use frozen cherries, but do not thaw them first!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: breakfast
- Method: oven bake
- Cuisine: american
I love me a good scone and love that this don’t have any refined sugar. Yes!!
I love that part too Kelly!! Thank you!!
Cherry and chocolate is such a perfect combination for scones! I can just imagine how fabulous they are with a cup of coffee!! Love your photos as well Katherine!
SO wonderful Tasia. Thank you Tasia!!
These scones are delicious but very hard to mix the cherries sand chocolate chips into it.. gets very thick and sticky so make sure to add those in earlier in the mixing process rather than later. Made this for Christmas last year too and forgot about that part until it was too late so leaving a comment to try and avoid the mistake again next year. 🙂