Name: Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Scones
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups All-Purpose Flour; 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder; 3/4 cup Sugar; 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder; 1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar; 1 Teaspoon Salt; 1/2 cup Cherry; 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips; 1 Stick (8 ounces) Cold Butter; 1 cup sourdough starter discard; 1 large egg; 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract; 1/2 cup Milk or Buttermilk

Home » Easy Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Scones Recipe

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These chocolate cherry sourdough scones are tender and delightful. The play of the tart cherries and chocolate is a decadent treat that tingles on the tongue. This easy recipe will show you how to make these treats step-by-step.

I love U-pick farms. It is so fun to go and pick the perfect tree with the brightest fruits, drag over the ladder, climb up, and pick the best fruits and toss them into your basket. Alternating between tossing fruit in your basket and tossing a few in your mouth as you savor the delicious and enriched flavor of a beautifully juicy fruit. U-Picks are amazing. If you haven’t had the chance to go to one, I highly suggest it!

My husband and I were driving along the highway and saw a small handmade sign advertising a cherry U-pick. I almost made him turn around right then and go pick cherries with me! But I knew he would just want to hurry me along and get back on the road.

So, I went to the little farm later in the day and started picking my cherries. Of course, I was so excited I went in the middle of the day when it was about 90 degrees. It was a little uncomfortable, but I was so excited! After 2 hours, I finally decided I had picked enough and that it was time to go home. I talked to the sweet little old man who owned the place for a bit and went home to celebrate my accomplishment.

After the cherries were washed with water and soaked in vinegar water for a few minutes (just to make sure any random bugs were taken care of), I dumped the cherries onto a towel to dry.

Because I had to pick through some of the cherries at the farm that had worm holes, I decided to check a cherry just to make sure.

Well, after I had opened one, and then two, and then three cherries……..there were worms in all of them.

All of the cherries went into the trash. So disappointing.

I had worked so hard, and ALL the cherries had worms! I was so disappointed, but I had a recipe idea, and I still wanted to try it. So, I decided to make a “feel better smoothie.” In searching for ingredients for my smoothie-what do ya know I found a bag of dried tart cherries!

Yes! I could still make my recipe!

It only took a couple of recipe tests before I made the most perfect cherry chocolate scones. These are so decadent and to die for. I don’t think I have had anything this good in my mouth for a very long time. Its above the top delicious!

So, without further ado. Let’s get baking!

What Type of Flour Should I Use?

I used an all-purpose flour for this recipe. You could choose to use bread flour or even cake flour for a more tender crumb. However, most everyone has AP Flour at home, so that is what I decided to use in this recipe!

What Type of Cherry is Best?

Dried Tart cherries are the answer to the needs of this recipe. The tartness of the cherries is a beautiful addition to the rich chocolate in the bread. Sour cherries would work as well.

While you could use fresh cherries, keep in mind that the juicy cherries will add more moisture to the dough. You may need to add more flour to accommodate the extra liquid in the cherries.

You could also use sweet or bing cherries in this recipe, though you will end up with an overwhelmingly sweet scone. The cherry chocolate scones will still be delicious, but you will be craving a bit of tartness with it.

What Type of Chocolate Chips Should I Use for Cherry Chocolate Scones?

The best chocolate chip to use in this recipe is a semi-sweet or dark chocolate chip. The amount of sweetener and cocoa powder makes the scone rich, so you don’t want milk chocolate in this recipe. Semi-sweet chocolate chips help bring out the flavor of the chocolate without overpowering your tastebuds.

The first iteration of this recipe used chocolate liquor chips instead of sweetened chips. I had originally thought that any sugar added to the already rich dough would not be wanted. Boy, was I wrong! The chocolate liquor chips made the scone feel dry and left everyone grasping for a glass of water!

So, the addition of the semi-sweet is a perfect compliment to the cherries and scone dough.

What Kind of Cocoa Powder to Use?

For this recipe, I used a medium Redwood Dutch cocoa powder. Now, you don’t need to get anything fancy like that for your scones.

Any old cocoa powder will do. However, if you are looking for something with a little hint of something extra special, it may be fun to jaunt down to your local baking shop and see what they have!

Cutting in the Butter.

Instead of using a pastry cutter for this recipe I used a box grater to cut the cold butter. Using a cheese grater helps to get the butter into perfectly sized pieces fo flaky scones. I also am not perfect at getting my butter cubes incorporated into my doughs yet, so its a little bit of a cheat!

Do I Have to Ferment This Sourdough?

No, you don’t have to ferment the dough for this recipe. I have a leavening agent to help with the rise of the dough. The sourdough discard is mostly there for flavor and because we need to use up our discard somehow!

You could let the dough rest overnight to help ferment the grains for better digestion, but not necessary for this recipe. Just cook the dough the next day as you would if you were still following the recipe.

Can I Make This In a Food Processor?

Yes! You can absolutely make this recipe in a food processor. Just forgo cutting the butter with the box grater and cut them into butter cubes instead.

Toss the cubes in and pulse the food processor a few times to incorporate the cold butter before moving on to the next step.

How Can I tell When My Scones Are Done?

Well, now, that’s a great question! It is a little more difficult to tell when these scones are done because they don’t turn golden brown on top. If you keep an eye on them in the oven, you will notice the butter melting and making the top of the scones look wet.

As the scones keep baking, they will look a bit of that “wetness” and start to look dry. When the tops are look matte, the scones are firm, and there are no doughy parts on the sides, you could pull them out of the oven.

If you are really worried, you can open one (carefully!) and see if it is finished in the middle. If not, simply put them back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. I also used a toothpick to check when these were done as well and that seemed to work well.

Variations

This recipe could easily have ingredients switched around for many delicious variations of a chocolate scone.

Here are some ideas:

Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones
Orange zest and Cranberry Scones
Sea Salt Carmel Scones
Chocolate and Marshmallow S’more scone

Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Scones

Yield: 8 Scones

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

These chocolate cherry scones with sourdough discard are an easy but decadent treat. With a tender crumb, mild sweetness, and tart cherry, they are a well-rounded snack.

Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Cherry
1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Stick (8 ounces) Cold Butter
1 cup sourdough starter discard
1 large egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Milk or Buttermilk

Instructions

Prehead oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients. Mix well.
Mix tart cherries (or other sticky add-in) into the dry mixture.
Grate the cold butter into dry ingredients. (Pulse with the dry mixture in the food processor.)
In a separate bowl, mix together discard, egg, vanilla, and milk or buttermilk.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold the ingredients together. Mix until just combined. It may have some dry ingredients not mixed well.
Turn the dough out ontoa lightly floured surface and knead the dough a couple of times until all the flour is incorporated.
Shape dough into a circle with a 1inch thickness. Cut into 8 peices with a bench scraper or sharp knife.
Evenly place onto a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Notes

If you want to brush the tops of your scones with milk, heavy cream, or an egg wash, you can.

For best results, cold butter, milk, and eggs straight from the fridge are best to keep the scones flaky and light. If you would like to use frozen butter, you can do that as well!

If you would like to long ferment the scones, mix all ingredients except baking powder, cream of tartar, and mix-ins and let set for 8-10 hours (or overnight). When ready to bake, turn the dough out onto a counter and flatten. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients onto the dough and knead until combined.

You can freeze these after baking and store them for later use! Just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container for the freezer. They are easy to pop in the microwave and eat later.