Welcome back to another edition of Margaret baking food from books!
This week, to celebrate Tuesday’s release of Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell, I made Watford’s famous sour cherry scones. In Carry On, Simon names these scones as the thing he misses most about Watford when he leaves for the holidays.
So obviously, in honor of Simon, I had to make these beloved scones.
I found the recipe for these scones at Fiction Food Cafe, which gets full credit for all of the actual work behind this. And as a note, I wasn’t able to find actual sour cherries at my grocery store (I know – how dare I call these sour cherry scones, right?) so instead used this tart cherry filling. Close enough, I think.
Now let’s get into the recipe!
The Recipe
Note: everything in bold is the recipe from Fiction Food Cafe. Everything in italics, plus the pictures, are mine.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Tbsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 3/4 tsp. Salt
- 1 stick (8 Tbsp.) Butter, chilled in the freezer
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream (Note: I used a mixture of oat milk and vegetable oil as a non-dairy substitute here)
- 3/4 Cup Sour/Tart Cherries, patted dry & diced if fresh, drained well & patted dry if canned (in water)
- 1 Tbsp. Water
- Turbinado/Raw Sugar
Directions
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients & then grate in the butter. Cut it all together with a pastry blender or two forks or knives to create a just-crumbly mixture.
- In a liquid measuring cup whisk together 1 egg & the heavy cream.
- Note: this is where I messed up. I didn’t read closely enough and put in both eggs. This is why you read the instructions, kids.
- Pour this into the crumb mixture & stir until it just comes together. Fold in the cherries until just combined (make sure the cherries are truly as drained & patted dry as you can get them if using canned!).
- Pre-heat your oven to 375ºF. Line a baking tray with parchment.
- If making wedges: Form the dough into a ball & place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten the ball into a disc about 1 1/2″ thick & wrap in the plastic & place in the freezer until the oven is ready. Flour a large knife & cut the disc into 8 equal slices. Arrange these about 1 1/2-2″ apart on the tray.
- If making mounds: Break the dough into ~2 1/2″ diameter balls & place them on the tray about 2″ apart. Flatten them gently into discs about 1 1/2″ thick. Place in the freezer until the oven is ready.
- Note: I made mounds and, since the dough was runny thanks to the extra egg, had to freeze it for a little longer than the recipe suggested so that they kept their shape.
- Whisk the remaining egg with the 1 Tbsp. water until the egg whites are completely broken up. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash & then sprinkle with the turbinado/raw sugar.
- Note: reading that “remaining egg” is where I realized I’d messed up…but the scones were already in the freezer at that point and there was no going back. *deep sigh*
- Slide in the oven, middle rack, & bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top & golden brown around the edges. Serve warm with tea & copious amounts of real butter (try salted).
The finished scones were a little flatter than they should have been, due to the extra egg I accidentally added, but they were still light and sweet and delicious! I can definitely see why Simon is obsessed with them.
Have you ever made sour cherry scones? What’s your favorite food from a book?
x Margaret
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oh my gosh that is AMAZING I always wondered what they’d be like… I would TOTALLY try these they look delicious (even though I am a firm believer that fruits and pastries are in a strained relationship and wouldn’t be together if it wasn’t for the pleasure of the public)
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They ARE delicious 😄 Haha I sometimes feel the same way about fruit and pastries…but they tasted great in these! Thanks!
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These look so freaking good?! I haven’t even read Carry On but I want to try these!
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You definitely don’t have to have read Carry On to appreciate these 😉 I highly recommend them!!
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These look delicious! I’ll have to try making them when I finally get around to rereading Carry On/ reading Wayward Son.
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They really are delicious 😄 I hope they work out for you, and enjoy your Carry On reread!!
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Great post, those scones look delicious 💜
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Thanks – they were! 😋
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Oh. My. God. These sound (and look) delicious! I remember craving them when I read the book, even though I have never actually had a sour cherry scone before…so guess I need to try this recipe ASAP!!
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Thanks!! I’d never had sour cherry ANYTHING before these and was surprised by how sweet it ended up being. You should definitely try this recipe!!
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If I do, I’ll make sure to post about it and give you a shout-out 😊 thanks for sharing this one!
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I love this series so much! First the Percy Jackson Cupcakes and now the Simon Scones! I am so hungry!
– Emma 🙂
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You should give these a try!! They’re delicious 😋 Thanks!
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WOW!! THESE LOOK ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! 😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️ + you must have felt, in a way, closer to the characters right? I know I would have!! 😍😍 😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS POST’!! ❤️❤️❤️
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They were delicious!! And it was such a fun way to feel like I understood Simon better 😊 Thank you!n
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❤️❤️
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OMG this looks so tasty 🥰🤤 I love your bookish baking posts, they always get me excited to do more baking myself! Scones are fantastic and I’m 100% with Simon on loving them 💞 I definitely need to make some again, even though I prefer ones that have chocolate chips 🍪
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Thanks!! Ooh you should definitely try these – maybe not as good as chocolate chip scones (hard to beat that 😉) but still delicious!!
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These look so delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe! 😊 I’ve always wondered what these would taste like, and why Simon loves them so much. I’ll definitely have to make some of these when I reread Carry On! 😉
I just got my copy of Wayward Son on Friday, and I’m so excited! I’m already planning on rereading the series in a few months, even though I’m only 100 pages in right now 😂
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They were so yummy! 😋 I completely agree with Simon on that account. Ooh yes making these while rereading Carry On sounds like the perfect idea!! I hope you enjoy that and Wayward Son!! 😄
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Oh gosh these look delicious- really want to try them!! Especially cos of the link to Carry on!!
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You should try them! Delicious and perfect for Carry On fans!
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Awesome!!! 😀
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Ahhh these look and sound SO delicious, Margaret! I’ve never made sour cherry scones before, but now I really want to. Haha! Lovely post! ❤
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Thank you! 😀 You should try them sometime, they’re delicious!
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