cheery cherry almond scones

For last month's book club we went the path of a more serious read, Set This House in Order, about two people with multiple personalities who become friends.  The rather grim nature of the book was offset by lively company and a delicious breakfast at 34th St. Bistro in Fremont.  At breakfast they served the table a basket of cherry almond scones, that we ate while we waited for the main dishes to arrive.  They were so good, that we were still thinking of them a few weeks later and decided to make a batch.

CHERRY & ALMOND SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
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• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in cherries.
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• In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth. Add in almond extract and stir until incorporated. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
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• Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

I believe it is a hand pie.

These sweet little pockets of goodness are what you eat when you decide you're too old to be eating pies out of a paper bag, sold three for $.79. OR if that time never comes, it's what you eat when you are out of range of a 7/11. If neither of these conditions ever come true for you, it's a good option if you're in need of a quick and easy dessert, suitable for serving to others. Because I like portable economy pies as much as the next guy, but I always worry people will find the wrappers in the garbage. After already distributing the recipe for said "homemade" pies, this can pose a problem. It's best to avoid this whole mess and keep your dignity by grabbing some fruits and getting started.

CHERRY AND PEACH GALETTES

Filling:

2 cups bing cherries, pitted

1 cup peaches

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Crusts (Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated):

2 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter , cut into 5/8-inch cubes (1 1/2 sticks)

7-9 tablespoons ice water

Wash:

1 egg, beaten

Sugar for dusting

1) Combine flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar in food processor with three 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour, pulse to cut butter into flour until butter pieces are size of large pebbles, about 1/2 inch, about six 1-second pulses.

2) Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over mixture and pulse once quickly to combine; repeat, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulsing, until dough begins to form small curds that hold together when pinched with fingers (dough should look crumbly and should not form cohesive ball).

3) Form Mound:Empty dough onto work surface and gather into rough rectangular mound about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide.

4) Fraisage & Chill: Starting at farthest end, use heel of hand to smear small amount of dough against counter, pushing firmly down and away from you, to create separate pile of dough (flattened pieces of dough should look shaggy). Continue process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into rough 12 by 5-inch mound and repeat smearing process. Dough will not have to be smeared as much as first time and should form cohesive ball once entire portion is worked. Form dough into 4-inch square, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold and firm but still malleable, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

5) About 15 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up fruit and mix with sugar and cornstarch.

6) Roll and trim dough: Place dough on floured 16 by 12-inch piece of parchment paper and dust with more flour. Cut into six even pieces and form into round balls. One by one, roll each ball out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick, dusting top and bottom of dough and rolling pin with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Trim dough so edges are even with parchment paper. You'll end up with six round circles.

7) Fill with fruit: Place about 1/4 to 1/2 c. of fruit on each dough circle, keep in mind you'll want a little over an inch of crust around the fruit to fold up.

8) Form border: Roll up 1 inch of each edge and pinch firmly, creating a fold every two inches around the circle. With parchment on cookie sheet and tarts formed and filled, brush each pie with egg wash and dust with sugar.

9) Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45-55 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and fruit is bubbling.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. And enjoy! As we discovered, these are even more deliciuos reheated quickly in the oven on day 2, and again served a la mode.