Sconies

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Scatter butter cubes across the flour mixture and use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add dried cherries and chocolate chips.

Stir in the cream with a rubber spatula until a soft dough begins to form (there will be lots of crumbles – it won’t be totally smooth). Then, to bring it all together, reach your hands into the bowl and knead the crumbles into the moist dough until just combined. (If you prefer, you could turn the mixture out onto the counter and knead it together there.)

Turn the dough out onto a counter (or into a 9-inch pie plate) and form the dough into a 9-inch disc. Cut the disc into 8 wedges and sprinkle with a bit of coarse sugar. Place sconies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees just before placing sconies in the oven and bake until the tops are just beginning to turn golden in spots and they are nicely browned on the bottom (usually about 12 minutes, but I watch them carefully).