Everyone loves to get a homemade food gift for the Holidays. Cherry Almond Scone Mix is easy to make and to bake, and who doesn’t love a delicious fresh-baked scone?

If you’ve read my blog with any frequency you know how much I love scones. But really, who doesn’t love a fresh-from-the-oven scone?

With this Cherry Almond Scone Mix you can give your friends the gift of homemade scones with half the work (for them).

How to make shelf stable scone mix:

The Cherry Almond Scone Mix recipe is based on my favorite Raisin Scone recipe, which I’ve been making for over 20 years. I did have to make a few adjustments to the recipe to make it shelf stable and to make mixing the dough as easy as possible.

First I replaced the buttermilk in the recipe with buttermilk powder so the person making the scones only need to add water.
Next I added almond extract to the mix and switched out the raisins for dried cherries.
The final change I made to the recipe is the one that pained me the most. I had to switch out my beloved butter for vegetable shortening Nothing is as good as butter but this compromise was necessary to keep the mix shelf stable. If you choose to, you can make the mix with butter instead of shortening. The flavor will be slightly better, but then the mix must be refrigerated until ready to use. I decided it was a compromise worth making and, believe me, the scones still taste great.

The full recipe makes enough baking mix for 2 quart size gift bags, or boxes, or jars, however you decide to package the mix. Each bag will make about 10-12 scones. The mixing instructions are listed in the recipe notes. The instructions are for one quart-size bag of mix.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

Cherry Almond Scone Mix #SundaySupper

Name: Cherry Almond Scone Mix #SundaySupper
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: baked goods
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (4 oz, 112g) granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon real almond extract; 5 cups (25 oz, 700g) unbleached all purpose flour; 2 tablespoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder; 3/4 cup (6 oz, 168g) vegetable shortening, cut into 1" chunks; 1 cup (6 oz, 168) dried cherries, chopped into 1/2" pieces

Yield: 1 quart

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Everyone loves scones. This mix makes it super easy to make fresh scones at home.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (4 oz, 112g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon real almond extract
5 cups (25 oz, 700g) unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder
3/4 cup (6 oz, 168g) vegetable shortening, cut into 1" chunks
1 cup (6 oz, 168) dried cherries, chopped into 1/2" pieces

Instructions

Make the Mix

Place the granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the almond extract over the sugar and whisk to combine, breaking up any lumps that form. Add the flour, buttermilk powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the dry ingredient until evenly combined.
Toss in the shortening and use your fingers to work it into the dry ingredients evenly. Toss in the dried cherries.
The mix can be kept at room temperature until ready to use.

To Make Scones

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Whisk 1 egg with 3/4 cup room temperature water. Add the water to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Dump the dough onto a floured surface. Knead by hand until the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball.
Pat the dough until it is 1" thick. Use a 2.5" biscuit cutter to cut scones. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting until all the dough is used.
Line the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 15 minutes until golden brown.