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1
pit and coarse chop approx 30 ripe red bing cherries. lay out in single layer of a baking dish and pour in amaretto to make a shallow bath. do not fully cover cherries. place pan in warm oven (about 200F) until amaretto is evaporated and cherry pieces are somewhat dry.
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2
flour: UK scone recipes often call for self-rising flour and significant reduction of the baking powder (or none at all), while US recipes with all-purpose flour tend to include baking powder. with this recipe, using cake flour and self-rising, the baking powder was cut in half.
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3
mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, almond pieces, white chocolate chunks and blend all with hands
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4
mix all the wet ingredients: half&half, honey, vanilla extract, and a little of the amaretto (if desired) and set aside.
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5
start with butter that is frozen solid and grate to form pea-sized or smaller pearls or curls. use both sticks and add quickly, blend with hands into dry flour mixture and put in freezer immediately (for 10-15 min) to keep the butter frozen.
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6
mix the wet ingredients until consistent. add the wet mixture and cherries to the dry ingredients all at once and blend/fold with hands being careful not to overwork the dough as though making US style biscuits. return to freezer for about 1/2 hour.
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7
grease/butter a baking sheet and, with hands, form scones to size 1 1/2 to 2 inch wide balls and slightly flatten. brush on whipped egg for glaze.
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8
bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown
