A rainy day scone day

It's pissing down with rain here in Malibu. No catering duties today and I gave the LA marathon a wide berth this year... Running in the rain does so not appeal.  I'm English, I've had more than my fair share of running in the rain, usually for a bus or a train and it's not fun.
So I've done what any sensible person should do to counteract a piss awful day and  baked up a batch of cherry, almond scones. Time to brew a pot of tea, put my feet up, eat and read the Sunday paper. Bliss.

Tip for making feathery light scones: Don't maul the dough. Treat it almost like pastry dough. The less you touch it with your hands the better. Use either a pastry blender or a kitchen aid mixer with the  paddle attachment.  And make sure the butter is icy cold. Same goes for the eggs & buttermilk. Also I find that if you let the crumb mixture chill for an hour or so before adding the wet mixture you get a much lighter final product.

Cherry Almond Scones:
Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal (Trader Joes is fab)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I love King Arthur flours)
1/2 tsp salt (kosher) God I sound like Ina Garten.
1 Tbsp & 3/4 tsp of baking powder
2 sticks icy cold butter (keep it in the freezer)
1 1/4 cups chopped dried bing cherries
3 large eggs (chilled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond essence
3/4 cup buttermilk (chilled, but shake to combine)
1 egg (well beaten for your egg wash & a little extra sugar for sprinkling)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine almond meal, flour, baking powder, salt in a large mixing bowl
3. Cut the butter into small pieces. Add to dry ingredients. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Use a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment - the secret is to not man handle the dough - kind of like pastry - keep it light and don't get it all hotted up)
4. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, buttermilk & almond essence.
5. Add the chopped cherries to the dry mix & combine - make sure you don't get great clumps of cherries.
6. Add the wet mix to the dry and stir until combined. Don't overmix!
7. Pull it all together with your hands, again, don't manhandle. If it all looks a bit sloppy add a little more flour. You should have a dough that's fairly sturdy and can be rolled out.
8. Flour your pastry board, dump the dough out of the bowl and roll to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut with a very sharp pastry cutter - 1/2" is good, but don't make them too big. You don't want hockey pucks.
9. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Brush with your egg wash, sprinkle each scone with a little sugar.
Bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes.They should be golden brown and cooked through. Let them cool for as long as you can restrain yourself.
Enjoy!