Perhaps you’re one of those people who are very thoughtful and assiduous about planning the Big Holiday meals. You’re on top of the appetizers, entrée, the sides, the dessert. Maybe you even iron your linen napkins.
But then you slap your proverbial forehead when you realize you didn’t think about what you (and maybe some houseguests?) are going to have for breakfast the day after.
Scones are the answer. So simple to make, fairly quick to bake, and if you want to make the dough and pat it out into a circle the night before, you can pop them into the oven in the morning while you make a cup of coffee and stare at the pots soaking in the sink.
The dough for these scones is fairly sticky, so it benefits from a period of chilling in the fridge, at least two hours. If you’re in a rush, it can also hang out for 30 minutes in the freezer before baking. This allows the butter to remain very cold, and as it melts while baking, small air pockets form which give the scones a light, somewhat flaky texture. The chilling also firms up the dough and prevents it from spreading. Finally, this resting period allows the gluten in the flour to relax, resulting in a more tender product.
Since refrigerator or freezer space is often tight this time of year, you can chill the dough on a parchment-lined plate, since baking sheets are big and cumbersome.
If you don’t have a food processor, or just want to do this by hand, you can also cut the butter into the flour mixture using two knives, a pastry cutter, or your fingers if you work quickly.
I love dried cherries and use them often in dishes both savory and sweet. They can be pricy though, so feel free to substitute other chopped or tiny dried fruit. Try these with dried cranberries or blueberries, or chopped dried apricots.
These scones are best eaten the day they are made, but you can store them for one or two days in an airtight container at room temperature. Warming them in a 300°F oven for a few minutes will refresh the texture and flavor.
Servings: Makes 8 scones
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring the work surface
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup dried cherries
1 cup half and half, plus more for brushing the scones
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
To serve:
Butter, jam or jelly, clotted cream, and/or lemon curd
1. In the bowl of a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add the butter and pulse to blend until the biggest pieces of butter are pea-size but the mixture is not blended — you want it to be unevenly crumbly, with some little bits of cold butter throughout. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries.
2. Mix together the half and half, egg yolk and vanilla in a small bowl until well blended. Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork just until it comes together into a very soft, very sticky dough.
3. Very lightly flour a piece of parchment paper at least 12-by-12 inches and place it on a baking sheet or a large flat plate. (This will be going into your refrigerator, so choose whatever will fit). Turn the dough onto the floured surface, getting all of it out of the bowl. Lightly flour your hands and pat the dough into a 1-inch thick round. Chill the unbaked dough round in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or up to 12, or place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Use a sharp knife to score the top of the dough (this means cut into it only about 1/4-inch deep, creating a line, but not cutting through the dough.) You want to create 8 even wedges (think of cutting a pizza pie). Brush the tops of the scones lightly with half and half. Bake for about 24 to 28 minutes until the top is golden brown and the scones are baked though.
6. Cool the scones on the baking sheet until warm or room temperature. Serve with the condiments of your choice.
Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.
For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes.
A recipe for dried cherry scones is displayed in New York on July 5, 2018. (Cheyenne M. Cohen via AP)
A recipe for dried cherry scones is displayed in New York on July 5, 2018. (Cheyenne M. Cohen via AP)
A recipe for dried cherry scones is displayed in New York on July 5, 2018. (Cheyenne M. Cohen via AP)
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday will decide whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be returned to immigration custody after being free for just over a week.
“This is an extremely irregular and extraordinary situation," U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, of Maryland, told attorneys.
The Monday hearing was a glimpse into the complexity of immigration proceedings as Xinis tried to get information on the status of Abrego Garcia’s case. “I am trying to get to the bottom of whether there are going to be any removal proceedings,” she said as she questioned the government’s lawyer. “You haven’t told me what you’re going to do next."
Abrego Garcia, his wife and legal team were welcomed to the federal court building in Maryland by a boisterous reception that included a choir, bullhorn and drum as scores of supporters cheered. His mistaken deportation to El Salvador has become a lightning rod for both sides of the immigration debate. Inside the courtroom Abrego Garcia sat with at least half a dozen defense team members while a lone government attorney sat across from them.
Abrego Garcia had been in immigration detention since August before his Dec. 11 release. In that time, the government has said it planned to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and, most recently, Liberia. However, officials have made no effort to deport him to the one country he has agreed to go to — Costa Rica. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, in Maryland, has even accused the government of misleading her by falsely claiming that Costa Rica was unwilling to take him.
The government's “persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take him, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose was behind his detention, it was not for the ‘basic purpose’ of timely third-country removal,” she wrote.
In court on Monday, Abrego Garcia's reiterated that he is prepared to go to Costa Rica “today.”
Xinis’ Dec. 11 order that Abrego Garcia be released from immigration custody also concluded that the immigration judge who heard his case in 2019 had failed to issue an order of removal from the U.S., and he cannot be deported anywhere without a removal order.
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to his home country, finding he faced danger there from a gang that had targeted his family. In March, he was mistakenly deported there anyway. U.S. officials resisted calls to bring him back until the Supreme Court weighed in. However, officials have said he cannot stay in the U.S. and have vowed to deport him to a third country.
In filings last week, government attorneys argued that, with or without a final order of removal, they are still working to deport Abrego Garcia, so they can legally detain him during the process.
“If there is no final order of removal, immigration proceedings are ongoing, and Petitioner is subject to pre-final order detention,” they wrote.
For their part, Abrego Garcia's attorneys cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “because immigration proceedings ‘are civil, not criminal’ detention must be ‘nonpunitive.’” They argued that in Abrego Garcia's case, detention is punitive because the government wants to be allowed to hold him indefinitely without a viable plan to deport him.
“If immigration detention does not serve the legitimate purpose of effectuating reasonably foreseeable removal, it is punitive, potentially indefinite, and unconstitutional,” they wrote.
In addition to the Maryland case, Abrego Garcia is fighting human smuggling charges in a Tennessee court. His attorneys in that case on Friday asked the judge for sanctions after Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino made disparaging comments about their client on national news. The judge previously ordered Justice Department and Homeland Security officials to cease making comments that could prejudice Abrego Garcia's right to a fair trial.
Loller reported from Nashville, Tenn.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Immigrant activists rally outside of the United States District Court District of Maryland in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia cries during a rally ahead of a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia waits to enter the building for a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia listens during a rally ahead of a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
