Cherry-walnut scones with lemon curd

*The two most important things to remember about making scones are: Don't overwork the dough--it makes the scones tough. Second, work fast so the dough is cold when it goes in the oven, if you get a phone call while you're making these and can't multi-task...put the mixing bowl in the fridge until you're done!

Preheat the oven to 450*. In your electric mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds to stir. Chop the cold butter into cubes, and add it to the dry mixture.

Mix on low until the butter is cut into pea-sized pieces. (You could also do this with a hand-pastry cutter or a food processor.) Add the milk, and mix until just combined. Stir in the cherries and walnuts. Quickly dump the dough onto a floured work surface.

Roll or hand press the dough into a 1 1/4 inch thick square. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into quarters, then cut each quarter in half—making 8 large triangles. You could cut each triangle in half again to make mini scones.

Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush them with milk and bake immediately for 10 minutes. (You could put the cookie sheet in the fridge if you want to bake them later.)

Serve warm or room temperature, slathered with lemon curd!

*Using milk makes an English biscuit-like fluffy scone, cream creates a denser, richer, cake-like American scone. I used milk, but it’s a preference thing!

Makes 8 large (Starbucks-sized) scones or 16 minis.