Your summer zucchini avalanche can be put to good use with these delicious scones. The dough will seem dry at first, but as the zucchini mixes with the sugar, it will give up its liquid and everything will work out fine. Tart dried cherries give a bright pop of color and fun to these tasty breakfast or snack-time treats.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, or grease the wells of a scone pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Cut in the butter until it's the size of peas. Stir in the dried cherries, then put the zucchini and lemon zest on top (don't stir them in yet).
In a separate small bowl or measuring cup, whisk the egg with the vanilla and milk. Add all at once, to the dry ingredients, and stir until the dough is evenly moistened. It will seem quite dry at first, but keep stirring and the zucchini will begin to give up its liquid.
As soon as the dough holds together, scoop it onto the prepared baking sheet and gently pat it into a circle about 1/2" thick, or scoop it into the greased wells of a scone pan.
Cut the dough into 8 wedges. If you want to make smaller scones, use a tablespoon scoop to make rounds. Or use a small scone pan, dropping a scoopful of dough into each well.
Pull the large wedges apart a bit, leaving them in a circular pattern with about 1" space between each wedge.
Sprinkle the top of the scones with sparkling sugar, if desired.
Bake the scones for 22 to 24 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Bake the smaller scones for 13 to 15 minutes, or until they test done. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm.
