Blueberry Lemon Scones

Over the weekend I was inspired (largely by the quantity of blueberries in my fridge) to make blueberry scones. I’d never made scones before, so set about the internets searching for a recipe that was everything I thought a scone recipe should be. Sort of the platonic ideal of a scone recipe.

I needed it to be light (I hate those scones that look delicious but that are hard as rocks when you bite into them); I needed it to use ingredients that I had on hand (which, given my pantry, isn’t too hard of a requirement); and I needed it to be fairly simple (before my coffee in the morning I don’t want to tackle something too complicated). I found one that mostly fit the bill and tweaked it from there. It wasn’t perfect: some of the steps I took were messier than strictly necessary, and it wasn’t quite lemony enough to be justified in calling itself a blueberry lemon scone (but that could have been the fault of the lemon not the recipe) but, for a first attempt at a scone, I’ve deemed it a success. I’ve included what I feel should correct some of those minor problems in the recipe here.

When they came out of the oven they were light and buttery, not too sweet, and full of blueberries. The also smelled wonderful!

Blueberry Lemon Scones

makes 12 scones

• 2 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1 rounded tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp. butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
• zest from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup half and half, plus 2 tbsp. for topping
• 1 heaping tbsp. powdered buttermilk (optional, but really good!)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tbsp. raw sugar (for topping)

Heat your oven to 400º F. Line two medium baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture is sort of crumbly (like you are making a pie crust). Stir in the lemon zest. Err on the side of more lemon zest.

Combine the half and half, powdered buttermilk and egg. Pour into a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter just comes together. Lightly toss the blueberries in flour, then fold into the batter. Don’t worry if a few break, but be gentle.

Turn out the batter onto a floured work surface and, using floured hands, gently fold it over on itself a few times. It should come together into a dough. Shape it into a rectangle approximately 8″ x 12″ and 1″ deep. Using a sharp knife divide the dough in half lengthwise, then divide into thirds the other direction (you’ll end up with six small rectangles). Then, cut each small piece into the distinctive triangle shape that scones are “supposed” to be.

Transfer each triangle to the parchment lined sheets, leaving about 2″ between them. Brush the tops of the scones with half and half and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove to cooling rack. Serve while still warm.

Edit, 8/23/10: I’m happy to report that these scones freeze very well. The high butter (aka fat) content in them helps with this. Reheat them for about a minute at 50% power in your microwave, then about 10-15 seconds on high. I can attest that they keep well for at least a week, and I’m guessing they’d be fine after a month. If they last that long!