A Journey with Blueberry Scones

Wow.  It's been almost 2 years since my last post.  I knew I'd been busy, but wow.  I didn't realize it had been that long.  I hope to correct that now and keep it from happening again.

Y'all know mostly what my family and I have been up to by following me on Facebook, but I decided to start posting pics of my scratch made food here now, too.  I've been doing a lot of it lately and what I made today really made me proud and I wanted to share it it with the blogosphere.

It was overcast and drizzly when I took Cub to summer camp this AM and I was contemplating stopping for a latte on the way home.  I decided against it, remembering I wanted to make scones instead.

After the requisite cleaning of the kitchen (which didn't happen after dinner last night (*sigh*)), I was ready to get started.

(Very) Blueberry Scones (I added the "Very" part to the title because I used twice as many blueberries as the recipe calls for)

(recipe from Tyler Florence)

Here is the cold, cubed butter before I cut it into the already sifted, dry ingredients.

This is the mixture after I cut in the butter and after I folded in the blueberries and mixed in the heavy cream.  I added 2 cups of blueberries, whereas Tyler's recipe called for 1 cup.  I had a lot of blueberries that needed to be used, what can I say.  Also, if some blueberries are good, more are better, right?  Right.  I'm glad you think so, too.

Pictures 3 and 4 are after I pressed the dough together and cut the scones.  I forgot to take a picture of the dough before I cut the scones and put them on the cookie sheet.  (Sorry.  I'll try to remember to take pictures of ALL steps in the future.)  I need to remember when a recipe calls for the item to be put on a "ungreased cookie sheet" I need to use my Silpats.  I've not done a whole lot of baking, so this item isn't stuck in my brain yet.  I bet it will be after I have to scrub the backed-on blueberry goo off my cookie sheets.

Then I brushed the tops with more heavy cream and sprinkled them with sugar for a little extra sweetness and they turned out GBD (golden, brown and delicious)!

Next time I'll try and press the dough into a little more of a uniform thickness and edges as I got various sizes and thicknesses in this go 'round.  They're yummy, but I think I'd add a tad more sugar IN the dough next time.  I'm glad I put in the extra blueberries as the help lift the sweetness left lacking from the measly 2T called for in the recipe.

All in all, I'm calling this a success!  We'll see what Cub and Camera Guy think.  If they don't like them, all the more for me!  Ha!

I encourage you to try making them.  They're easy-peasy, lemon squeezy!  Which reminds me, Tyler also lists a lemon glaze to top the scones with, but I didn't do that, so that part of the recipe isn't shown or listed here.

Here's the recipe (courtesy of Tyler Florence):

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1 cup fresh blueberries (I used 2 cups and am very pleased I did)
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, but in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour.  The mixture should look like course crumbs.  Fold the blueberries into the batter.  Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.  Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream.  Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches.  Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares.  Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape.  Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown.


Karin's tips:

Use 2 cups of blueberries if you really like blueberries, or an extra tablespoon of sugar in the dough.  Use a Silpat or parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle sugar on top of the scones after brushing them with cream.

Enjoy!

My journey today has been a pleasant one that let me get my hands floury, sticky dough under my nails and I expanded my repertoire of baked goods I feel comfortable making and that feels great!  Lunch with Camera Guy topped off a great morning!

Oh, and if you're new to reading my blog, the URL to read all the older posts, too, is journeyhalfthefun.blogspot.com.  If I recall there are some fun ones in there.