Also made these scones before we left on our weekend Iowa adventure to bring along. We dropped off a few for our favorite new baby, Ethan Treat (aptly named), to eat via vertical transmission. Hope his parents Aaron and Lauren enjoyed them!
Lemon Blueberry Scones
Baking Illustrated
Yield – 8 scones
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
5 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup heavy cream
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, powder, sugar, and salt.
- Use a pastry blender to combine the butter and lemon zest into the flour. Cut the dough until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Gently toss in the blueberries.
- Add the cream and mix with a spatula until just combined.
- Pour the whole mixture on the counter and knead lightly to bring together. Don’t overwork the dough, it’s going to be crumbly, just let it be.
- Push the dough into a circular shape and cut into 8 pieces. Place each piece on the parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack
I did not eat them because I hate blueberries. But KP loved the scones and highly recommends this recipe with 4 stars. Must give a HUGE THANK YOU to my parents for their birthday gift to me: baking supplies gifts, ingredients and equipment, and to the Wisemans for their ingredients giftcard!
Highlights from Birthday Weekend in Perry, Iowa:
Driving four hours on the ice-rinked highway through Winter Storm Luna to arrive safely in Rochester with no injuries to report other than Very Wet Armpits and suspicion of an ulcer. KP has no school today on account of the ice–it’s bad!
Discovering by happenstance the Picket Fence Creamery in Woodward, Iowa and purchasing six gallons of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted, which, we brought home in coolers they gave us for free because a doctor in town donates them regularly from insulin shipments he receives. I bought ice cream in an ice storm. And in short, I now have ice cream in insulin coolers… as a medical student I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Found my new favorite mixed drink at The Whistling Donkey—they call it a Moscow Mule and serve it in a copper mug. Notice the deer head in the background in this shot:
Loved our time in Iowa and hope to return in the summer for Ragbrai Bike Festival! What a kind, hospitable community.
So happy that you had fun and you are safe! I don’t know about all that ice cream…I think I see a little cholesterol shadow on your eye….Dad and I would like to buy you a lipid panel for Valentine’s Day. We love you hugely.
Pretty sure my lipids are flippin’ pinpoint. Quote adapted from my latest favorite alternative romance “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Why are they so yellow? I checked the ingredients and there’s just a little lemon zest. I’m with you on the blueberries, but they’re saying now that if we women eat them and strawberries, we’re guaranteed better hearts.
I think it has to do with the stick of butter in the recipe 🙂 for which we women are NOT guaranteed better hearts after eating.
I forgot to wish you happy birthday, so Happy Belated Birthday!
On topic, how do you keep the scones from feeling (and tasting) like super dense bricks that contain the mass of the sun in just a few square inches? I’ve never been able to master that part…
Grating the cold COLD butter helps, and barely stirring. I almost don’t touch that “dough”–it stays something like a slurry. Also, the oven needs to be hot hot hot the second those puppies get in there, and all the ingredients need to be fresh (ahem, the baking powder most of all). That’s what Baking Illustrated says, and they have tested everything.
Yes, we definitely did enjoy them. Thanks, Rachel. — Aaron & Lauren