It's snowing again here in Ohio. It seems like winter is never going to end! Hopefully this will be the last one of the season. Since it is cold and snowy, I thought I would spend the day baking.
I absolutely love scones. They are a cross between a biscuit and a muffin, with all the best parts of both. I have made scones numerous times and I have made them with many different kinds of flavors. My grocery store had blackberries on sale this week for just 50 cents a pint! Needless to say I bought about 4 of them.
In my opinion, when I cook with any type of berry, I always want some sort of citrus. I enhances the flavor of the berries and just makes them taste even better. Does it matter which type of citrus you use? No, use whatever you like. I used lemon because I like lemon with blackberries and blueberries. If I were using cranberries I would use orange and with raspberries I like lime. Use whatever you like, after all, these are your scones, not mine.
A few notes about some of things that make a good scone. First of all, your ingredients need to be cold. Just like with pie crust, you want those little pieces of butter in your dough to create the right texture. Second, I use a food processor to cut my butter into my flour. If you don't have a food processor, use your pastry cutter or even a fork or butter knife. I also used my Kitchenaid mixer to pull the dough together. You can definitely use your hands to do this.
When you are making these scones, you want to handle the dough as little as possible. You don't want that butter to melt from the heat of your hands and you don't want a tough dough. Also, you don't want to break up the berries too much and turn your dough purple. I cut my blackberries in half because they are so big. You can leave them whole if you like, it doesn't matter. If you are using a smaller berry like blueberries, you should leave them whole.
Some tools you will need (and should definitely invest in if you don't have them) are:
tapered rolling pin,
zester or small grater,
pastry scraper, and a large baking sheet ( I used a 12x17" but you can use two smaller ones of that is all you have). *Just a note, the products I linked to are the ones I own, I am not being paid to share those, just showing what I used.
Blackberry and Lemon Scones
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Makes 8 scones
2 cups +1/4 cup all-purpose flour, separated
1/2 granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 eggs
1 pint (~1 cup) blackberries, cut in half
Turbinado sugar (for sprinkling on top)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a food processor, mix 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Pulse 2 times just to combine. Add in cubes of butter and pulse 10-12 times to cut butter into flour, until butter is the size of peas.
In a small bowl, toss blackberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine sour cream, lemon juice, and one egg.
Pour flour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pour in the wet mixture and mix until just combined and starting to form a dough. Add in the flour coated blackberries and mix on low for just a few seconds until the blackberries are distributed.
Pour mixture onto a well floured surface and lightly knead it together just until it comes together into a ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes.
Take dough out of the fridge and return it to the well floured surface. Roll dough into an 8" round circle that is 3/4" thick. Cut the dough into 8 triangles.
Place triangles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make an egg wash by combining your remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water, whisking to combine. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
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| Be sure to spread them out on your baking sheet, they need room so they can evenly bake. |
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the scones are baked through.
- These are best served fresh from the oven, but they can be stored in an air tight container for about a week. Just cool them completely before storing.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Experiment with different fruits and citrus combinations.
Happy Wandering :)
Brooke
