Things have been a little down around here, lately. It's high time I shared something wonderful with you, dear readers.
At the moment, I can think of few things more wonderful than the plump orbs of juicy Summer chilling in my refrigerator. BLUEBERRIES. 10 pounds. And I intend to buy another 10 pounds if they're still available.
What, pray tell, does one do with 20 pounds of fresh-picked rotund indigo nuggets bursting in your mouth with an explosion of sweet tartness?
Well, after popping so many right out of the box that I look like this...
I'm freezing some, making blueberry butter, blueberry jam, blueberry crumb bars, blueberry liqueur, blueberry breakfast bars, and my newest favorite:
Lemon Blueberry Scones.
These babies are massive. I think the recipe actually makes two batches, but I didn't know that so I made 8 mondo scones.
I made blueberry orange scones last year and was quite disappointed that they turned out like biscuits... flaky and cohesive. I like the kind of scones that hold together well enough to butter, but ultimately crumble in my coffee and taste like crunchy cake.
Success!!
It's not a very fussy recipe and came together from start to finish in about 35 minutes (prep time of about 5).
Please make these.
Your tastebuds will thank you. Your husband will thank you. Your nephew will thank you. Well... mine did, anyway.
Sour Cream Lemon Blueberry Scones
Recipe adapted from my cousin
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1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached is nice)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
1 egg
1/4 cup cream
2 cups blueberries (approximately -- I didn't measure)
lemon (juice from one lemon, and/or zest from a lemon, or 1/2-1 tsp. lemon extract... I used the extract, 'cause it's what I had)
Preheat oven to 370°F.
In a small bowl, mix sour cream and baking soda.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter (I literally cut the butter by putting it onto a cutting board and chopping it... but you can use a pastry blender, a fork, a food processor, a penny whistle, or any method you normally use to cut in butter).
Add sour cream mixture, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup of cream and lemon (juice, zest, or extract) to the dry ingredients.
Mix with a wooden spoon just to combine. Add in blueberries and knead lightly (in the bowl) just until it forms a cohesive mass with well-dispersed berries. (Note: it won't be pretty, it's a very shaggy dough, but that's what makes them nice and crumbly. DON'T OVERKNEAD, the less you handle the dough the better the end result).
Choose your adventure:
A) Divide the dough into two portions and make each into round discs. Freeze 1 disc to use later and cut the remaining one into 8 pieces (like you would cut a pizza or a pie). Put on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 20-25 minutes.
B) Form the dough into a large round disc. Cut it into 8 pieces (like you would a pizza or a pie), put the mondo scones onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 27-35 minutes, or until golden brown and the middles look cooked.
I think I need to invest in blueberry stock.
You can grow blue-berries in your back yard. We had a few bushes in our back yard before we moved. They were quite successful and produced a lot of fruit.
ReplyDeleteOh how I love scones. And blueberry scones, I'm not sure what could be better. Well, chocolate chip scones do rank in my book, but still. I look forward to trying these out soon!
ReplyDeleteOh yay! They're so worth trying :-D. Please report back if you like them :).
ReplyDeleteWell, in theory we could. In dreams we will on the "new acreage." In reality, the twigs haven't produced so much as a leaf. :(
ReplyDeleteI chose Adventure B :). Here goes breakfast!
ReplyDeleteYou made 'em? Schweet!! How'd it go? :)
ReplyDelete