Blueberry Scones

For Tracey.

In my insane desire to make and write about as many blueberry things as possible, in one part of one morning - Red Sox Game Day Morning, in fact - I made a batch of scones and a batch of a sort of cornbread called Blueberry Jonnycake-in-the-Oven.  I haven't even written that one up yet, so don't go looking for it today.  Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, Tracey is the one who made me think of Blueberry Scones.  Normally I'm kind of rigid and inflexible in what may or may not go into a scone, and I'm mainly a raisin or currant kind of scone-making chick.  But if Tracey would like blueberries in her scones, I'd make them for her without question. 

So here they are. 

I used a recipe from Great British Cooking, by Jane Garmey, which is subtitled "A Well-Kept Secret," though I have always liked any of the traditional Brit foods my grandmother made. 

Anyway, I used "Aunt Rachel's Scones" as my base recipe, and to that I added about a cup and a half of the wild blueberries we'd picked a few days earlier.  I don't have an Aunt Rachel, and the book doesn't really talk about her at all, though I do like the brief blurb about scones that precedes the ingredient list:

"Scones are very easy to make and should be eaten right away as they do not keep well.  (There is nothing in the world more dreary than day-old Scones.)  Traditionally, Scones are served for tea while still warm from the oven, cut in half and spread with butter and lots of strawberry jam.  They are fattening, indigestible and quite glorious."

I love that - fattening, indigestible and quite glorious.  Sounds like my kind of food.

Scones are pretty easy to make.  I made mini-scones, by the way, just so I could share them with a bunch of people - my parents, Joe and Em (who were babysitting the kids when we went to the ballgame), and of course, Bill and Alex and Julia. 

This recipe makes 8-10 scones if you follow the directions as written.  I think I got about twice that in my miniaturized version.

So here, with thanks to Aunt Rachel, is my blueberry scone recipe.

You will need:

2  1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

3 ounces butter

1 heaped tablespoon honey

Approximately 1/4 cup milk

1  1/2 cups (approx) blueberries (the small, wild ones are best for this recipe if you can get them.)

1 egg, beaten with a little water (for egg wash) (optional)

Sparkling sugar (optional)

And here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar together.

Cut the butter in with a pastry blender or your fingers or a food processor until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the honey and enough milk to make a light springy dough, which should be just firm enough to handle. 

(Or continue on with your food processor.  Just don't overmix.)

Work the blueberries into the dough by hand.  (The food processor would just chop them to bits.)

Turn the dough onto a well-floured board.  Divide dough in half and lightly knead one portion and press into a disk on your work surface, about 1/2-1/4 inch thick.  (I didn't measure it.) 

Divide the disk into eighths and place wedges on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

  

Repeat with other portion of dough.

Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sparkling sugar if you wish.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes (or more, depending on your oven) and then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

Eat.

~~~ 

Aunt Rachel's directions differ slightly - she has you cut the dough into 2-inch rounds and brush them with milk. 

I didn't do the rounds because I was in a rush and didn't want to have to re-roll scraps.  But rounds are nice, too, and if you want to go that route, by all means, go for it.

Comments

[susanna]

Those scones look amazing! Wish I had one right here! Can't wait for the johnny cake oven thing!

[tracey]

Jayne! Yummy scones for the SYC!! Those look SO delicious. I need to give them a try.

[Mangochild]

This is the time of year to enjoy all things blueberry, right? Time to get the creativity flowing :-) Eating our fill as much as possible to store up that goodness for when it is no longer there.... I've loved all your posts and idea, including this one. Thanks for sharing!

[rachel]

that is not a scone.

[Jayne]

Well, hi, rachel, thanks for contributing!  No, it's not a scone in the most traditional original definition, but here in chez barefootkitchenwitch, we like to play all kind of music in the kitchen.  This is a variation on a theme.

Thanks for stopping by!