Rustic Blueberry Scones

Scones have been around for a long time! In fact, they got their start as a Scottish quick bread. Originally they were made with oats and then griddle-baked, today’s version is most often made with flour and baked in the oven. As for the origin of the word “Skone,” some say it comes from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot,’ which means beautiful bread, while others argue it comes from the Stone of Destiny, where the Kings of Scotland were crowned. According to Webster’s Dictionary, scones originated in Scotland in the early 1500’s. That’s enough history for today…

We love to enjoy an occasional scone with a piping hot cup of joe. Lots of scones can leave your mouth dry with crumbly bits of scone falling out all over and place and your dog begging at your feet for more (this sentence is ridiculous, I get it). These are nice and moist with a crunchy sugary topping, and they are an amazing base scone to be used with other fun mix-ins! You probably have most of the ingredients on-hand. They are fairly quick to whip up and keep nicely for a day or two. After that, you will get what I mentioned above. Try whistling…

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

TOPPING:

• 1 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
• large crystal sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut 1 stick of butter into small cubes. The butter must be cold! Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and use either two forks or a pastry cutter to cut the butter until it reaches about pea-sized pieces. Then you will whisk the egg, cream and vanilla together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Scones are “rustic” by nature. Don’t try and get fancy by over-mixing. I will smack you if you do. You will end up with a brick…a heavy, dense, flour brick that no one will eat. No, your dog won’t even eat it. The imperfect nature of the dough helps create air pockets. The dough is shaggy and crumbly, but it won’t matter after you bake them.

Gently stir in the blueberries. Don’t be an animal about it. If you break them all apart, the dough will be a blue, soggy mess. I’ve learned the hard way. Now, dump the dough over onto a floured surface and pat, pat, pat it until you reach about an 8″ circle. It will seem like it’s not right. Pieces will be falling all over the place and crumbly. It will make sense when you remove them from the oven. Once formed into an 8″ circle (about 1.5″ thick), cut them into 8 pie-shaped pieces and place them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Make sure they aren’t touching. They will puff up a little bit.

TOPPING:

Whisk the cream and egg together and brush on top of each scone. Brush the sides too! Very generously sprinkle the scones with large, crunchy sugar crystals. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Mine took 20 minutes! Let cool a little bit and serve with fresh fruit and cream, if desired! ENJOY!

References: Hollywood, Paul “Paul Hollywood’s scones, BBC Retrieved 22 September 2015

Recipe adapted from: starbucksrestaurantathome.blogspot.com