Blueberry Scones

This year's birthday trip to the Washington coast called for a favorite throwback--blueberry lemon scones! One of my best friends turned me on to this recipe by Tyler Florence from Food Network a few years ago and I made them for my husband. For this trip, he made them a special request. I love baking for him, so I was all too happy to oblige:). 

I may not be the world's most adventurous (or even the most knowledgeable) baker, so I rely on finding good recipes and following directions! These scones are SUPER easy to make for someone without a ton of pastry experience, so I highly recommend giving them a try! I typically find scopes hard and dry--these come out soft and moist. Almost a little like having cake for breakfast:). 

I generally double any recipe I make so that we have plenty to give away. I love sending my husband into work with treats, bringing them in for my office, or even dropping off a few for coaches at our CrossFit gym. 

Ingredients
Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lemon, zest finely grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Just before we headed out for our trip Friday night, I threw the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag. Having everything all mixed and measured meant all I had to do Saturday morning was cut in the butter, add the blueberries and cream, and shape and cut the scones.

Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. Thanks to my mom, I have a manual, hand held pastry blender:). The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed in to the dough. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/14 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze. 

When I got to the icing, I realized I'd forgotten powdered sugar! After frantically searching the little market, I was relieved to emerge victorious with the missing ingredient.

You can make the lemon glaze in a double boiler, or for a simpler alternative, you can zap it in the microwave. One thing I forgot when I made the scones this time around is that last time, the icing gave me a little trouble. I wanted it to be thick and visible when dry, so that the scones had a pretty drizzle pattern. Instead, it ran all over (and mostly onto the pan). This time called for some help from mom;).

"Mom! Why is my icing so runny?! . . . well it called for a half a cup per batch!"

Lizabeth, NO! That's WAY too much!"

Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' until dissolved in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for the double-boiler method, or in a microwave-safe bowl over a pot of summering water for the double-boiler method, or in a microwave-safe bowl. I ended up adding all eight cups of powdered sugar I bought into the mix and even then, the consistency wasn't quite to my liking. I would definitely recommend beginning with only a quarter of the recommended amount of lemon juice (1/8 of a cup). Then, add more a little bit at a time, until you achieve the desired consistency you're looking for. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest. I actually whisked in very room temperature butter, hoping it would make the icing less runny. No luck:(. Either nuke the glaze for 30 seconds or continue whisking in the double boiler. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. 

Even with all of that powdered sugar, the icy was still a little runny in appearance for my liking, and it just made waaaaaay too much. I ended up having to throw most of it away since there was no way to transport it home. 

Despite the cosmetic mishap, these tasted fantastic and we enjoyed having them as a treat with breakfast. 

My own learnings. Let me know how you like these, and what you decide on the icing:)!