Truth: I’ve never been a big fan of scones.
They’re too dry and crumbly to be a muffin. They’re not sweet enough to be a donut. Given the choice, I’d choose either of those options before a scone. And then, I tried one on a whim at a bakery- it was moist and sweetened with a glaze and delicious. So when I came across a recipe for lemon blueberry scones (with glaze!), I decided to try it.
The recipe has a couple of interesting ingredient choices (whole wheat flour, olive oil) to make a slightly healthier version of traditional scones. I used the food processor to combine the ingredients, which made it far simpler than I expected! First, I blended the dry ingredients- flour, sugar, baking powder and soda- with lots of lemon zest.
I added cold butter (chopped into cubes) and olive oil and pulsed the mixture until it was nice and crumbly, then transferred it into a bowl.
Next came some milk and the beautiful blueberries. I added lemon juice to increase the tartness in the scones.
The dough was pretty sticky and dense. I dumped the whole tasty mess onto a cookie sheet and patted it into a thick pancake (about an inch thick). To ensure there would be that sweetness I wanted, I brushed the dough with a bit of milk and sprinkled the top with brown sugar.
I used a pizza cutter to slice the scone-cake into wedges and spread them out on the pan before baking. When they came out of the oven, they were browned on top and the brown sugar had caramelized. Yummy!
After the scones had cooled a tad, I drizzled a simple lemon glaze over the top. And then it was time for the best part of cooking: TASTING.
The scones weren’t crumbly at all- in fact, they were quite moist. The glaze had soaked into the scones a little bit, adding the sweetness I was hoping for (along with the tang of lemon). The scone itself still wasn’t overly sweet, which is when those plump berries came in. The blueberries could easily be substituted with blackberries, strawberries, chunks of peach. They were just scrumptious.
And just like that, I’m a scone convert.
Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones (recipe from Gimme Some Oven)
You’ll need:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- (I added 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
- ¼ cup cold butter cut into pieces
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup milk (or buttermilk)
- 1 cup berries of your choice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
In a food processor, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and lemon zest. Add the butter and oil and pulse until crumbly. Pour the mixture into a bowl.
Add the milk and berries and stir gently until combined. Dump the dough onto the baking sheet and pat into a circle, 1 inch thick. Brush with milk and sprinkle with brown sugar for extra sweetness. Cut the circle into 8 wedges and spread them out on the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
While the scones cool, stir together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Drizzle glaze over the scones and enjoy with a cup of coffee and a good friend. Yum!
Hungry for more? Check out the collection of recipes on the FOOD BLISS link.
One year ago: Memories of John’s mom and a sauce we call Peep’s.
the usual bliss 