8/18/11

Recipe: Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Recipe by Tyler Florence (with a few adjustments by moi.)

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 heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. (I usually end up moving the blueberries around by hand, as the dough is really stiff and not really amenable to "folding.")

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 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.

Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. 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. (The glaze has been halved from Tyler's original recipe. It is a thin glaze that disappears into the scone and leaves behind a tart/sweet shiny finish. If you want a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar.)

These are tender, moist, and not too sweet. 



My self congratulatory picture at left confirms it! 
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5 comments:

  1. Congratulations! Fair ribbons! How cool. And that recipe sounds delicious.

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  2. @Phyl,

    They are really good scones! Wish they kept a bit better, though, since I always have to give most of mine away (can't eat them all!)

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  3. This recipe looks fantastic. I am going to try it with fresh Maine blueberries. Congrats on the ribbons!

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  4. @Penelope,

    I hope you like them! (And you said Maine blueberries just to make me jealous, didn't you? lol)

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  5. OMG they look delicious! I will have to try these out.

    Suzanne

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