I know you were totally eyeing those scones...

Who wouldn't be?!

Dearest Mrs. A shares her secrets for scone success (adapted from the lovely Tyler Florence): 

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks (Mrs. A used 8 tablespoons - 1 stick - instead... go girl!)
1 C heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 C fresh blueberries (Mrs. A used frozen blueberries - they don't bleed as much into the batter, so you don't have blue scones. She also made part of her batch with frozen blackberries, and they worked well.)

 

Lemon Glaze*:

1/2 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 C confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 lemon and its zest, finely grated

1 tbsp unsalted butter 

*If you'll be transporting the scones outside of your home, you may consider using a dusting of powdered sugar, instead of the lemon glaze - it's every bit as delicious... pretty too!

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400

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. (Mrs. A used her Cuisinart instead.) The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. 

Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream, and fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. (Mrs. A poured the heavy cream in through the top of the Cuisinart while it was running so that the cream mixed in gradually, until it formed a dough ball inside the Cuisinart. Sometimes you may need a little more cream than it calls for.)

Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. (This is why Mrs. A used frozen.)

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. (Mrs. A also sprinkled sugar on top to give them a little more of a crust. Another pretty idea is to use sanding sugar.) 

 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze (or powdered sugar, your preference).

Technically you should make the lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave.

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.

What a perfect Saturday morning treat - thanks, Mrs. A!