Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Scones are interesting and infuriating matters of subject in my kitchen.  They are considered a type of pastry due to the usage of flour, fat, and a leavening agent, but they differ from a pastry (or at least my thoughts on pastry) in that they can be sweet or savory.  I plan to delve into the land of savory scones at some point, but for the matter of this post, we are talking sweet.  I use the term “sweet” very loosely because scones are just barely sweet.  Most recipes I have made (including this one) call for only 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar.  The rest of the sweetening comes from the fruit and/or glaze that is added.  The dough is very dry and crumbly, and honestly, a real pain to work with (which is why I mention my negative feelings above).  I often make the mistake of overworking the dough (which is a big no, no). 

Last weekend, I decided to try using whole wheat flour in the place of regular all-purpose, and the dough was even more unmanageable.  In the end, I added more heavy cream than the original recipe calls for and they turned out quite good, albeit a bit more dry which I tend to expect when using whole wheat flour.  Maybe one day I will perfect the whole-wheat scone, but for now, I will share the original recipe with my notes to utilizing whole wheat if that is your preference.

One last note:  I have noticed the use of buttermilk in some recipes (in the place of heavy cream).  I have not tried it yet, but I wonder if it would make for a more manageable dough and/or less dry texture.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

 

Ingredients & Instructions

 

Pastry

2 C. King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour (or 2 C. King Arthur’s Whole Wheat Flour)
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
½ Tsp. Salt
2 ½ Tbsp. Sugar
6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter (Cold – Cubed)
1 C. Fresh Blueberries
1 ¼ C. Heavy Cream (If using Whole Wheat flour, you will need another ¼ C.)

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.  With a pastry blender, cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until the dough looks like moist or coarse sand.  Add in the blueberries and then make a hole in the center of the dough, and pour in the heavy cream.   Fold until just blended.  Place dough onto a floured surface and form into a rectangle that is approximately an inch thick.  Usually this recipe will give you a rectangle that is about a foot long, and a few inches wide.  Cut the rectangle in half, then cut the two rectangles in half again and then cut all of your rectangles on the diagonal to create your classic triangle shaped scone (note, I have also seen a method of shaping the dough into a circle and cutting like a pizza to get the triangular shaped pieces of dough).  Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream and bake on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and let cool a few minutes before topping with the glaze.

 

Lemon Glaze:

Juice and zest from two lemons
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter (melted)
1 ¼ C. Confectioners Sugar

 

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.  You may need more or less sugar depending on what consistency you would like for your glaze.  I have a sweet tooth, so I like a pretty thick glaze.