Whole Grain Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Ingredient of the Week: Blueberries
By early afternoon we had picked nearly 24 pounds of fresh blueberries, enough to freeze and eat for the rest of the year. What a blessing!
For the scones:
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used white whole wheat flour with excellent results)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
6 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not allow to thaw before mixing)
Preheat the oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with parchment. Whisk together the cream and maple syrup in a small bowl. Mix the dry ingredients (flour through zest) in a medium bowl. Grate the butter (with a cheese grater) into the bowl of dry ingredients, scraping the grater to ensure you get all the butter. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Gently stir in the blueberries. Add the cream-maple mixture and stir with a fork. Scrape the sides of the bowl and, using floured hands, knead the mixture just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. If too dry/crumbly, add a tablespoon more cream. Turn the dough out onto your prepared baking sheet, form it into an 8-inch circle of uniform thickness, and cut it into 8 wedges. Separate the wedges slightly. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
For the glaze:
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Mix until smooth. Drizzle and spread evenly over the cooled scones. If you are not eating all the scones immediately, store the glaze and scones separately; top the scones with glaze just before serving.
My daughters and I recently spent a memorable day picking blueberries at Kaye’s Farms in Battle Ground, WA. One of the many perks of Birch participation is having opportunities like free blueberry picking at a farm where fruit is literally dripping off the bush. The owner, Kaye, was incredibly welcoming, the sun was shining, the grass was freshly cut, and the air smelled like warm blueberries. It was a little glimpse of heaven!
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| Cleo and Adelaide enjoying the sunshine |
Cleo, my 14-year-old, was picking at a leisurely pace until I made her a deal: whoever picked fewer pounds of blueberries had to buy the other person an ice cream sundae on the drive home. With that tasty carrot dangling in front of her, Cleo was suddenly filling her bucket at twice her previous rate. I could claim that Adelaide, 18 months, was my handicap (she was running from row to row eating blueberries as fast as her chubby hands could pick) but Cleo won the race fair and square.
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| Adelaide thought the grass was almost as tasty as the berries |
Most of the berries we picked were rinsed, frozen in single layers on cookie sheets, poured into freezer bags, and popped in our upright freezer, but I set some aside for my husband’s favorite treat: blueberry scones. I’ve experimented with many whole grain, naturally sweetened scone recipes over the years and have found only one that consistently yields a flaky, buttery scone with a crisp exterior and moist interior.
The original recipe comes from www.hummingbirdhigh.com, but I adapted it for the ingredients I had on hand, simplified a few steps, and added a lemon glaze because heck, if you're indulging in a pastry, it might as well be as decadent as possible.
I may have eaten 3 or 4 warm, freshly glazed scones in one sitting. Try them for yourself before you judge me. And experiment with different fruit/glaze combinations: rhubarb scones with orange glaze, pear with almond glaze, or plum with cardamom-vanilla glaze are some great options.
I may have eaten 3 or 4 warm, freshly glazed scones in one sitting. Try them for yourself before you judge me. And experiment with different fruit/glaze combinations: rhubarb scones with orange glaze, pear with almond glaze, or plum with cardamom-vanilla glaze are some great options.
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used white whole wheat flour with excellent results)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
6 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not allow to thaw before mixing)
Preheat the oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with parchment. Whisk together the cream and maple syrup in a small bowl. Mix the dry ingredients (flour through zest) in a medium bowl. Grate the butter (with a cheese grater) into the bowl of dry ingredients, scraping the grater to ensure you get all the butter. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Gently stir in the blueberries. Add the cream-maple mixture and stir with a fork. Scrape the sides of the bowl and, using floured hands, knead the mixture just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. If too dry/crumbly, add a tablespoon more cream. Turn the dough out onto your prepared baking sheet, form it into an 8-inch circle of uniform thickness, and cut it into 8 wedges. Separate the wedges slightly. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
For the glaze:
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Mix until smooth. Drizzle and spread evenly over the cooled scones. If you are not eating all the scones immediately, store the glaze and scones separately; top the scones with glaze just before serving.
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