Blueberry Lemon Scones

So why start with Blueberry Lemon Scones you may ask? Simple! Blueberry Lemon Scones are by far the most requested and rerequested pastry I have ever made. I have baked batches and double batches for everything from birthdays, to post break-up blues, and even just because blueberries were on sale.

They were one of the very first pastries I ever baked completely from scratch.  The scones turned out so amazing that very first time, that I have left their recipe almost completely unaltered since that first batch.

But what makes the scones so delicious? The Butter! After all, scones are not really that complicated in terms of ingredients; Eggs, Blueberries, Flour, Butter, Sugar, and Cream. Just toss in a pinch of baking powder, some salt, and presto! Scones.

However, the butter is key. Not just the slightly obscene amount of butter, but the way it is mixed into the flour. The more care and attention that is paid the butter- the better the scones will be. Unfortunately and somewhat annoyingly, you cannot toss the butter into a blender and watch from the sidelines, even a pastry mixer can be a bit dubious.

The Butter needs to be cut or mixed into pea sized morsels and cannot melt while you are doing it. Using a whisk works, cutting the butter into smaller chunks before adding it to the flour helps, but best may be grabbing two knives and cutting through the flour, sifting every once in a while checking to make sure the butter is small enough, but still big enough. If it sounds like a lot of work, it can be, but the results speak for themselves.

The butter matters because of the way it melts inside of the scone while baking. As the baking powder reacts releasing carbon dioxide and the water in the cream turns to steam and evaporates the scone begins to rise; and as the butter melts within, it leaves little pockets of buttery goodness behind in the scone.

If the butter has been done properly the scone should be light, buttery, and moist. If done wrong the scone can be heavy, dense, and dry.

All this goes to explain why I never liked scones before I decided to try making them myself. I always loved the idea of scones, but never cared for the hard, dry variations that I sampled in the coffee shops at which I worked.

The only change I have ever made to the scones has been the addition of a lemon icing. The scones themselves are light and flaky, but not too sweet. The Lemon icing takes them up one more notch and makes them perfect for dipping into coffee or snacking on at any time of the day.

Freshly Iced Lemon Blueberry Scones!

As to the recipe; I would highly recommend taking a look at the scones in Joy of Cooking. That is where I started and I cannot think of any better place to find very basic, easily adaptable recipes.

Taster Reviews