Blueberry Scones

Fresh scones for breakfast or afternoon tea are one of the baking god's greatest gifts. This peach variation, adapted from Sour Cream and Fruit Scones by Dawn Perry in the New York Times, is also lovely with blueberries, diced strawberries, halved blackberries, or any combination of the three. Best fresh, bakers can also make the dough, cut the scones, and freeze the raw dough for up to a month to later bake from frozen. (It will take a minute or two longer to bake them.) I make these using a food processor, but they will work fine in a large bowl with a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture if need be. Want a softer, airier scone? See Cook’s Notes.

makes 8 large or 16 small scones (You can also cut them into 32 bite-sized scones for a buffet. Do freeze for a few minutes before baking.)

Ingredients

2 cups/255 grams unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the counter or board
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on scones before baking or freezing
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (4 ounces/113.40 grams) frozen salted butter, cut into ¼-inch slices or pieces
1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup 190 ml) sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup (60 ml) milk
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the upper third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
MIX DRY INGREDIENTS/CUT IN BUTTER: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, measure in the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the pieces of butter and pulse carefully only until you have pea-sized and smaller pieces of butter.
TURN OUT FLOUR MIXTURE INTO A LARGE BOWL and gently stir in the blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk and tip that into the flour mixture. Using a table fork, stir until all the dry bits are incorporated, but the dough is still shaggy. (Takes a minute or two; be patient.) Knead a few times until the dough barely holds together, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter or board. The dough needn't be uniform, smooth, or neat. Uneven edges are ok as this is a rather rustic scone.
PAT DOUGH with floured hands into a 1-inch-thick rectangle, approximately 6"x10". Brush lightly with some the egg mixture and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. (You won't use all of the egg; cook the rest for the dog.) Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut into first 2, then 4, then 8 (or then 16 for small scones) rectangles. Place on prepared sheet pan as far apart as possible.
BAKE scones until golden, 18-22 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool for a minute or two before serving warm. Scones will keep for a day or two, well-covered. To reheat, split in half lengthwise, spread lightly with butter, and grill until toasty and hot in a stove top grill pan or skillet.
To freeze baked scones, cool completely, wrap well and freeze for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

COOK'S NOTES: If you'd like a wee bit lighter tender and larger scone, increase the milk to 1/2 cup. The scones will then spread more while baking and you might need to gently cut them apart for serving.

If baking from frozen, you may need to allow a couple of minutes longer baking time.