Blueberry Scones
These tender scones feature fresh blueberries, which leak rivulets of purple-blue juice into the dough around them as they bake, making for an especially enticing presentation. Use wild (lowbush) blueberries if you can find them; they’re much smaller than cultivated (highbush) blueberries, and distribute themselves more readily throughout the scone dough.
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (about 5 ounces, about half a pint) fresh blueberries
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup (2 ounces) vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons coarse sugar, for sprinkling on top
*Substitute 1 cup King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, if desired.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment.
Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients till the mixture is unevenly crumbly; use your fingers, a pastry blender, or an electric mixer. Gently mix the blueberries with the dry ingredients.
Stir together the eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon zest or oil, and almond extract. Add to the dry ingredients and stir very gently, just until combined. The dough will be quite moist, like cookie dough.
Use a muffin scoop, jumbo cookie scoop, or 1/4-cup measure to scoop the dough onto the prepared sheet in scant 1/4-cupfuls, leaving about 2" between each. Brush each ball of dough with a bit of milk or cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake the scones for 20 to 24 minutes, or until lightly browned and a cake tester inserted into a scone comes out dry. Remove from the oven, and serve warm. To reheat, wrap loosely in aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Yield: 12 scones.
Reviews
01/03/2009
I followed the recipe exactly, but the dough was very dry, like a bread dough, not "quite moist, like cookie dough" as the recipe said. As a result, I had to mix quite a bit to get the dry ingredients incorporated into the wet and a lot of the blueberries broke up (even though I was using frozen ones). Did not like the "drop biscuit" appearance of the scones, though this could have been because the batter was so dry. If I make the recipe again, assuming there is some adjustment to increase the moisture, I will make into conventional wedges or use a scone pan.
It sounds like you may be measuring the flour a little heavy. Here is a link that may be of help: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes2008/measuring-flour.html
Frank from KAF>
03/24/2009
Every single time I've used this recipe the scones come out light, moist and bursting with fruit. This is my go-to scone recipe on this site. At this point in time I've probably used it at least 30 times. The recipe goes fabulously with lemon curd and is ripe for substitutions. In addition to following the recipe I've used apples and raspberries instead of blueberries, buttermilk instead of yogurt and even added chocolate chips and spelt flour. The recipe also functions awesomely when halved (6 scones) or for larger scones. That being said: it is important to fluff up your flour before measuring. In a successful recipe the scones will look like a wet cookie dough. If it looks the least bit dry the scones can be salvaged with an extra splash of milk, buttermilk or yougurt. One more note: sometimes I dress them up my scones with powered sugar or an icing mixture of powdered sugar and grand marnier (any liquor would work) Yum!
04/07/2009
The first time I made this recipe, the almond flavor was too strong for my taste. The second time I made the recipe, I reduced the almond extract to 1/4 teaspoon instead of the 1/2 teaspoon and the scones were delicious, very tender, melt in your mouth, so I give this change five stars.
06/01/2009
I made these scones today for the first time and like every other recipe I've tried here they are AMAZING! They are easy to make and are tender, moist and absolutely bursting with flavor!
06/27/2009
Great recipe. I second that it's a great go-to and perfect for substitutions. It comes out awesome every time. I sometimes put in 1 Tbl of almond butter for added nuttiness and a more mild almond flavor than the extract.
07/08/2009
This recipe was definitely fool proof. For someone like myself who is not very experienced in baking, the scones turned out fabulous. They came out moist and delicious with just enough almond flavor to accompany the blueberries. :D
07/30/2009
These were delish and pretty easy to make! However, I'd just like to add that my dough was not at all like a cookie dough, but more like a true pastry dough--thick, soft and a little delicate! I was careful to pour my flour into the measure as opposed to scooping it, so I don't know why it was so different. I scooped out 3, but they looked like they were going to fall apart, so I gently rolled the rest of the dough (just a few seconds) and used a round biscuit cutter. I like the look of those better, anyway, and they were every bit as tender as the scooped ones! My batch also cooked up MUCH faster, even though I made only 10 as opposed to 12, so be careful to keep a close eye on them. In spite of these differences, they were yummy.....not too sweet and with a very tender crumb!
08/27/2009
This is one of the top scone recipes that I have found. I bake for a profession in Key West. One Sunday I found we had a surplus of blueberries. Using this recipe, I baked 60 scones to offer our brunch guests along with our bread selection. The feedback from our customers and floor staff was amazing - and gratifying. Make sure to measure the flour as directed and promise not to mix anymore than just necessary to combine the ingredients. Your guests, family, and friends will rave about your scones. These are terrific.
08/29/2009
Perfect scones! I have also substituted fresh raspberries. The only modification that I do are cutting in the butter instead of using my fingers and also cooking them in triangle form in a parchment lined pie/quiche plate (they make 6 triangles slightly spaced). This makes them slightly less crispy on the sides but that is how I like them.
09/07/2009
I'm an expat living abroad and I've been craving a good scone. This is far the best scone recipe I've made! I measured everything by weight and the dough came out perfectly. I reduced the almond extract to 1/4 tsp but that's only by preference because I like a stronger lemon flavor. These did cook much quicker though, in about 15 min and on a lower temp. This could be because I'm on a C oven and it's hard to get the F temp converted precisely. I'm so glad I gave this recipe a try, I'm going to make this my go-to scone recipe!
Bookmark/share
this recipe