Living in Wisconsin and waking up on a mid-March morning to the sunshine, is a wonderful day. It fills one with hope of what lies just around the corner…warmth! The winters are unnecessarily long here and the weather plays cruel tricks on us as we get closer to spring. Just when you expect to be able to shed your parka, we’ll have winter advisories for freezing rain. Or a blizzard. Yes, we can have blizzards in April. I don’t like it. At this point, I have severe spring fever. So when I see the sun blasting through my windows on a mid-March morning, I think of summer. Summer thoughts lead to (ahem) …summer food. So to keep with the wonderful day feeling I had when I awoke, (sadly, almost immediately) I thought of these light and incredibly delightful scones. I know it’s not anywhere close to blueberry season, but sometimes, can’t we just play make-believe?
For the purposes of demonstrating this recipe, you can do as it says to shape your scones like this. However, most times, when I make scones, I like to just plop dough in even clumps onto the baking sheet and have them come out sort of more roundish-free form. The last picture on here will show an example of the difference.
When it comes to the lemon glaze, being the lemon freak that I am, I use every single last, solitary drop of it to top these. Use as little or as much as you like. As you can see, I’m goin’ for it!
Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
“I don’t know what it is about these, but I’m convinced I could eat them for breakfast every morning for the rest of my life and never tire of them! They are THAT good! Simply fresh and delicious. Another winner from Tyler Florence.” ~ Julie
Blueberry Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the blueberries
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
5 Tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup fresh blueberries
Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 Tbs unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Toss the blueberries in some flour to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the scone when baked; then fold them into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.
Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 X 3 X 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in half; then cut the pieces in half again, giving you four 3-inch squares. Cut the squares in half on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.
Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e., over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it’s even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps and then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.
Cooking Tips
Start checking for doneness and keep a close eye on them starting at about 12 minutes. My oven finishes these in only 13 minutes total.
Avoid using frozen blueberries because the color bleeds too much into the dough and spoils the look of the scone. And please, please, please use freshly squeezed lemon juice from a real lemon!