I got myself into a bit of a baking frenzy this weekend. It started Saturday morning at about 5 a.m. with 2 loaves of bread, a mushroom and spinach quiche and a mess of scones. See what happens when I stay in on a Friday night? Productivity! This was my first time using this recipe for scones and I was very pleased with the results. Of course, I didn’t exactly stick to the recipe, but I did get inspired by it, which seems close enough. I made 2 variations – to one batch I added sliced almonds, dried cherries, dried blueberries and almond extract instead of vanilla, the other batch contained craisins, chopped dried apricots and dried blueberries and vanilla extract. I sprinkled regular granulated white sugar on the tops of the scones instead of oats and raw sugar. They were straight-up delicious – not too sweet, surprisingly light and not dry at all. They would be perfect for Christmas morning – hint, hint.
Blueberry Oat Scones
3cupsall purpose flour
1/3cup(packed) golden brown sugar
1tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking soda
3/4teaspooncoarse kosher salt
11tablespoons(1 stick plus 3T) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1cupplus 3 T old-fashioned oats
1cupfresh or frozen blueberries (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1 3/4cupschilled half and half
1teaspoonvanilla extract
5teaspoonsraw sugar Preparation
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and coarse salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add 1 cup oats and blueberries; stir to blend evenly.
Stir half and half and vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing until dough just comes together (dough will be very moist).
Using 1/2-cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tablespoons oats, then raw sugar.
Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until scones are golden and tester inserted into center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
DelSo 