I finally took the plunge and attempted, for a third time, to make scones. I have loved scones since my first visit to a tea room. The litle bite-sized scones they served were moist and delicious, not overly sweet and served with a creamy clotted cream and homemade lemon curd.
My Obsession Begins….
Now, you may already know that I love all things lemon curd since I have made it for several of my recipes, including:
This is where my obsession started. Yup, in a tea room. It is also where my love of a good cup of earl grey on a rainy day or when I’m not feeling the best. Always piping hot and steeped forever until it is nice and strong, served with a splash of cream, hold the lemon please.
Since it is St. Patrick’s Day this week, I have been craving scones. Not just any scone will do. I wasn’t going to try a box. Blech. Please, whatever you do don’t do this! Dry as dust they are and they give scones a bad name. Seriously. To me, scones should be moist and not overly sweet.
In my search, I went to one of my favorite baking inspiration, Half Baked Harvest. She had multiple recipes for scones and they looked simply amazing. I will never be able to duplicate her artistry, but I can use her recipe to inspire my own version of scones.
The key to beautifully baked moist scones, I’m learning, is butter. Don’t skimp here. Go for it all. And recipes that call for skim milk, laugh. Full fat-buttermilk is definitely the way to go! After doing my research and making a few attempts, this is the biggest secret. Go big or go home peeps!
The recipe isn’t all that hard. Dry ingredients, wet ingredients. Don’t overmix. That’s it really.
You can drop the scones into dollops on a parchment coverted dish. You can make them into biscuit-shaped circles. You can cut them into squares or rectangles. You can cut them into triangles. Or you can be like me… bake them in a parchment lined round dish and then cut them once they are at room temperature. Hey, nobody is perfect.
Tip: I learned this tip from watching an episode of Jamie Oliver….Wet your parchment paper and then crumble it. Un-crumble and you can shape it into whatever dish you are using. That’s how I got the parchment paper to line my round baking dish!
I hope this recipe inspires you to try making scones as well! Enjoy!
Blueberry Earl Grey Scones
Ingredients
Blueberry Earl Grey Scones
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter grated on a cheese grater
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 8 bags Earl Grey Tea Twinnings
- 1½ cup fresh blueberries
Earl Grey Glaze
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 bags Earl Grey Tea
- 2+ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line round baking dish with parchment paper. In a coffee grinder, grind 2 bags of Eaerl Grey tea until powdered.
- Slighly warm buttermilk and place 6 tea bags into steep at least 3 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, powdered tea, and salt.
- Add the butter and toss with the flour. I found using my hands worked best.
- Add egg, infused buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until blended. DO NOT OVERMIX.
- Fold in blueberries.
- Remove dough with floured hands and place in baking round. Pat down slightly into the edge of the dish, evenly. Brush with additional buttermilk.
- Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let the scones cool to room temperature and slice into 8 pieces. Separate and drizzle with Earl Grey Glaze.
- Serve warm with butter, double cream or clotted cream and my favorite homemade lemon curd!
Earl Grey Glaze
- Place milk and butter in a small saucepan and set over medium heat.
- Cook until the milk is steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat and place 4 Earl Grey tea bags into the milk. Cover and let them steep 5 minutes.
- Remove tea bags, making sure to squeeze all the extra tea from the bags. Discard the tea bags.
- Stir in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, until the consistency you wish. I prefer a thicker glaze, so I added about 3 cups of powdered sugar to get to where I wanted it.
- Drizzle over each scone. Serve remaining glaze with your scones if you wish.
