Cheap Eats :: Blueberry Scones

Yesterday was my birthday. I woke up earlier than usual and I was bleary-eyed and hungry. I wanted something a little bit special, but it was just me, home alone.
So I looked at my Pinterest food board "Eat This!" to find something yummy looking and easy.

I found this pin for Simple Scones.

image from The Grower's Daughter blog

It looked easy enough. I had all the ingredients on hand and I even had some frozen blueberries to throw it for extra measure. Why not?



Here is their recipe: [with their notes]

Simple Scones

1 tbsp. Icing sugar
2 1/2 c. plain flour [spooned and leveled]
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder [good quality to help them rise beautifully]
pinch of salt
1 c. milk
1 oz. melted butter
White sugar and 1 tbsp. milk for tops

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, sift together dry ingredient. Add milk and butter. Stir with a knife to combine [don't over mix, and stop stirring once it's mostly incorporated].

Once it's roughly together and sticky, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead quickly and gently together just until smooth. [This is key! The dough should be slightly sticky and moist so that the dough incorporates quickly. Just do quick little pats and turns until it's fairly smooth and not piece y. Over - kneading activates the gluten too much and makes the scones tougher.]

Pat disk out until it's about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using a 2" diameter circle cutter, cut scones from dough. Place circles on a lightly greased cooking sheet. Quickly and gently knead the scraps and cut again until all the dough is used.

Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10 minutes and remove when golden.
[I found that the baking time was actually more like 15 minutes, and that they browned nicer, without over baking, when I turned on the broiler for the last minute or two, watching carefully.]
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Ok...so a couple of things...

One, there is no where near enough salt in this recipe. A pinch is relative, but yikes...I would add at LEAST a full 1/8 tsp of salt next time...and I used salted butter. I may even want to use 1/4 tsp. I think a bit more sugar would be nice too...not much, just another teaspoon to so.

Second, do not make these too thick. Even at around 1 3/4" thick (I went a tad thicker than the recipe), these took a very long time to bake through...20 full minutes at least (not 10-15 as stated). I would go with 1" to 1-1/4" thick next time.

Otherwise, they were ok. I will attempt them again with more salt + sugar and see how it goes. After I perfect the recipe, I'll repost it.

They were edible with butter and Lemon Curd, next time with more salt + sugar...they will sing! I'm actually kind of excited to try them again!