down-to-earth: lemon blueberry scones

Thank you to http://bakingbites.com for this simple and delicious recipe. It hits the spot if a warm, lemony, blueberry-y, not overly sweet breakfast treat is what you're craving. I found them to be perfect as is, straight out of the oven, with my usual cup of coffee (milk, no sugar). I didn't think they needed any extra sweetness or butter, but that's subjective, so I included the optional lemon sugar glaze at the end. And I'm not here to judge your buttering habits. But do yourself a favor and use REAL butter. I do not condone the use of margarine.

While fresh blueberries would still work for this recipe, it is recommended to use frozen. Scone dough is quite thick and frozen blueberries are much easier to incorporate and will stand up to the dough and hold their shape much better. If you have fresh blueberries, just stick them in the freezer the night before if you can remember. If not, well, use them anyway, just be extra gentle when mixing them in.

lemon blueberry scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, chilled

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 or 2 lemons)

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper OR lightly grease a baking sheet, sprinkle with flour and shake until flour coats the pan. Discard excess flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is well distributed and the mixture is the texture of coarse crumbs.

Add in milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir until the dough comes together. If the dough is too wet, add a tbsp of flour. If it's too dry, add a tbsp of milk.

Either in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 1 minute. Flatten dough, add blueberries and knead gently until they are distributed. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and press into a round disc about 3/4 inch thick. Use a knife to slice the dough into 8 equal triangular pieces.