Blueberry & Lemon Drop Scones (small batch)

 

One thing which I really missed when I first moved over to the U.K. was fresh blueberries, especially wild blueberries.  Mind you that was in the year 2000 and blueberries were never seen there. They are very common now, cultivated ones and many people grow their own. We did.

I grew up in Blueberry country.  We have wild blueberries growing all over the place in Nova Scotia. They are as common as muck, and we love them.  Wild blueberries are much smaller than cultivated ones and have a much more condensed flavor. 

When we were children my mother used to send us out with ice cream buckets to pick blueberries.  It was a hot and hard business.  They grow very close to the ground, so a lot of crouching is involved. They are also very tiny so it takes a lot of them to fill an ice cream bucket!

In any case I love blueberries in any way, shape or form. I saw this recipe for drop scones over on Julia's Cuisine and knew right away that I wanted to bake them!  They looked really lush.  I love blueberries and I love scones. The both together, it had to be a match made in heaven!

I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half to make only 4 scones. I just didn't need 8 scones to eat up all by myself.  I also added a few bits. 

Blueberries and lemon are perfect flavor partners and so I added some finely grated fresh lemon zest to the batter. I also added a sweet lemon glaze to finish them off after baking, with excellent results.  These were quite simply  . . .  lovely.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BLUEBERRY & LEMON DROP SCONES

Just a few simple baking cupboard ingredients and some fresh blueberries.   Here where I live in Nova Scotia, we have tons of wild blueberries. They grow all over the place! The icing sugar glaze on these is entirely optional but very nice!

For the scones:

• 1 cup (140g) all purpose plain flour
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• the zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 TBS (22g) cold butter, cut into bits
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (80ml to 120ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (95g) fresh blueberries
• 1 egg yolk beaten together with 1 TBS milk to glaze the tops

Optional lemon glaze:

• 1/4 cup (35g) icing sugar
• fresh lemon juice to thin

 

I have never made these with self rising flour, but if that is all you have, I don't see why you couldn't.  Just measure it out the same as the regular flour and leave out the 2 tsp of baking powder, adding 1/2 tsp of baking powder in it's place.  Also leave out the salt.

Make sure your butter is cold.  That way the butter won't melt into the flour from the heat of your fingertips. Also work as quickly as you can, also to help prevent the butter from melting into the flour.

If all you have are frozen blueberries, you can use these, but do NOT thaw them out first and be aware that they might bleed into and color the batter.

 

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY & LEMON DROP SCONES

These really are very simple to make. Just put together the dough, drop in mounds onto the baking sheet, glaze and bake. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some baking paper. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest together in a bowl. Drop in the bits of butter.

Using your fingertips and a snapping motion rub the butter into the flour mixture until you have a crumble. Fold in the berries, tossing together to coat.

 

Stir in the milk, adding only enough to give you a thick sticky dough that comes together and that is easy to drop.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheet in mounds, leaving plenty of space between each mound.

Whisk the egg yolk and milk together and lightly brush the top of each scone with this mixture.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely puffed and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. If glazing whisk together the icing sugar and just enough lemon juice to give you a thin drizzle. Flick this over the tops of the scones.

Leave to set and cool completely before serving. They will keep up to two days in a tightly covered container.

 

These were really lovely, nice and light with a really beautiful crumb. I loved the ease of preparation, with them being no fuss no muss. My kind of cooking really!

I enjoyed one split with lashings of butter and a hot cup of  mint tea.  This made for a really delicious light lunch. To be honest, I had a difficult time stopping at just one!

 

If you are a fan of the scone, (and I cannot imagine anyone not liking scones), you might also enjoy the following delicious options! 

CLASSIC ENGLISH SCONES - Lets begin with the best. These are the classic scone that you will see on offer in most tea rooms all across the UK.  Tall, light and studded with raisins, these are beautiful served with clotted cream, jam and steaming hot cups of tea.  These are scone perfection and I have included a complete tutorial on scone making. You cannot go wrong! 

MAPLE GLAZED BLACK PEPPER SCONES- This is a small batch recipe which makes two very large scones. They have that sweet and savory thing going on.  Short and buttery, studded with the heat of black pepper and sweetly glazed. Who know that maple and pepper got along so well!  Simply fabulous. 

Yield: Makes 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Blueberry & Lemon Drop Scones (small batch)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Quick and easy to make with no rolling or cutting involved. Simply mix together the simple dough, fold in the berries, drop onto the baking sheet and bake. I have added an optional lemon glaze.

Ingredients

For the scones:

• 1 cup (140g) all purpose plain flour
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• the zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 TBS (22g) cold butter, cut into bits
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (80ml to 120ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (95g) fresh blueberries
• 1 egg yolk beaten together with 1 TBS milk to glaze the tops

Optional lemon glaze:

• 1/4 cup (35g) icing sugar
• fresh lemon juice to thin

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some baking paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest together in a bowl. Drop in the bits of butter.
3. Using your fingertips and a snapping motion rub the butter into the flour mixture until you have a crumble. Fold in the berries, tossing together to coat.
4. Stir in the milk, adding only enough to give you a thick sticky dough that comes together and that is easy to drop.
5. Drop the dough onto the baking sheet in mounds, leaving plenty of space between each mound.
6. Whisk the egg yolk and milk together and lightly brush the top of each scone with this mixture.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely puffed and golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. If glazing whisk together the icing sugar and just enough lemon juice to give you a thin drizzle. Flick this over the tops of the scones.
9. Leave to set and cool completely before serving. They will keep up to two days in a tightly covered container.

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