Happy Saturday, everyone! And happy Easter weekend to all who celebrate!
Easter has always been my favorite holiday, both as a child and as an adult. As a child, I loved the Easter basket stuffed with chocolate, the big family gathering that starred a roasted lamb on a spit, and the promise of a perfectly pastel-colored dress. As an adult, I love that this time of year signified a time of rebirth and transformation. (okay, and the big basket stuffed with chocolate)
One thing that I loved as a child (and now as an adult) was the big Easter Sunday brunch. My mom would (and still does) lay the table with a pastel runner and place mats, white plates, and our annual centerpiece – a porcelain planter with REAL grass in which she would lay our dyed Easter eggs. Then we would all sit and enjoy breakfast together. While we traditionally eat tsoureki, a traditional sweet yeast bread, for brunch, I was thinking of adding another breakfast pastry to our brunch line-up this year (even though we have 5 more weeks to go).
Such as a twist on an old stand-by.
Like adding fresh lemon zest and dried blueberries to our go-to scone recipe.
And discovering that Lemon Blueberry Scones are a bit of sunshine on your holiday brunch table!
And they could not be more easy to make. This is how you make them…
The scones begin with the dry ingredients being placed into the bowl of a food processor with a steel blade.
The dry ingredients are just all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and a bit of salt. Pulse to mix everything together.
Then add in one stick of COLD (like right out of the fridge cold) butter that has been cut into pieces. Pulse until the butter incorporates into the dry ingredients.
And looks like sand. Then with the food processor on, add in the skim milk. Continue to let the food processor run until the dough just starts to come together. Then shut the food processor off.
Add in the lemon zest and the dried blueberries. The zest of the lemon is the yellow part of the lemon skin that you can remove using a zester – make sure you don’t get any of the white pith, it’s very bitter!
PS – please, please use dried blueberries in this recipe. I tried these out with fresh blueberries and it was a mess from start to finish. The berries got super mushy, bled everywhere (unintentional purple scones are NOT pretty), and did not bake properly. So please learn from my mistakes and use dried blueberries!
Pulse the scone dough 2-3 times until the lemon zest and the blueberries are incorporated.
Dump the scone dough onto a floured surface and quickly form it into a disc that is about 2 inches thick. (look at those blueberries!)
Cut the disc into eight semi-equal wedges.
Place the scones onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
And dust the tops with some additional sugar. I used Sugar-in-the-Raw here but granulated sugar works just as well! Bake the scones at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are just golden.
When the scones are done, transfer them immediately to a wire rack and cover with a tea towel until they are cooled.
Then serve them up to hungry family and friends along side some butter, jam, or a drizzle of honey!
A perfect addition to your Easter brunch table tomorrow!
So, kiddos, what are you up to tomorrow? Let me know!
xoxo,
Catherine
This recipe was featured in i’mperfect magazine’s section, Perfect Eats! See it here – http://im-perfectmagazine.com/recipe-lemon-blueberry-scones/
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 stick COLD unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ⅔ cup skim milk
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ¼ cup dried blueberries
- Extra sugar for dusting the tops of the scones
- Preheat your oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Pulse to combine.
- Add in the butter and pulse until the butter becomes distributed in the flour and the mixture looks like coarse granules. Put the food processor on and add in the skim milk. Continue to mix until the dough is starting to come together. Add in the lemon zest and dried blueberries. Pulse 2-3 more times to incorporate.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a disc that is approximately 1-inch thick. NOTE – you can stop here and wrap the dough up and place in the fridge overnight.
- Cut the disc into 8 wedges and place them on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Dust the tops of the scones with some additional sugar. Bake the scones for approximately 11 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden-brown and the tops are just slightly starting to brown.
- Remove the scones to a cooling rack and cover with a tea towel until they are cool.
- Serve with your favorite jam or jelly, butter, or drizzle of honey.
- Enjoy!
These are the easiest scones! I use a small biscuit cutter and get 16. By the time I clean up they are done. Perfect every time! Thank you for the recipe.