Recipes From the Porch: Lemon Blueberry Scones With Lemon Glaze

I am a big fan of lemon-flavored pastries; lemon bars, lemon cream pie, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemon bundt cake, you name it. I also really like blueberries, so, it goes without saying that I am a fan of the lemon/blueberry combination.

For Easter brunch this year, I made a batch of lemon blueberry scones and they were a big hit. Hugh, who typically dislikes lemon-flavored treats (psycho), actually enjoyed the scones well enough to snitch mine from my plate. If that's not a recommendation for this recipe, then I don't know what is.

The recipe calls for both butter and buttermilk, neither of which I had on hand. I did, however, have a carton of heavy whipping cream, so I made my own.

Don't think this makes me some sort of homesteader; the process is actually quite simple. Remind me to share it, sometime.

Anyhoodle, on to the recipe!

Ingredients: For the scones

2 C All-purpose flour

1/2 C Sugar

1 TBSP Baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

4 Ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and divided into slices or chunks

3/4 C fresh blueberries

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 C plus 2 TBSP buttermilk, plus extra for brushing on top of scones 

Ingredients for the Lemon glaze:

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 1/2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, blend in butter, until dough forms small pea-sized crumbs. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Add the blueberries and lemon zest and toss to coat. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture, mixing with a fork until dough starts to come together, then with your hands until combined. Again, don't overwork the dough or your scones will resemble hockey pucks, and, not even the flavors of lemon and blueberry can make an edible hockey puck.

Once dough is combined, divide in half and turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Form the dough into two circles, 3/4- to 1 inch thick. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut each circle into equal-sized triangles and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of each scone with buttermilk and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice to create a thick glaze.

When scones are removed from the oven, allow them to cool completely before drizzling each scone with glaze.

Scones will keep for several days in an airtight container, but you probably won't need to worry about that; these things go fast! Especially if you have lemon-lovers in your life (or, a psycho who says he dislikes lemon while stealing your pastry from your plate).