I love a good scone, but they are not all created equally. While other baked goods such as muffins, quick breads, and cookies are a little more predictable, I treat a scone in a coffee shop pastry case with a fair amount of skepticism and I won’t even consider them in a grocery store - total scone snob here. If over-mixed and not freshly baked, they can be quite dense and dry, leading some people to think they don’t care for scones at all. Once you’ve had a good one though, with a not too sweet, tender crumb on the inside, flaky outer layer, and a flavorful glaze, you know it’s the perfect choice with your coffee or tea.
I’ve learned that the secret to flaky, tender scones is similar to that of a pie crust. Keep your ingredients cold and use a light touch when working the dough. I like to use my food processor and pulse the dough until it just barely comes together then turn it out on the floured board to do the rest of the work. If you don’t have a food processor, no worries, many purists would argue a fork or a pastry cutter does the job even better (not faster though, which is key for me if I’m making anything in the morning).
The cost of this recipe will vary due to where you shop and what kind of berries you purchase (maybe you are lucky enough to pick them yourself!). Mine came to about ninety-two cents per scone. Scroll to the bottom for the cost breakdown.
Berry Scones
(makes 8 scones)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, cold (keep refrigerated until you are ready to add it)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup milk (2% or whole)
2 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream
1 egg
1 cup blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, marionberries, huckleberries, or your favorite berry not mentioned.
Lemon Glaze
1 tablespoon butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 – 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375º F
Rinse the berries and lay them on a towel to dry.
Line a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor or a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse or stir until well combined.
Cut cold butter into small pieces or grate it with a cheese grater (watch your fingers!).
Add half the butter to the flour mixture and pulse in the food processor or use a pastry cutter/fork to thoroughly combine the butter and flour mixture. Add remaining half of the butter in the same manner but don’t worry so much about thoroughly combining at this stage. Some small, unincorporated pieces of butter will make for a flakier scone.
Measure and combine the vinegar, milk, and half-and-half or cream together. The vinegar should cause the mixture to curdle and thicken a bit.
Beat the egg in a separate bowl and add it to the milk mixture.
Add the milk/egg mixture to the flour/butter mixture and mix together quickly either by pulsing in the food processor or using a fork to combine the wet and dry ingredients until they just form a dough, being careful not to overmix.
Turn dough onto a floured work surface (large cutting board or countertop) and press gently into a rectangle (about 3/4 inch thick).
Place berries, diagonally, on one-half of the rectangle. If the berries are extra-large go ahead and cut them in half or thirds first. Fold the other half of the rectangle over the berries and pinch the edges together using your fingertips.
With a sharp knife cut, as shown below, into 4 triangles then halve those into 4 more for a total of 8 scones.
Place the scones on the prepared pan, leaving some space between them.
Bake approximately 25 minutes, until light golden brown, in preheated 375-degree F oven.
While the scones bake, make the glaze.
Place the soft butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice in a medium-size mixing bowl. Whisk together until smooth then add milk, gradually, until the glaze is a good spreading consistency.
After you remove the scones from the oven, you can allow them to cool slightly but you still want them warm when you spread the glaze over the top of each one.
Enjoy and share with friends while they are fresh - personal experience tells me you will be very popular!
all-purpose flour - .75, granulated sugar - .15, baking powder - .20, butter - 1.20, milk - .50, cream .20, egg - .60, powdered sugar - .33, lemon juice - .25, vanilla - .20 blackberries - 3.00
Total: 7.38 for the batch, .92 per scone
I welcome your questions and feedback on this recipe! Please share it if it’s something you think others might enjoy.