BLUEBERRY SCONES

Towards the end of January, we spent a wonderful weekend up in Prince Edward County at the Devonshire. Its a dreamy spot for a weekend away, and we took full advantage of the hotel slippers and bathrobes, self-serve coffee, the games room, and multiple fire places. We ate both our dinners at new local spots (here and here), but enjoyed breakfast at the hotel while soaking up the beautiful lake view from their dining room. Though we didn't order the blueberry scones, I've been dreaming of them since. A quiet weekend at home seemed like the perfect time to use up the last of the freezer blueberries and try a new scone recipe.

LEMON + CURRANT SCONES

I have several fond memories from my childhood associated to citrus -- elementary school citrus drives leading to boxes upon boxes of oranges and grapefruits in the house; my grandmother's citrus compote, as she was the only one patient enough to remove all the pith; and ski hill lunches, always ending with two (or more) clementines. With winter upon us, we've been trying to have a steady flow of clementines in the house, and the occasional orange or grapefruit, but nothing like it was when I was a kid.

The abundance of citrus had left me wanting to bake something citrus-y. I quickly realized that I don't actually like the flavour of oranges in baked goods, and the grapefruit was being saved for this. So I turned to the trusty lemon, and though not super wintery, these scones were the perfect compliment to my mid-afternoon cup of tea.

PROPER BRITISH SCONES

We discovered a delicious little spot in Parkdale a few weekends ago, warm scones, perfectly steeped tea and truly unique and delicious confiture. The scone, jam and clotted cream combo brought me right back to England. I woke up this past weekend totally craving a proper british scone (as opposed to typical American scones). A good friend recently bought us a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, and the first issue we received just happened to describe the perfect way to make British scones. This seemed like a great place to start. Dangerously delicious and more simple then you would think - these little guys are perfect for leisure weekend mornings, summertime park picnics, or afternoon tea.

PROPER BRITISH SCONES // makes 9

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated March/April 2014

Preheat oven to 500.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 T baking powder
pinch of salt
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened*
1 cup milk (recipe called for whole milk, I used soy and it worked flawlessly)
2 large eggs

to serve...
english clotted cream (readily available at your local grocery store)
jam

*note: if you forget to take the butter out early to soften, simply cut into cubes and pop in the microwave for 20 seconds.

What to do:

In a food processor fitted with the s-blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse until combined - about 5 pulses.

Add the butter and pulse until fully incorporated and mixture looks like very fine crumbs, about 20 pulses. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk the milk and eggs. Set aside 2 T of the milk mixture for later and pour the remainder into the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold everything together until fully combined.

Transfer the dough to a well floured countertop and knead 25 to 30 times, until smooth and free of cracks. Keep your hands floured to avoid sticking. Press the dough down a bit to flatten, and use a rolling pin to roll flat, about 1" thick.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2-1/2" round cutter, cut as many rounds out as you can and gently transfer to the baking sheet. Keeping your counter floured, re-knead the dough, roll to 1" thick and cut out the additional rounds.

Brush the tops with the milk/egg mixture. Lower the oven temperature to 425 and bake scones for 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheet at 5 minutes. You'll know they are ready when they have risen and are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Best served warm, with clotted cream and jam.