Makes 16 Scones
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
2 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
8 Ounces Cold Unsalted Butter Cut into Small Pieces
1½ Cup Fresh Blueberries, Picked Over
1¼ Cups Buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Grated Orange or Lemon Zest
Melted Butter and Granulated Sugar for Brushing and Dusting Tops of Scones
Preheat oven to 425°. Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture using finger tips. Gently toss in the blueberries and pour in buttermilk. Carefully mix with a fork only until the ingredients are just moistened being careful to not let the blueberries pop. The dough should be soft and rough. If dough looks too dry add another tablespoon of buttermilk. Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so that it holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it very gently and briefly – a half dozen turns should do it. Cut the dough in half.
Gently pat one piece of dough into a ½ inch thick circle about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 wedges (six wedges if you want a larger scone) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough and place on the same baking sheet.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes (20 – 25 minutes if making larger scones) rotating the pan half way through the cooking time. Bake until golden on the bottom and top. Let cool briefly on the pan and then remove to cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Hints and Tips: If you like, you can skip putting sugar on the scones before going into the oven: Instead drizzle with powdered sugar glaze once the scones are cooled. For the Glaze I used:
1 Cup Powdered Sugar, Sifted
4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
Whisk together the cream and the powdered sugar until smooth and you get a consistency that can be drizzled onto the cooled scones. Add more cream tablespoon by tablespoon if too thick.
