Delicious (really!) Blueberry Scones

I know what you’re thinking. Scones are all dry and tasteless and icky. And they’re just generally all kinds of awful, right? Well guess what? These totally aren’t like that at all. They rock! They’re flakey and delicious, and here’s the recipe. You need to seriously make these RIGHT NOW.

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole.
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp grated lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and move rack to middle.
2. Remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use.
4. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.
5. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed.
6. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl.
7. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
8. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface.
9. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking. Dough will definitely be dry at first, but resist the urge to overknead.
10. Roll dough into a 12-inch square. fold dough into thirds like a letter, using scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.
11. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
12. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen.

How do they taste? My daughter came up and gave me a kiss after finishing one…that pretty much says it all.

Recipe via Cooks Illustrated, a fantastic website and magazine. If you’re a geek who loves cooking you’ll thoroughly enjoy Cooks Illustrated.