Without the scone, we would have never had the tradition of “afternoon tea” in Britain. So thank you, you fine, unique little biscuit-cookie cakes! You’re so good everyone in the U.K. gets an afternoon rest just to enjoy you!
You might not know this but at one time there was no afternoon tea. You might think this is a tradition that began in the 1500s during Queen Elizabeth the 1st reign, but it didn’t.
it began in Queen Victoria’s time in the 1840s, when the Duchess of Bedford stopped by and wanted a light lunch of tea, biscuits (cookies), and scones. Apparently, the chefs did such a good job with these traditionally Scottish treats that afternoon tea became a tradition in England, often served with tea, of course, as well as scones and the British “biscuit.”
If you’ve never had a scone, make some. They’re pretty easy to throw together and bake. They have a unique texture that’s like a cross between a croissant, a biscuit, and a shortbread cookie. Like shortbread cookies, they’re often dusted with sanding sugar, which gives them a sweet crunch of a top layer that’s simply delightful.
What I love about these Blueberry Scones is that the addition of the tart blueberry so complements the crisp, sugary texture of the scones, giving them a whole new dimension of flavor. I love scones with black or white tea, cappuccino with a nice, English novel about the countryside, with my pinky firmly displayed out as I sip (wink).
How to Make Perfect Scones
Making scones is kind of like making pie crust. The secret is to keep everything that touches that dough–and the dough itself–cold.
So, chill the dough every now and then, when you feel it beginning to warm. Also, chill the utensils you stir it with and keep the butter cold as well. Notice, in the directions, even when infusing your cream with the chamomile tea, you bring the temperature of the cream to cold again. Cold, cold, cold. It’s the secret to great pie crust and great scones so get your dough all ready, then put it back in the fridge if it’s getting warm. Then roll it out and portion your scones onto your parchment-lined tray. Then, put the whole tray of wedges into the fridge while your oven preheats.
What I do is not preheat my oven initially. I wait until I’ve got my scone wedges chilling in the fridge and then preheat the oven, taking the cold wedges out and popping them right into the oven.
How to Make Ahead and Store?
You can freeze scone dough up to three months if you like just leave the blueberries out, or you will have blue dough. Same with making ahead and refrigerating. You can make scone dough ahead and refrigerate it three days tops, and refrigerate baked scones three days as well.
Serving Suggestions
Scones are not only for serving at tea. They’re wonderful at brunch, after lunch, or after supper. I like to serve them at brunch with my Perfect Baked Eggs , my Slow Cooker Frittata, some Blueberry Lemon Spice Cake, and Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple-Cream Cheese.
Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup heavy cream plus more for brushing
- 1 chamomile tea bag
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- In a small pot, gently warm the heavy cream with the chamomile tea bag to infuse it with flavor, then let it cool.
- In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut in the cold butter until the mix looks like small crumbs. This is what makes the scones flaky.
- Mix in the beaten egg, vanilla, and cooled cream just until the dough starts to come together.
- Gently add the blueberries to the dough, being careful not to crush them.
- On a floured surface, form the dough into a circle and cut it into 8 wedges.
- Place the wedges on the baking sheet, brush with cream, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until golden.
- Let the scones cool a bit before enjoying them with your favorite tea or coffee.
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