Ugli Sconz

I would love to have some special story about scones and how they became such a staple of my kitchen repertoire…but I don’t. I don’t have any childhood recollection of going blueberry picking or spending a morning in the kitchen helping put scones together then sharing a plate of hot, flaky awesomeness with a cup of coffee or tea…so here I am working to create those memories for myself and those I love. This is a recipe adapted from “Sharon’s Buttermilk Currant Scones” in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, thirteenth edition, page 550. As with most recipes, they are roadmaps…it is up to you to decide what you are going to drive (ingredients) and how you are going to get there (methods). So let’s rev up our engines and go! (p.s. I drive a 2002 Suburban with 260K+ miles names Sophie…like me, nothing fancy but we get you there!)

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This week at the Monday Market we had fresh blueberries, and I was sort of short on time, so I went with a tried and true recipe with a few special twists…my “Ugli Sconz”. These are not beautiful bakery display scones, but the taste and texture makes up for it (and copious quantities of lemon glaze doesn’t hurt!). These scones do work well with blueberries anytime of the year, but fresh ones just make it extra special. The three other areas I am particular on with quality are flour (King Arthur), butter (‘real’, grass fed…I like to imagine the little butter sticks out in a field chewing their cud), and buttermilk (I get “glass bottle local” and prefer to use it after it has ‘aged’ a while…just before you reach your gag reflex when smelling it). But, as always…do the best you can! A Yugo will eventually get you to the same place as a Ferrari!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar (I use cane sugar)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter (keep it cold in the fridge until you are ready to use)
• 1 cup buttermilk (also keep cold)
• 1-2 lemons for zest (1 Tablespoon) and juice, pending size and juiciness
• powdered sugar (for icing…a cup or so)
• ungreased baking sheet/air-bake cookie sheet or similar
• bench scrape or large knife (to cut and separate scones)
• clean hands (I think we’re all great at this now!)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a very large bowl (less mess!) combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until well mixed (I just use my hands, sifting it together through my fingers).
3. Remove butter from fridge and cut into cubes (middle photo, above). Add cubes to flour mixture, separate, and coat with flour. In a zen-like meditative state (you’ll get there if you take your time with this) push the butter cubes out through your thumb and first two fingers creating long flat butter ‘ribbons.’ Keep sifting through the flour and pressing out the butter until the cubes are gone. Be careful not to overwork the butter but don’t stress either…I used to freeze the butter and try to work quickly so it doesn’t melt, but this gentle approach with the butter coated in flour works just fine.
4. Create a “well” in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk and lemon zest. This last time my lemons weren’t giving up much zest so I also added about a Tablespoon of lemon juice to the mix. Now, very gently, using a large fork, fold the flour mixture up, over, and into the liquids…kind of like when you fold in egg whites…until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined. The key is to not overmix and keep the good butter ribbons in tact.
5. Last, add the blueberries and, again, gently fold them into the dough.
6. Carefully dump the dough onto the baking sheet (below, left…you will have to corral some runaway blueberries) and gently form into an approximate 8″ x 8″ square making sure to not press or compact the dough too much. I often have some loose flour hanging out on the edges…it’s ok…that’s where the ‘ugli’ comes from!
7. Using a bench scrape or knife cut the scones apart, separating them at least a half-inch from each other (scoot them apart with your scrape or knife). At about a half-inch the scones will basically bake back together so if you really want all crispy edges they will need to be separated further. I do eight larger scones (below, middle) but you could easily do 16 by starting with 4 squares (hey old schoolers…remember 4-square on the playground?), then dividing each of those again by 4 (you know, elementary grid math?).
8. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes. I always start with 20 minutes then add more time until they get golden enough with nice crispy edges.
9. While they are baking, make the lemon glaze. I start with about 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and add powdered sugar to the desired consistency (I like mine thick, almost like frosting).
10. Cool, glaze, and enjoy!

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Notes:

• Store any uneaten scones in an air tight container. I find the best way to reheat is in a toaster oven. They are almost better that way…even crispier edges!
• If you don’t want the lemon glaze, the original recipe calls for a brush on glaze that bakes on the scones. Mix 1 Tablespoon heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar together and brush on dough before baking.
• No blueberries? I don’t think I’ve found a combination of ‘add-ins’ for a scone that I haven’t liked! The only precaution I would take would be to make sure any fruit isn’t too ‘wet’…if you are going to use frozen or particularly juicy fresh I would probably let it sit out on a towel to dry out a bit.
• Get creative: I am thinking now I probably should have added some basil to my blueberry scones…hmm…I guess I’ll have to make some more this weekend!

Relax. Love. Enjoy.

-J