Blueberry Coffeecake Scones

Have I mentioned we live in the land of berries?? A couple weeks ago we went blackberry picking with our niece and nephew, who were visiting from Virginia. It was a spur of the moment thing, but the girls (Katie and Clara) wanted to make a cobbler. A cobbler only takes 2 cups of berries...so there were plenty leftover.

The next night Brian decided he wanted to make blackberry scones. So I dug through my Cook's Illustrated recipes (the first ones I check nowadays...) and found two. The only problem is that they called for a couple ingredients that we didn't have on hand (cream and lemon zest) Then we remembered this little book we bought YEARS ago called, "Simply Scones." He found a recipe called "Blueberry Coffeecake Scones" and made it the next morning, using blackberries instead of blueberries. It was easy and yummy! (They are not, however, the best scones we've ever had. That honor goes to Red Chair Bakery in Bloomington, Indiana.)

Recently I decided to try it with blueberries, and here are the results! (The only things I did differently from the recipe were not using lemon zest, and skipping the topping.)

So, while I still want to try Cook's Illustrated's versions, I like the fact that THIS recipe can be made without a special shopping trip.

Blueberry Coffeecake Scones

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or do as I did, and use a well-seasoned baking stone) and set aside.

Mix together in a large bowl:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cut into the mixture, until the mixture is course:
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter

In a smaller bowl mix together:
2 large eggs
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp grated lemon peel

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring to combine. (The dough will be quite sticky.)

Gently fold into the dough:
1 1/2 C fresh or frozen blueberries (or blackberries!!)

Lightly flour your hands and pat the dough into a 9" circle on the baking sheet.

Prepare the topping my mixing together:
3/4 C all purpose flour
1/4 C brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C cold unsalted butter (cut into the mixture)

Sprinkle the topping over the dough.

Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean.

Place on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes. If necessary, re-cut the wedges with the serrated knife. Can be served warm or cool. Store in an air-tight container.