Thyme for Tea – Blueberry Lemon Thyme Scones
A late lunch on a rainy Friday afternoon was the perfect occasion for having a little afternoon tea with the ladies! We whipped up a batch of blueberry lemon thyme scones which were enjoyed alongside some delicious finger sandwiches (tuna salad with micro-greens from the garden, turkey with provolone, avocado and honey mustard, and grilled ham and cheese – yum!).
My eldest daughter had a blast helping me in the kitchen by grating up all of the lemon zest needed to make these melt-in-your mouth scones taste like sunshine on a rainy day. The finished product did just that, with everyone begging for more (and boy, do we need some sunshine right now!).
This recipe was adapted by using the basic scone recipe in The Foster’s Market Cookbook. The secret sauce to these beauties? Buttermilk! When coupled with blueberries, plenty of lemon zest and a little bit of thyme (because…you know, why not?) they taste a bit like a fancy Bo-Berry biscuit (and who doesn’t love those?!?).
I hope you enjoy these – they’d be perfect for breakfast, lunch, tea or dessert. Be sure to peek at the tips below the recipe before diving in.
Blueberry Lemon Thyme Scones
Makes 1 dozen scones
4½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ pound (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, grated or cut into cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup buttermilk
Zest of 2 lemons plus ¼ cup juice
Fresh thyme from 3-4 sprigs OR 1/2 tsp dry thyme
Egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets and set aside (can also use parchment paper instead)
3. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl
4. Add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Do not overwork the dough. Note – you can grate the butter with a grater in advance which makes this part super easy!
5. Fold in the blueberries.
6. Mix the buttermilk with the lemon zest and juice. Add to flour mixture and mix, by hand, until just combined and the dough begins to stick together.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll or pat into two 6-inch rounds, about 1½ inches thick. Cut each round in half, then cut each half into 3 triangles (pie-shaped wedges) and place on the baking sheets. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
8. Bake 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm to touch. While scones are baking, mix together all ingredients for the vanilla glaze. Once done, remove scones from the oven, drizzle with glaze and serve immediately.
Tips:
-If using frozen blueberries, toss them in a bit of flour before adding to mixture to keep them from sinking when baked into the scones.
-Be very careful when using two oven racks to bake these. The scones baked on the bottom rack will cook much quicker and have the potential to burn – trust me, it happened to us 😉.
-Be sure to use very cold butter and buttermilk! The warmer your ingredients are for this recipe, the more likely it is that your scones will spread more than desired in the oven.
-If your dough seems too wet after mixing, add a little more flour, 1 tbsp at a time.
-I recommend refrigerating the cut dough for 20 minutes before baking. especially if your dough is a bit wet and sticky to the touch. I didn’t do this, but definitely encourage it.
-Got leftover scones? We placed our leftovers in the fridge. To reheat, wrap loosely in foil and warm on 350 for 10-15 minutes. The results? Just as awesome as day 1.
