scones

Fresh Blueberry Scones

/ Jodi / 63 Comments

Fresh Blueberry Scones.

I had a friend come over Saturday morning.

HOORAY!  Excuse to bake something yummy.

I surely couldn’t know someone is coming and not have something freshly baked to share if I could help it.  Right?

Surprise visitors might not be as lucky – but are equally welcomed!   (They may just have to look beyond my make-up-less face, a potentially less than clean house, and deal with frozen cookies.)

It was so good to catch up with this friend I haven’t seen in a while – munching on these tender, buttery, lightly sweet biscuits bursting with tart blueberries and sipping on Cinnamon Dolce coffee with Italian Sweet Cream.

Sometimes it takes a guest to make us sit back and relax and truly appreciate our home.  My friend asked me how I ever get anything done with the beautiful view and comfy surroundings?

It made me think….

I need to quit apologizing for the carpet that needs replaced or the walls that need a fresh coat of paint or the old “stuff” I have.

The greatest compliment I receive is when someone tells me they feel completely comfortable and relaxed and welcome in my home.

Isn’t that what makes a house a home?   I have two signs in my home (one I bought and one made for me by my BFF who didn’t know I had bought the same sign!) that say “The thing I love best about my home is who I share it with.”

That could not be truer for me.  A house is made of wood and nails, but a home is made with love and family and friends.

And maybe fresh Blueberry Scones!

Here’s my recipe.

Fresh Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:

2 1/2  Cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 Sticks Cold Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Buttermilk (easy substitute is 1Tbsp white vinegar added to 1 cup milk)
1 cup Blueberries
Coarse Raw Sugar for Sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut butter into small cubes and cut into dry ingredients with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs are formed.  Pour in vanilla and buttermilk, and mix with pastry blender just until incorporated.  Dump dough onto counter, gently incorporate blueberries into dough, and gently shape into a 15″ x 3″ rectangle.  Cut dough in half, then each half in half, then each quarter in half, so that you have 8 rectangles.  Cut each rectangle on the diagonal to form 16 triangular shaped scones.

Place on backing stone or cookie sheet, brush with some milk or water, and sprinkle with coarse raw sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.  Cool for a few minutes on stone or cookie sheet, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cinnamon Chip Scones

/ Jodi / 71 Comments
cinnamon chip scones watercolor 5x7 arches 140lb cold press, raw sienna, cad orange, burnt sienna, burnt umber

cinnamon chip scones watercolor 5×7 arches 140lb cold press, raw sienna, cad orange, burnt sienna, burnt umber

I first shared this recipe I am “almost famous” for about two years ago here.

I made them twice this week for two different occasions, so when time came for me to decide on a watercolor painting for #WorldWatercolorMonth today – Cinnamon Chip Scones it was.

My painting does not do these amazingly yummy scones justice, but trust me, you and anyone you serve these to will LOVE them.

Here is what they really look like.

cinnamon chip scones

Cinnamon Chip Scones

Ingredients:cinnamon chip scones

2 3/4  Cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Sticks Cold Butter
3/4 – 1 Cup Buttermilk (easy substitute is 1Tbsp white vinegar added to 1 cup milk)
1 10 oz. bag Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips
Coarse Raw Sugar for Sprinkling

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut butter into small cubes and cut into dry ingredients with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs are formed.  Pour in vanilla and buttermilk, and mix with pastry blender just until incorporated.  Pour in bag of cinnamon chips.  Dump dough onto counter and gently shape into a 15″ x 3″ rectangle.  Cut dough in half, then each half in half, then each quarter in half, so that you have 8 rectangles.  Cut each rectangle on the diagonal to form 16 triangular shaped scones.

Place on backing stone or cookie sheet, brush with some milk or water, and sprinkle with coarse raw sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.  Cool for a few minutes on stone or cookie sheet, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.  Best served immediately.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cinnamon Chip Scones

/ Jodi / 15 Comments

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Another one of my “almost famous” recipes is this super easy, yet super yummy recipe for homemade Cinnamon Chip Scones.

I made some this week to take to a morning meeting at work, so I thought I would share with  you.

The first time I had these was at a friend’s house for a holiday party.  Brenda is quite the chef, baker, and entertainer.  We all raved about these scones, but I had never attempted making them before.  I assumed they were difficult.  And truthfully – every scone I ever had before this was less than exciting…..  Many I’ve had were quite dry and lacking in anything that really made me want to do cartwheels.

But these – oh my – I wish I could express to you have awesome they are.  They are tender and moist and full of sweet and cinammony chips.  sc8

And though they end up looking like they would be something difficult or time consuming to make, they are really easy.

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So here we go.

Start by mixing the dry ingredients together (I often do this the night before and put in a bowl with a lid, so I can make fresh in the morning by simply adding the wet ingredients and baking):

2-3/4 cup Flour
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon

Then add 1-1/2 sticks of cold butter, sliced and cut in with a pastry blender (Sorry, Kurt – I told you there was no butter in them – just keep believin’ that – Wink! Wink!)

It starts out looking like this…
sc1

and with the magic of the pastry blender (who needs a food processor?! – have had two – gave away – over-rated), in a matter of about 2 minutes, it becomes a crumbly mixture like this:

sc2Easy Peasy.

Then you add 3/4 cup (or a little more if it is too dry) Buttermilk and 1 TBSP Vanilla with a wooden spoon just until dough forms a ball.

Then you transfer it to a floured surface, blend in a bag of Cinnamon Chips, and shape into a 15 x 3″ rectangle.

Cut it in half, then each half in thirds, then each third on a diagonal into triangles – like this:

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I then brush with a little bit more buttermilk or water, sprinkle some coarse raw sugar on top, place on baking stone (I use 2 with 6 on each) – allowing room for them to GROW.  They go in the oven looking like this:

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Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, and they come out looking like this:

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These are truly best served the day they are baked.  If you store them in an airtight container or bag, they get soft and lose the crispy outside that contrasts so well with the tender inside and makes them so amazing.

sc7Hope you’ll give these a try – even if you don’t think you like scones.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

sc8Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi