Blueberry Scones

Awoke early this morning with an intense craving for blueberry scones. I haven't made them since I was 15 or 16, and remembering how calming it was to mix the dough, pat it out on flour, then cut and shape each individual scone had me jumping out of bed, throwing on a coat and my boots, and driving to the store for some blueberries. (I never had to buy blueberries during high school. My family happens to have a handy little blueberry patch next to the house.) The recipe I used was fairly simple- made a bit of mess when I tried to roll out the very sticky dough on the counter, and I didn't have any cake flour, so substituted rice flour. I also sprinkled raw sugar over the egg wash, which turned out very pretty. Cleaned up while the scones were in the oven, made a pot of coffee, and had myself a nice little breakfast. :)

P.S.

I've recently discovered how absolutely wonderful buttermilk is in any type of pasty dough. Although I will never be able to actually drink the stuff (SOUR!), it creates beautiful light crusts, and richer tasting pastries.

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (½ pint) blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Stir in blueberries.

3. Whisk together buttermilk, 1 egg, and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in the bowl.

4. Turn out dough onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into a 1-inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 22 minutes. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool. (Makes 12 scones).