I confess to never having been to Hammonton, New Jersey, home of blueberry heaven. It’s a “must-do” on my list, for purposes of celebrating all the great farming that goes on in my native state. Depending on your source, NJ ranks #4 or 5 in national production of blueberries. This is pretty impressive in my book.
Today, I got going early on reminiscing with music – first it was Cat Stevens’ Morning Has Broken, in my earlier post and now it’s Bell Bottom Blues by Derek and the Dominos, Circa 1970……. in celebration of the gorgeous blueberries that are available for the pickin’ right now! Well, literally-speaking, Bell Bottom Blues has nothing to do with blueberries but, if you use your imagination and look at a blueberry scone from the side, you might say that they are somewhat bell-bottom-shaped….. Ok, I gave it a try…… That’s the music that came into my head while I was making these.
For any of you who can stand yet one more iteration of a scone recipe, here is today’s:
BLUEBERRY-NUTMEG SCONES
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
zest of one lemon
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk plus more for brushing
1 tsp almond extract 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 400F (convection). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In bowl of your food processor, whir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove to a low wide bowl. In a mixing cup, stir together the buttermilk and almond extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the center and gently mix with a dough scraper. Add the blueberries. Knead the dough together with your hands just until it forms a cohesive mass. Remove the dough to the baking sheet and pat into a 9″ round. Cut the dough into 8-9 scones. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with muscavado or sparkling sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until well-browned and crusty. About 5 minutes before done, gently separate scones with a serrated knife to ensure inner edges are baked through. Enjoy!
Incidentally, lest you think that I am the only NJ dweller obsessed with scones, pay a visit to Spring Lake’s The Scone Pony:
http://thesconepony.com