Blueberry Lemon Scones Recipe

To be honest, while I usually like to share the origins of the recipes I blog, this recipe for Blueberry Lemon Scones has been scrawled in my book for years. I don’t really know where it came from, but I do know that it gives me the perfect excuse to share the tricks I have for the perfect scones!

You’ll Need It:

3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2/3 C sugar
1 Tblsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

6 Tblsp cold, unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

1 Tblsp lemon juice + enough milk to equal 1 cup

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 egg + 1 egg white lightly beaten

Make It:

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.

Cut in cold, cubed butter with a fork or pastry knife until the mixture is the size of tiny peas.

Stir in lemon-milk mixture with berries and grated zest.

Add egg until just combined.

At this point, the mixture should still be wet but be able to hold together. If it’s too wet to stabilize, add just a dusting of flour.

Tips for the Perfect Scones:

Lay out parchment paper on a cookie sheet or cutting board.
Make the dough into a long log shape. Pull and flatten until the log of dough is 3 inches deep and 3/4 of an inch tall.
Score the the log of dough with a knife–first into equal squares and then half each square diagonally. Do not try to separate at this stage!
Like this: |/|/|/|/|/|
Throw the board of dough in the freezer for an hour.
When you take the dough out, you should just be able to snap the triangles apart and throw them in a Ziploc freezer bag. Label the bag and date it.
The next time you have company, just pull out a few scones and pop them on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Frozen dough results in moister scones.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. (Note: Raw, unfrozen dough will cook quicker.)

Cinnamon Almonds & Pics from the Weekend

We had such a great weekend. We spent some time with friends and also got some quality whittling done on that Rivermont to do list. We started on the yard when we got home on Friday, and Husband actually ended up laying grass seed ’til 10 that night! We discovered some new things in the yard including this beauty which shot up over the summer.

One thing I love about the internet? The free knowledge base for plants and flowers! I have so many friends that know more about these things than I do so anytime I learn something new, I just make a note so hopefully I’ll remember next time. The lovely lady is called an angel’s trumpet and the flower is 11″ long from stem to stern. I’ve never seen such a big flower!

Cinnamon Almonds & Weekending Pics | Hannah & Husband

This rose bush is tangled up in the rose of sharon.

We found this model airplane in the china closet, and I’m pretty obsessed with it at the moment. It looks like the dash in the cockpit was hand drawn.

While Husband was laying grass seed, I spent some time preserving tomatoes. You can read about how I peel tomatoes in this post. These frozen fruits will be like treasure come late fall!

Finally, I whipped up some cinnamon almonds, and I thought I’d share the recipe. I always need a little crunch with fruit and yogurt, and these are perfect! Plus, they’re so easy to make.

Cinnamon Almonds

1/2 cup sliced almond
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Toss until all almond slices are covered evenly. Set over to broil and watch like a hawk! These can burn quickly and truly don’t take more than 3-4 minutes.

Try them! They also make a great snack.

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Huzzah! Strawberry season is here! Every year, I look forward to The Market in Maryville getting the first shipments of strawberries in from South Carolina, and last week it finally happened. Over the past 5 days, I have eaten more strawberry shortcake than most Americans will eat all year long. No regrets. So today, I thought I’d share with you one of my very favorite recipes: strawberry jam.

strawberry jam

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

2 lbs strawberries (it’s usually 2 containers)
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 of a peeled green apple (a natural pectin… i.e. the stuff that helps it turn to jelly)
1 tsp orange rind
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Top & hull the strawberries.
Use a food processor to chop berries into smaller pieces or just squish them up with your hands.
Throw the green apple into the food processor as well or finely chop.
Stir in sugar, orange rind, & cinnamon.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the entire mixture to a boil.
Turn down and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes.*
Once your jam reaches the consistency you desire, place in jars and let cool completely. Once it’s completely cool, store it in the fridge.

*For the first 20 minutes or so, you’ll need to remove the foam that accumulates on the top. The foam is really just a result of the boiling jam. It won’t really affect the taste, but it will prevent your jam from reaching the right consistency.

The best thing about strawberry jam is that it will make your house smell like the perfect Spring evening. It’s equally as yummy on toast as it is on shortbread, and while I’d suggest canning it, I can almost guarantee your batch won’t last that long. So turn on some Nat King Cole, curl up on the couch with your honey, and enjoy the natural aphrodisiac of Strawberry Jam. You can thank me later.

Is making jam just not enough for you? Consider heading to Dayton, Tennessee this weekend for the annual Strawberry Festival. Just looking for a new dessert? Might I recommend Alton Brown’s shortcake recipe? It is delish!