Blueberries are in season, and I love to bake with these juicy summer berries, which simply burst with flavor when added to rich scones.
Traditional Irish scones dotted with raisins or sultanas come to mind when I think of fruit scones. However, my Dad tells stories of how my Granny mixed wild hurts (bilberries) and blackcurrants through her soda breads and scones during the summer months.
Scones are deceptively tricky to get exactly right, especially for an Irish baker trying to create her mother’s pastries in America. Over the past twenty years I have created some rules of scone making to help avoid producing dry, sawdust-like scones.
Although not exactly a rule, I like to use cake flour rather than all-purpose or bread flour. This may sound strange to most American bakers, but I simply prefer the end product I produce with cake flour – they are closer to the Irish scones of my childhood.
Irish American Mom’s Tips for Perfect Scones:
- Always sift the flour and baking powder together to provide aeration for lighter scones.
- Treat the mixture with gentle care, lifting the flour high, as you rub in the butter. A soft touch incorporates air and transfers lightness to the scone dough. (When we were children my mother told us to imagine we were faeires baking magic scones. She encouraged us to lift the flour with a faerie light touch.)
- Remember, too much mixing, and kneading will produce dry and tough scones.
- Don’t use too much flour when kneading your dough.
- Avoid pounding the dough with a rolling pin, instead use the palms of your hands to gently press the dough into shape. To level the scones simply pass the rolling pin lightly over the top. (The scone making faeries of my childhood used rolling pins with very gently).
- When cutting out the scones, flour the sides of the cutter. Do not twist the cutter, but push it through the dough firmly, lift and release.
- From the moment the wet ingredients hit the dry, work as quickly as you can.
- Place the scones close together on the baking tray to encourage rising not spreading.
- Never let the uncooked scones stand unbaked. Get them into the oven as quickly as possible since raising agents start their magical work the moment they meet the first drop of liquid.
- A high temperature is required initially to promote rising of the scones.
And so, here is my recipe for blueberry scones. I think this is one of my best scones recipes, and is a wonderful variation of my Irish Raisin Tea Scones recipe. I hope you’ll like them too. Here is the printable recipe:
Blueberry Scones
| Serves | 12 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour |
| Meal type | Bread |
| Region | Irish |
Ingredients
- 4 cups cake flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4oz butter (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cups whole milk
- sugar (to sprinkle on top of unbaked scones)
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. |
| Step 2 | Cut the butter into one inch pieces, then rub into the flour using a pastry blender, or rub the butter and flour using your fingers, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. |
| Step 3 | Add the sugar and mix. Add the blueberries and mix gently to disperse them throughout the flour mixture. |
| Step 4 | In a separate bowl or pitcher whisk the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in most of the liquid. Reserve 1/4 cup of the liquid mixture to brush on top of the unbaked scones. |
| Step 5 | Mix the wet and dry ingredients together using a large spoon or with your hand. Form a soft-but-not-too-sticky dough. Add some extra flour if the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too dry and not sticking together, add a little more of the egg and milk mixture. Handle the dough gently to avoid bursting the blueberries. |
| Step 6 | Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with a little more flour. Knead the dough lightly. |
| Step 7 | Flatten the dough into a large round shape, about an inch-and-a-half high. This can be done with your hands or by lightly rolling the dough with a rolling pin. |
| Step 8 | Use a biscuit cutter to cut out round shapes. Place the scones on a greased baking tray. |
| Step 9 | Brush the top of the scones with the reserved egg and milk mixture. Then sprinkle the top of each scone with a little sugar. |
| Step 10 | Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven when the tops are turning a lovely golden color. |
| Step 11 | Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. |
| Step 12 | To serve cut the scones in two and spread each side with butter and/or jam or jelly. Delicious served slightly warm. |
Wishing you all happy and successful scone baking – and don’t forget the faeries as you lift the butter and flour between your fingers.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom
These scones look delicious. I agree that it’s very difficult to make soft scones, so thanks for all your tips.
Denise – I hope these tips help you make deliciously tender scones. There’s nothing like a freshly-baked scone, hot out of the oven, with a nice cup of tea.
Best wishes, and thanks for stopping by.
Mairéad
Mairead, looking forward to making the Blueberry Scones this evening. Would that be about 3/4 cup of blueberries for the batch. I may have read it too fast and missed the amount. Thanks, Maureen
P.S. I am just back from Ireland and jet-lagged. Missing all the goodies there!
Hi Maureen – I’m laughing away at myself here. I missed the blueberries in the attached recipe. No blueberries in the blueberry scones – can you believe it? 🙂 There was a comic puppet here in Ireland years ago, called Dustin the Turkey, and he would always say “No cheese on my cheese burger” – I think I was taking a page out of his recipe book. Well, thanks to you, I did a quick update on the attached recipe and added the berries. I actually used 1 and 1/2 cups for the batch.
I hope you had a lovely time in Ireland – the baked goods are always so delicious in Ireland – not as sweet as in America, with lots of fresh whipped cream. Yummy!
All the best, and I hope you enjoy these scones.
Mairéad
Thanks, Mairead! Thought I was losing my mind there for a minute, and it is possible! Still jet-lagged.
The weather in Ireland was beautiful–could not have been nicer. The roses are huge this year too. My aunt had a gorgeous rose bush called David Austen, and the perfume was magic. Loved your post on the roses, too. Looking forward to the blueberry scones, which I plan to make now. There goes the diet!!
Cheers,
Maureen
Maureen – It’s my mind we’ll be worrying about, not yours, and I can’t blame it on jet lag. But I do have three boys constantly bouncing soccer balls around me. They can’t stop since the World Cup started.
I’m so happy you enjoyed sunny weather during your trip to Ireland – the sun is never guaranteed as you know, but Ireland looks spectacular when bathed in sunshine. Glad you enjoyed my musings on Irish roses too.
Happy scone baking,
Mairead
looks like a yummy breakfast!
Dina – These scones are scrumptious for breakfast, especially when in summer when blueberries are extra sweet.
All the best,
Mairéad
These sound so yummy, Mairead. And I love your shot of the scones stacked. Great photo!
Thanks so much, Cheryl. I had fun coming up with a cute way to display these scones. A shot from above just didn’t highlight the blueberry juice dripping down the sides. After a little experimenting I went with a scone stack instead of a pancake stack.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
I have just read from COOK’S ILLUSTRATED that in making Irish soda bread to use cake flour. Cake flour is a softer wheat and closer to the wheat grown in Ireland. So it makes sense that cake flour would give you the results you are looking for in this recipe. Do you use cake flour in all of your baking?
I really want to try this ASAP.
Penny – I use a lot of cake flour when baking, especially for scones, sponges, pound cakes and cup cakes. It took years for me to discover cake flour here in America and to realize it’s similar to Irish flour. It’s good to know my crazy theory is now validated by COOK’s ILLUSTRATED.
Take care, and I hope you enjoy these scones,
Mairéad
IF you can get your hands on buttermilk they will taste extra awesome!
Kerrie – I add a little baking soda as a leavening agent whenever I make scones with buttermilk. I agree whole heartedly with you though – buttermilk scones are ever so nice and light. Thanks so much for this baking tip.
All the best,
Mairéad