Blueberry Scones

I've stumbled upon the thought of baking scones before, but I never actually searched out the right recipe and started whipping the ingredients together.  Until today.

I glanced at the scones pictured in the cook book before, but wasn't very interested until I had tried one.  My Pastor's wife is very skillful in the kitchen and never failed to prepare a tasty treat for us youth.  One Sunday morning, when I saw that she had made scones, I knew I couldn't pass them up.  They were different.  I would say that it tastes much like a cross between shortbread and the biscuit.  And they were delicious. I decided today would be the day I needed to make my own scones.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour, (not self-rising)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup (1/2 pint) blueberries
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until 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 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 racks to cool.

I would most definitely recommend this yummy snack and will be baking many more, as I realize that I could use some more practice in this art of scone-making. :)