Blueberry Lemon Green Tea Scones
Necessity is the mother of invention. More and more I am learning that this is totally the truth. How do I know this? Well, life experience of course! These scones are a story of invention that begins with a visit from a certain Miss Carla Hall and ends with Green Tea.
I know that sounds totally crazy…the long of the short of it is, I was asked to make lemony scones for an upcoming event. While trying to amp up the lemon flavor in my scone recipe I got a bit overzealous with the lemon zest and sugar that I realized I did not have enough for a double batch. For 5 minutes I was in sheer panic mode…I need more lemons, I can’t get more lemons right now, the baby is sleeping, I should wake him up, no don’t wake him up, I’m thirsty, I want a nap, you didn’t think this one through, I need tea…and then all of a sudden the wise words of Carla Hall entered my brain. “Use tea as a seasoning…”THAT’s IT! I thought to myself…I will use my lemony, herbal green tea as the lemon flavor in my scones. Problem solved and these little beauties were invented all thanks to my girl Carla Hall.
These scones are dedicated to Carla Hall…and the lovers, the dreamers and ME! Let’s get to work!
First, let’s do a little prep work…we need to keep these ingredients cold. It’s the key to get that light flaky texture in this dense biscuit. I know that is a total oxymoron, but you’ve got to trust me on this. So let’s take that butter and great that sucker using the large holes of a box grater.
Store your shavings in the freezer til you’re ready. Also, keep your blueberries in the freezer too. Coldness is key. Now it’s time to mix the half and half as well as the sour cream in a medium bowl. Once incorporated, store in the fridge (bet you thought I was going to say freezer…GOTCHA!)
Now while these ingredients are chillin’ (sorry couldn’t help myself…if you knew my father you would understand…HI DAD!) …let’s make our lemony, green tea sugar. ** If you wanted to keep the green tea out of the recipe, that is fine just leave it out. For those of you who crave culinary adventure mix the green tea, lemon and sugar in a small bowl and massage the ingredients together. The sugar will smell amazing as the oils are released…just look at how pretty it is.
Next mix the sugar with the rest of your dry ingredients. At this point I would also make sure you have a cleared space for kneading and rolling the dough…things are about to get messy so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Remember that butter in the freezer? -time to have her join the party. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and using your hands, incorporate the butter until it is all covered by the flour and a crumbly texture.
Next, you need to add the sour cream mixture. And now you will realize why I had you prep the work surface. Use your hands to mix until a tacky dough forms. Then pour the dough out onto your work surface and knead the dough about 6-8 times until it becomes a ragged ball. DO NOT OVERMIX YOUR DOUGH! It should look something like this.
Now it’s time to put that rolling pin to work. Let’s roll the dough into a 12 inch square.
Then take the dough and fold it into thirds like a business letter. Then fold the short ends into thirds as well to make a 4 inch square.
Place the dough square on a floured plate and let it chill out in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Return the dough to your floured work space and roll it back into a 12 inch square. Now it’s time to use those blueberries. Sprinkle them evenly over the surface and then gently press them into the dough so they are nice and cozy.
Roll your dough, tightly till it looks like this beautiful log. Are you getting hungry yet?
Position the log with the seam side down and press into a 12 inch by 4 inch rectangle. Now it’s time to divide and conquer. I like to cut them into four equal rectangles. Then I cut them on the diagonal to create two triangles. You could even go crazy and make mini scones by cutting them into four triangles. This comes in handy especially if you’re making these for a party.
Then place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with some melted butter and sprinkle with some more lemon sugar on top.
Bake in the oven until they are golden brown. I am telling you these beauties will not disappoint. They are perfect! Just look at them!
- 1 stick of unsalted butter frozen whole
- 1 ½ cups of frozen blueberries
- ½ cup half and half
- ½ sour cream
- 2 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp of herbal green tea with lemon flavor notes
- 3 tsp of lemon zest separated
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar for sprinkling
- 2tbs of unsalted butter melted
- Adjust your oven rack to the center and preheat to 425 degrees. While preheating, take your stick of frozen butter and grate through the large holes of a box grater. A food processer works great for this…if you have one. Once the butter is grated place in a bowl and back in the freezer when ready to use. Same for the blueberries-keep them frozen till ready to use.
- Next, you will combine in a medium bowl the half and half as well as the sour cream. Once it is combined place bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use. In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. In a separate, smaller bowl combine the sugar, 1 tsp of lemon zest and the 2 tsp of the green tea. Once you combine your green tea, lemon sugar add that to your dry ingredients and combine.
- Add your butter to the dry ingredients. Toss with your hands until the butter is thoroughly covered. Next, add your sour cream, half and half mixture to the dry mix. Using a spatula fold the ingredients til it begins to combine to form a crumbly dough. Once a dough begins to form, pour dough onto a well floured work surface. Knead the dough 6-8 times till it all comes together in a ragged ball. Roll the dough to a 12 inch square.
- Next take the ends of the dough and fold it into thirds, like a business letter. Then fold the short ends into the center to form a 4 inch square. Place the dough square on a well floured plate and place in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
- Return the dough to the floured surface and roll it back into a 12 inch square. Now it’s time to take the blue berries and sprinkle them evenly over the surface of the dough. Then press the blueberries down to embed them gently into the dough itself. Once the blueberries are placed take one end of the dough and begin to roll into a tight log. Position the log with the seam side down and pat the dough into a 12in by 4in rectangle.
- Cut the dough into four equal rectangles and slice each rectangle into a triangle. Place on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the turbinado sugar and the rest of your lemon zest in a small bowl. Really massage the lemon zest into the sugar to release the oil from the zest. Next paint your melted butter on top of the prepped scones and sprinkle the lemon sugar on top of each one. Place the baking sheet in your oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- **This dough freezes really well if you want to save some for later. Just flash freeze the dough on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 20 minutes and once frozen wrap them individually with saran wrap and place in a freezer bag ready for your next snack attack.
This is my favorite technique for making scones. The way the dough is folded and the ingredients are incorporated make these scones a marvelous treat for breakfast or a late night snack or even a 3 o’clock munchie. For me, I would love this in the afternoon with a cup of a tea and topped with a dollop of Devonshire cream…PURE HEAVEN!
Plus you could mix in whatever flavors you desire…the possibilities are endless. There are some other flavor combos I am currently experimenting with in the kitchen, but I would love to have your input. What flavor combo would you like to invent? Let me know!
Happy Snacking!
JJ
Janey Jean! I had no idea you had a website, full of fun! I’m SO going to try this recipe; thanks for sharing! XO Amy
Hey! Yes we just launched this week and am looking forward to wherever the blog journey takes me! Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy! XOXO JJ
Hey Jane! I made these scones last night (minus the green tea). Delicious!!!!! Awesome recipe. Messy, but not hard at all (the step-by-step pictures helped a ton though). Thanks!!!!
Hey Sara! So glad you enjoyed them!! Definitely a “go-to” recipe in our house! Thanks for reading!