When I was growing up, fruit and vegetables had distinct seasons and everything we cooked or baked was dependent on that. Frozen foods were still in their infancy and while my mother was a wonderful cook and baker, if you can believe it, having a Swanson’s TV dinner was considered a BIG deal. With global markets food seasons are something of the past. Unless I am shopping farmers’ markets, I can get beautiful berries and flavorful tomatoes all year-long. However, even with changing weather patterns, winter is still winter, summer is still summer and spring, while totally unpredictable is still spring. Chicago’s spring has been chilly and damp on some days and summer-warm on others, but it is still spring and the trees have that new green and the first flowers are blooming. All of this makes me want to start using berries in everything. However, I have learned over the years, that if the berries are going to be mixed through a batter or dough that it is actually preferable to bake with frozen fruit, which also tends to be somewhat more consistent than fresh. The fruit will squish less, keeping the integrity of the berry. (I still buy and eat fresh berries every day and enjoy those fragile and delicious farmers’ market strawberries when I am lucky enough to find them.)
I wanted to make something that ticked all of my boxes and decided on these mixed berry scones. The recipe comes from two recipes: Cook’s Country and the Pioneer Woman with a some tweaks from me. They will work for breakfast, brunch or afternoon “tea.” And while they may look heavy, they are actually remarkably light, not overly sweet and bursting with berries.
Mixed Berry Scones adapted from Cook’s Country and The Pioneer Woman
Yield: About 8 large scones
Ingredients
Scones
1 ¾ cups (8 3/4 ounces) frozen mixed berries
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 Tablespoons berry jam
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 large egg
Glaze
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
Directions
- FOR THE SCONES: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. If your berry mix contains strawberries, cut them in half or quarters. Toss berries with confectioners’ sugar in bowl; freeze until needed.
- Combine flour, 6 tablespoons butter, granulated sugar, baking powder, orange zest and salt in food processor and process until butter is fully incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add remaining 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces, 15 to 20 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Stir in berries.
- Beat milk, preserves and egg together in separate bowl. Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in milk mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently stir mixture, scraping from edges of bowl and folding inward until very shaggy dough forms and some bits of flour remain. Do not over mix.
- Turn out dough onto well-floured counter and, if necessary, knead briefly until dough just comes together, about 3 turns. Using your floured hands and bench scraper, shape dough into 12 by 4-inch rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches tall. Using knife or bench scraper, cut dough crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 triangles (you should have 8 large scones total). Transfer scones to prepared sheet.
- Bake until scones are lightly golden on top, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- FOR THE GLAZE: While scones bake, combine melted butter and honey in small bowl.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove scones from oven and brush tops evenly with glaze mixture. Return scones to oven and continue to bake until golden brown on top, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve as is or with Devonshire cream and more honey or jam.
