Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones

I honestly don't know what made me want to try making scones.  I didn't think I was a big fan.  To me the few times that I've had them I thought that they were kind of dry.  I picked up some blueberries and decided to try this recipe and boy am I glad that I did!  I now have a whole line-up of scone recipes that I want to try!  These scones were tasty and moist.  The family loved them and it was a great breakfast treat for us. 


Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones
from brown eyed baker

Makes 12 scones

Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (½ pint) blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the 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 the 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 rack to cool.

Serving & storing: The scones are best served immediately, but can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw, and reheat in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes

My parents invited us over for dinner New Year's Day and asked us to bring something for dessert.  I had an unopened carton of buttermilk in the fridge so I went on a search for dessert recipes using buttermilk.  I found this one and thought I'd give it a try.  The original recipe calls for making this in 5, 5 3/4 x 3 3/4-inch loaf pans.  Well, I didn't have those and I wasn't making this as a gift, so I used the variation that the recipe offered by making it in 2 8x4-inch loaf pans.  Which I'm glad I did, because I don't have two of the same loaf pans and one of the cakes wouldn't come out of the pan nicely.  That one came out with half of the bottom stuck to inside of the pan! The picture below is of the nicer one, though of course I don't remember which of the two pans it came out of.  I brought a carton of vanilla bean ice cream to serve on top.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes
Cooking Light,  November 2008

Ingredients:
13 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
 Cooking spray

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk. Place sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

3. Spoon batter into 5 (5 3/4 x 3 3/4–inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.