English Scones with Blueberry Stilton and Lavender Recipe
Scones are on the list of foods I detested from childhood because I’d never had them prepared quite to my tastes. I associated the word “scones” with the heeby-jeeby tactile sensation I get from pulling wet sweaters out of the washing machine or squeezing cotton balls.
Sounds weird, I know, but that’s what scones reminded me of until a recent 4:30 a.m. airport adventure with all three of my kits in tow. After baggage was checked and carry-on’s were rifled through to a soundtrack of tired toddler wailing, we passed a coffee/tea/baked goods stand from a chain I’m not familiar with and don’t remember the name of.
Snacks are well-known babe shushers, so we stopped to get fleeced by airport snack pushers. They had scones on offer, but not dry rubby icky looking ones like I usually think of, these scones looked like golden tender buttermilk biscuits and I took a chance on one. I was not sorry. That golden, buttery scone melted in my mouth like a revelation, and I resolved then and there that making a tender, flaky, melty scone would be my next conquest.
I was also in possession of some white Stilton cheese with blueberries (I love you, cheese) and have a small pot of lavender growing on my deck this year, which I am super proud of and excited about. Both of these flavors put me in the mind of Anglo high tea parties so they seemed like perfect additions to my scones recipe, along with some local raw honey.
I thought since the delicious scone I’d experienced had reminded me so much of an American southern biscuit, I would try using a similar technique to fulfill my quest. I started by whisking together flour, salt, baking powder, and some finely chopped lavender from my deck-pot and setting it aside while I whisked some milk, sour cream and honey together in my measuring cup and set that aside also. I used a new method for cutting in the butter on account of having broken yet another pastry blender and froze a stick of butter solid prior to my adventure so I could grate it into the flour like a cheese until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs before folding in the Stilton.
Next, I mixed the milk mixture into the dry mixture with a fork until a crumby dough form, turned the dough ball out onto a sheet of wax paper, and shaped it into a large patty about 3/4 inches thick. I cut this into eight wedges like I would a pie or pizza and arranged them on an ungreased baking sheet, moistening the tops of each with reserved milk mixture before baking them in a 400f oven until golden brown, which took about 12 minutes.
They did come out tender and flaky, with a subtle sweetness and wonderful depth of flavor from the cheese and herbs. We ate them warm with butter and honey and will have to double the recipe next time if we want any left over for tea parties.
| Prep Time | 15 mins |
| Cook Time | 15 mins |
| Servings |
Scones
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- 2 cups Flour
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1/2 cup Cold Butter
- 1/2 cup Cold Milk
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1/3 cup White Stilton with Blueberries
- 1 1/2 tsp Fresh Lavender or 1/2 tsp dried, finely chopped
Ingredients
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|
- Preheat oven to 400f
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and lavender together in a mixing bowl
- Stir the milk, sour cream, and honey together in a separate bowl until thoroughly combined
- Cut cold butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture looks like crumbs*, then gently mix in the crumbled cheese
- Slowly stir the milk mixture into the rest of the ingredients, reserving about a 2 Tbs of the liquid
- Turn dough ball out onto a sheet of wax paper and pat into a round about 3/4 inch thick, slicing into 8 pieces like a pizza
- Arrange triangles on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart and employ a pastry brush to moisten the top of each one with the reserved milk mixture
- Bake for 12-15 minutes
- Serve warm with butter and honey or jam or scarf plain, whichever you prefer.
*or, if you plan ahead and freeze the butter, you can grate it into the mixture a'la cheese
ITEMS WE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
