Whole-Wheat Blueberry Scones

Serves: Makes 8 to 12 Scones

Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food http://www.100daysofrealfood.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

When you want to have a wee pick-me-up at mid-day, but you don’t want to load up on sugary sweets, these scones will fill the bill.  They are made with whole-wheat flour and sweetened with just two tablespoons of honey.  When I first made them, I found them to be tender and lighter than I expected. 

2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used unbleached white whole-wheat flour.)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter

¾ cup frozen blueberries

2 large eggs

½ cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a food processor fitted with a dough blade, mix the flour, baking powder, orange zest, and salt until combined.

Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and sprinkle them on top of the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter breaks up into pea-sized pieces. Add the blueberries and pulse again just until combined. (This will turn your dough blue in color.)

Drop in the eggs, cream, and honey and process until the dough comes together into one ball chasing itself around the machine. (My dough turned out to be a little wet, most likely because the eggs I used were quite large.  It did not turn into a ball. However, I forged ahead and you should too.)

Turn the dough ball (or wet dough) out onto a floured surface and pat down with your hands into one big circle that's about ¾ inch thick. (I used my bench scraper to gather the wet dough into a ball shape on the floured board and then flattened it out with my floured hands to a ¾ inch-thick circle.)

Cut the dough into triangle shaped pieces and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (I placed the baking sheet in the fridge for a bit to chill the scones before popping them in the hot oven.  I think that helps make the scones rise.  Whole-wheat scones won’t rise as puffy as scones made with all-purpose white flour.)  Bake the scones for 15 minutes or until the scones are tinged with golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.  (They taste especially nice with a little butter and/or honey and served with a spot of tea.)