Blueberry Cobbler Scones

Now that I live in England, I do not know if I will get in trouble for calling these delicious treats “scones”. This is because they are not the British sort but a North American version, a hybrid between a cobbler and scone.

I started making these a few years back after seeing a peach version on Joy the Baker. I can vouch for the peach version. It is gorgeous. However, peach season is quite short around these parts and I wanted to be able to eat these all year round. So I made this blueberry version which is a firm family favourite.

They come together fairly quickly but need a light hand. If you overwork the dough, it will make it tough and you will lose some texture quality.

So there - doesn’t matter what you call these, just bake them. You won’t regret it.

Adapted From Joy the Baker

Makes 8 scones:

360G PLAIN FLOUR

30g caster sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

115g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

45g vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes (sub w/butter)

1 eggs

180ml Buttermilk (sub 170ml milk + 10ml lemon juice)

200g blueberries

60ml buttermilk (for brushing / sub with milk)

2 Tbsp Demerara sugar

Heat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking sheets with parchment paper.

Prepare the dough

  1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. using your fingertip, rub the shortening and butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

  2. In another bowl, combine egg and buttermilk, beating lightly with a fork.

  3. Add the liquid to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. If the butter has warmed too much in the making of the dough, shape the batter into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. If the butter is still cool, shape the dough into a disk and, on a well floured surface, roll dough to a little less than 1/2-inch thick (about 12” x 10” rectangle)

To assemble the scones

  1. Brush half of the rolled out dough with buttermilk. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture across the buttermilk moistened dough and arrange the blueberries, in a single layer, on top.

  1. Carefully fold the empty side of dough over the blueberry layer. Press gently together. Press the edges of the dough in, creating a smaller rectangle. Using a floured knife, slice dough into eight even pieces.

  2. Place dough on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2-inches of room around each scone to allow them to spread while baking. If you need to bake them in two batches then leave the extra pieces in the fridge while the first batch bakes.

  3. Brush each scone top with buttermilk, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle demerara sugar for an added crunch.

  4. Bake scones for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Scones are best served warm, on the day they’re made.

Laurence ReevesComment