Many debate whether a good scone is cake-y or biscuity. I like to think that they can be either, as long as it has a good crunchy crust and a moist center … and of course it needs to have good heady whiff of butter trailing it as it comes straight out of the oven. This particular recipe will turn out a scone with a crunchy crust, a dense, buttery crumb, and a gooey mess of a middle oozing with white chocolate and the juice of fresh, plump blueberries.
I baked a variation of this for a good friend who alighted on New York City in the middle of the night and left before the sun itself had a chance to wake up. His version had a lighter, cakier crumb, which I am sorry to say was not as delicious as the original. But he still described them to be simple. homey. comforting.
I am still working on the original recipe, but here is a sneak peek for now.
(Almost) perfect blueberry oat scones
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour + 1/2 cup cake flour (or 2 cups all purpose flour if not using cake flour)
4 tspns baking powder
3/4 tspns salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter (chilled, cut into small cubes)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla extract
3/4 cup dry rolled oats
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
2 cups blueberries
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar
2. Using a food processor, your fingers, two knives, or a dough cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until pea-sized pebbles form
3. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract with a couple quick whisks
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine
5. Give the blueberries a quick toss in a bit of flour (just to keep them from sinking when baking)
6. Add the oats, white chocolate chips, and blueberries to the mix and gently combine
7. Plop the entire batch into a 9-inch round tart pan or a similar size baking pan and smooth out until even. Cut into 8 triangles (think geometry when you were learning fractions, or how you would cut a pie) Slightly wetting your knife in-between cuts will keep the dough from sticking.
8. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the center is just set. The triangles will have run into each other while baking, but the indentations from the first cuts will still be there. This baking style won’t turn out picture-perfect scones, but is the best bet if you want moist scones. If you want more picturesque scones that travel easier, you can also drop heaping spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Just make sure to adjust down the baking time.