I have a very distinct memory of when I tried a scone for the first time. I was staying at a hostel in Galway, Ireland, having breakfast with my travel partner Emily. It was a nice hostel, clean and airy, unlike some of the previous ones we had stayed in. Early morning light flooded the room and the breakfast table was filled with breads, cereals, and pastries. I’m not sure why this memory sticks out to me so much. Maybe it’s because when you think of scones, you think of the British Isles; so having one for the first time in Ireland seemed almost like a rite of passage.

As you may know from my previous blackberry picking blog post, I had a bunch of blackberries to use up and luckily had more than enough for this recipe. Originally from Inspired Taste, this recipe is very simple and easy to follow. Also, I had almost every ingredient in the house!

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The first step is to whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture. It’s important that you use cold butter so that it doesn’t melt into the mixture. If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use either a fork or two butter knives. I really like the look of this Williams-Sonoma one, the wooden handle gives it a vintage spin.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, and lemon zest. I had to Google what zesting a lemon actually meant… basically it’s taking off the very top layer of the lemon. This step was kind of tricky because all of the zest just stuck to the grater! I used a fork to get it off the grater and used less than the recipe called for (mostly because I got impatient lol). The grater I used was similar to this Cuisinart one.

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Next, I combined the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and added the blackberries. Many of the berries were smashed in the process but that’s okay! I then transferred the mixture onto a floured surface and started to knead it. The dough was very crumbly at first. So crumbly that I was starting to wonder if I misread one of the ingredients. Once I started kneading it however, the dough started to come together. And then in an instant, it became super sticky! This was the moment I realized I was supposed to flour my hands first…

I formed the dough into an 8-inch circle and cut it like a pizza. Placing each piece on parchment paper and sprinkling a little sugar on top, it was finally ready to go in the oven!

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This was such a fun way to use up the blackberries! Thank you to Inspired Taste for this delicious and super easy recipe! A homemade blackberry lemon scone with coffee in the morning will be a great way to start my day. It’ll be like I’m back in Ireland all over again 🙂

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Blackberry Lemon Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for scone tops

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

6 ounces fresh blackberries

 

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Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt in a medium bowl.

Use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal with a few small crumbles of butter the size of peas.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, egg, and lemon zest until blended then add to the flour and butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix until a crumbly dough forms. Gently stir in the blackberries. Don’t worry if some of the berries are crushed a bit.

Transfer the dough and all dry, floury bits to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough 3 to 5 times until it just comes together. Form into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles.

Place scones onto the baking sheet and lightly sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake until light golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

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Tips

• Make sure the butter is cold.

• If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use a fork or two butter knives.

• The dough will be pretty crumbly. Once you start kneading it, it will come together. But be careful not to overwork the dough or your scones will become too heavy.

• I used a little less lemon zest (probably half a tablespoon)

• Make sure to flour your hands before kneading. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.