Blueberry Scones

I love a good scone. Unless you go to a bakery or a cute little tea shop, you are usually confronted with a dried out, hard-as-a-rock triangle of death...yes, Starbucks, I'm talking to you. During the summer, I stock pile berries and freeze them individually on sheet pans in my freezer, then transfer them to Ziploc bags that I vacuum the air out of, and store until winter arrives when I'm dying for a good, honest berry that doesn't cost $5 for 1/2 pint! I use these berries for smoothies, pies and yes, SCONES! I've posted this recipe previously as a Blueberry-Pecan scone, which was mighty tasty, but I've taken out the pecans (not that they weren't delicious), and just made a simple blueberry scone. These little babies are soft, almost muffin-y, but firmer and are WONDERFUL slathered in lemon curd, or just plain! These don't take long to make, and the calories for this homemade version is about 1/2 of what you'll get at your local coffee shop.

Blueberry Scones
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
9 oz. AP flour (about 2 cups)
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Cooking spray
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbs. sugar (Turbinado sugar is EXCELLENT for this purpose!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and mix. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor (or a bowl). Pulse the butter in (or cut in with 2 knives if not using a food processor). Add milk mixture, stirring until just moist. Remove to a separate bowl. Add blueberries gently mix.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut dough into 8 wedges (or use a large round biscuit cutter) and put on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush egg white over wedges and sprinkle sugar. (I did not need 2 whole tbs. of sugar.)

4. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.