BLUEBERRY SCONES AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN

BLUEBERRY SCONES AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN image

Yield 8 Scones

Number Of Ingredients 10

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Ingredients

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 7 1/2 oz), picked over (see note) or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for work surface
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 425. Score and remove 1/2 of wrapper from frozen butter. Grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (total of 8 T). Put grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 T of remaining butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 T butter for another use. Put blueberries in freezer til needed. 2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in med bowl; chill til needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 c sugar, BP, BS, salt, & zest in med bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers til coated. 3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula till just combined. Transfer to liberally floured work surface. Dust dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking. 4. Roll dough into approximate 12" square. Fold dough into 1/3 like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends and fold into 1/3's again to form approximate 4" square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 min. 5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12" square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are embedded in dough. Using bench scraper, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12" by 4" rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to baking sheet. 6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 min. On wire rack cool 10 min. Make Ahead: Put scones on baking sheet, either refrigerate them overnight or freeze. To bake, for refrigerated, heat oven to 425 & follow step 6. For frozen, heat oven 375 & bake 25 - 30 min.