Good morning Los Altos!

It's always a good morning when you start with a scone. And coffee, but that goes without saying. Adding something sweet to your breakfast is not the most healthful choice but I say that if it's homemade, it doesn't have calories... I absolutely love scones, and there are a few basic recipe bases that you'll find out there. All of them use basically the same proportions of white flour, baking powder, salt and butter, but the differences lie in the form of dairy - milk, buttermilk, cream or even sour cream. I think that unfortunately the heavier the ingredient the better, so although I haven't tried it, I imagine cream is the best. I made these with homemade low fat buttermilk (lemon juice in milk), and they are definitely delicious and a little less guilt-inducing.
When you attempt these, make sure the butter is super cold and DON'T blend it past the size of small peas. You don't want it to be a uniform dough, it will screw up the texture and make the scones tough. Also, this basic recipe can be modified to fit any taste. Add cinnamon or nutmeg, take out or add in more lemon, exchange cranberries or chocolate chips for blueberries, whatever your heart desires! I wanted to try adding granola to the dry ingredients, and I don't know how much of a difference it made in the amount I added.

Also, scones can manifest themselves in a few different forms such as rolled and cut into circles (the classic British way), sliced into wedges or dropped like cookie dough. The drop scones are super easy and don't require rolling out, so if you're lazy like me and/or don't have the space to cover with flour and dough, I highly recommend that strategy!

I used a cup of incredibly fresh, huge, juicy blueberries and there's really no substitute for their tart sweetness that explodes (literally) with each bite. Dried fruit like raisins is another popular add-in, but you lose the fresh flavor and texture. However, frozen blueberries are just as good - one approach that saves my life in winter time is freezing a quart of fresh blueberries from summer. They taste just as good as they did in July!

Blueberry Granola Scones
Adapted from Feasts and Fotos
Makes about 12 medium-sized drop scones

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 C granola (optional)

1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 C fresh blueberries

zest of one small lemon

1/2 C buttermilk (or 1/2 C milk with 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice - let sit for 5 minutes at room temp)

1 egg (plus 1 egg lightly beaten for optional egg wash)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

raw sugar for sprinkling

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture has the texture of coarse meal and still has pea-sized granules. Pour from food processor into large mixing bowl, then stir in blueberries and granola.

In another bowl whisk together buttermilk, egg , lemon zest and vanilla.  Drizzle over flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork (or knead lightly) until the dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in bowl.  It’s important to not overwork the dough.

If you want to roll out and cut your scones, turn out dough onto work surface and gently knead once or twice just to incorporate the flour.  Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick round.  Cut the round into approximately 10-12 wedges or cut with a round cookie cutter.  Transfer to baking sheet. If you want drop scones, treat the dough like cookies and place a large spoonful on the parchment for each scone.

If you want, brush the top of each scone with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with raw sugar.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, roughly 25 minutes.  Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool.