Blackberry Oat Scones

I think when I finally start writing my cookbooks (hey, a girl can dream!), I would just have to start with an entire book on muffins and scones. They have to be my favorite baked goods. I think that this is pretty obvious from my blog. I have so many muffin recipes, and the scones are catching up!

I adapted this recipe (ever so slightly) from this recipe found on orangette.com. These scones were easy to mix up, kinda messy to form, not so pretty to look at, but oh so good to eat! 

I had almost 1 cup of frozen blackberries, and I couldn't bear to not have a whole cup of berries in there. So I ended up adding a handful of frozen blueberries. This stained some of my scones blue, while the others were stained a beautiful purple. Not complaining!

Try this recipe. You will love it! Even without the berries, I think the oat scone recipe is just fantastic as it is! You could always add something else instead of the berries. Chocolate perhaps? Mmmmm...

Blackberry Oat Scones
Adapted from this recipe on orangette.com

Ingredients 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup soft brown sugar

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda 

3/4 tsp salt 

155g unsalted butter, cold, chopped

1 cup heavy cream 

3/4 cup whole milk 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup rolled oats 

1 cup frozen or fresh blackberries 

(If using frozen berries, DO NOT thaw. Use frozen.)

For topping: 

3 tbsp rolled oats

1 tbsp granulated sugar 

Method 

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Mix well until combined. 

2. Add in the chopped butter and work with your fingertips until you have a coarse mixture that looks like breadcrumbs. 

3. Mix in the oats. 

4. In a small bowl, combine the cream, milk and vanilla. Stir well to combine. 

5. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cream mixture. 

6. Using a spatula or flat metal spoon, lightly fold and mix until the two mixtures are combined. Do not over-mix. 

7. Add the frozen berries and lightly fold. 

8. Form into discs handling the sticky dough as little as possible. If you find it too hard to handle, chill the dough for 10-15 minutes before forming the scones. Place the scones on a parchment or Silpat lined baking tray. I divided the mixture into 15 scones. 

9. At this point you can bake it straight away. I made one batch straight away and froze the rest of them to bake later. And I must mention that there was a remarkable difference in texture! If you have the time, freeze them. You don't need to thaw them, just pop them on the tray frozen and straight into the oven they go!

10. Bake in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for about 25-30 minutes. 

Note: Steps 1 & 2 can be done in a food processor. This is preferable as it reduces the handling of the butter and keeps it cold. After pulsing in the food processor, transfer to a large bowl and continue from step 3. 

Serve warm with butter, fruit curd, preserves or whipped cream. The next morning, I popped the leftover scones into scones back into the oven until the outside crisped up and it was warmed through.

I love love love love the wholesome taste of these scones. Next time, I am going to replace some of that all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to amp up that wholesome taste. The buttery, flaky, slightly cakey scones with bursts of almost jammy, tart berry are just too yummy for words!