Homemade berry scones

Fluffy, flaky scones from America's Test Kitchen

My friend Maria, whose cabin we visited last weekend, has bushels of raspberries growing on her property. She begged us to help her use them up, as there were just too many. How's that for a charming problem? Rachel and I were happy to oblige with some raspberry scones, and who better to turn to than America's Test Kitchen? There's even a video, which we found to be extremely helpful. The Test Kitchen uses blueberries, but we subbed raspberries of course. 

Some things to note: You have to freeze two sticks of butter, but only need 10 TBS total. Make sure to work the dough as little as possible, quickly kneading and folding only about the number of times the recipe calls for. Cut any larger berries into smaller pieces before incorporating (the berries aren't incorporated until the very end so they don't bleed all over the place). To reheat the scones, place in a 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes. You can also make the dough in advance and refrigerate it overnight or freeze it.

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HOMEMADE BERRY SCONES

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

2 sticks of butter, frozen + 2 TBS melted butter

1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (not defrosted) berries

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups flour, plus additional for work surface

1/2 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest

WHAT YOU'LL DO

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove half the wrapper from each stick of frozen butter and grate the unwrapped ends on the large holes of a box grater, until you have 8 TBS grated. Put the grated butter back in the freezer until you need it. Melt 2 TBS of butter and set aside. Put berries in the freezer until needed.

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream until combined, then chill until needed. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Add frozen grated butter and toss with your fingers until just coated. 

3. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, folding with a spatula until just combined. *Note: Watch the video — they do not mix the dough much at all. It will be crumbly and floury.

4. Transfer dough to a generously-floured work surface (your counter or a cutting board). Dust dough with flour, flour your hands, and knead the dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in a ragged ball. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. 

5. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into about a 12-inch square, adding more flour as needed. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (watching the video helps!), using a bench scraper or spatula to unstick the dough from the countertop. Then fold the short ends into thirds to form an approximate 4-inch square of dough. Lightly dust a plate with flour, transfer dough to the plate, and freeze at least 5 minutes. 

6. Transfer dough from freezer back to floured work surface and roll into about a 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the surface of the dough, pressing down gently so they're embedded in the dough. 

7. Using a bench scraper or spatula to unstick one end of the dough from the countertop, roll the dough into a log. Press together, tuck the ends of the log, and gently flatten the top (watch the video). 

8. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the log into four equal pieces. Cut each piece diagonally to form 2 triangles (you'll have 8 triangles total). Transfer the triangles to a baking sheet. 

9. Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 until golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Check that the bottoms are slightly golden, too. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then dig in! 

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Scones are involved. There's no way around it. But these turned out so fluffy and flaky, it was well worth the effort. Working with Rachel to make these made all the difference — it goes much faster with two! Plus, we cheered each other on as we attempted to fold and roll the dough — a scary task in the moment. Next time I'd love to try these with blueberries as the original recipe suggests. Or I might just slather the scones in blueberry sauce. Either way, with a basic scone recipe this good, you can't go wrong.