Photo: Leigh Loftus
When my alarm went off at seven a.m. today, my instinct was to shut it off; it’s Saturday, so I must have set it by accident. It’s a good thing I thought twice because this morning I was a guest on NBC Chicago’s morning show to promote the food blogger bake sale that I host in Chicago every year.
Despite my near-miss at oversleeping I was able to function properly on live television, thanks in part to the coffee that a very kind production staffer handed me while I set up.
Before I talk scones, please note my lovely floral apron, courtesy of Kitchen Gadget Girl! You like? Sometimes I wear aprons because they look cute. Today, honestly, I wore one because I didn’t think the camera would be very forgiving to the white flour I was likely to spill on my black dress.
Let’s talk scones, now. These are relatively simple to make, because although the dough is a little sticky and unwieldy, you don’t have to manage it very much. Because they are drop scones, once you’ve mixed the dough, you literally only have to “drop” them into the pan in a free-form blob in order to bake them.
Use a combination of fresh and dried blueberries if you can, otherwise all dried works well because they won’t break down as you stir and your dough won’t turn Veruca Salt blue.
We’re looking out for you over here.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup dried blueberries (I also tossed in a handful of frozen fresh blueberries that I had on hand)
- ½ cup milk, plus more if needed
- Coarse sugar, for topping (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add cut up butter and toss to coat. Using your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse sand. A few large bits are ok, but try not to have any pieces larger than an average pea.
- Stir in dried blueberries. Add about ⅔ of the milk and stir. Add remaining milk gradually until the mixture comes together into a slightly sticky ball. Divide dough in eight even pieces and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 16-19 minutes, until scones are a light golden color. A toothpick should come out clean, but color is a reliable indicator for these.
43 Comments
sweetlife
May 11, 2011 at 6:19 pmHow fun, thanks for adding the screen shot..your goregous!! lovely scones, perfect for a bake sale!
sweetlife
Lisa Keys
May 10, 2011 at 11:45 amI have some dried blueberries and was wondering just what to do with them….and now I know! Thanks for sharing with us non-mid-westerners! You look great in that apron, too.
Nami @ Just One Cookbook
May 9, 2011 at 6:07 pmI just watched the video clip and I saw you in action for the first time! 🙂 You looked great on the TV show! Congratulations! You made it so simple that I should try this recipe. After all, I love scones more than muffins and I love blueberry one the best! Why not, right? I am not a baker, so I’m just making it a big deal here. Hehee. Thanks for sharing the recipe,and you should do video recipe (not sure how you call it) every post! 😉
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
May 9, 2011 at 2:58 pmHow exciting! You’re a TV star now! What a great opportunity to promote the bake sale, too. Thanks for reposting these scones. They look amazing and so easy, too.
Jenny (Fit Girl Foodie)
May 9, 2011 at 1:51 amThese look so yummy! Scones are always delicious 😀
Audrey Ellen @ My Scene and Herd
May 8, 2011 at 9:44 pmI love the rustic imperfection of drop scones. Yours look great!
Kate@Diethood.com
May 8, 2011 at 6:03 pmI thought that was you!!! I loved your segment – You did great!
LOVE the scones, too!!!
Bee
May 8, 2011 at 4:29 pmOh wow! Morning Show? That’s amazing! Congrats! And the scones look lovely. I’ve never tried to make a scone strangely enough. It’s definitely on my to-cook list though!
Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook
May 8, 2011 at 12:21 pmGlad you got up, that had to be exciting to go on tv! The scones look fantastic, perfect morning treat. Perfect anytime.
bellini
May 8, 2011 at 10:04 amThe bakesale is definietly a good cause and an axcuse to make something sweet and delicious. We created a cookbook to support school meals that we are quite proud of.
chopinandmysaucepan
May 8, 2011 at 9:51 amLooks great Maris. I’m not sure about dried blueberries but the fresh ones are pretty expensive here at close to $50/kg.
Maris Callahan
May 8, 2011 at 6:35 pmThat’s steep! The dried blueberries at my Whole Foods were actually pretty expensive – $5.99 for a bag that amounted to about a cup. But that was my own fault for shopping at WF!
I’ve seen them cheaper elsewhere and you can definitely buy them in bulk. Amazon has 3 8-ounce containers for $21 – which isn’t bad.
(http://www.amazon.com/Traverse-Bay-Fruit-Co-Blueberries/dp/B001EO5YDO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304879697&sr=8-2)
Ellie@fitforthesoul
May 8, 2011 at 8:22 amMaris, it must be so fun yet scary being on a show! way to go 😀 these look delicious and like a great recipe–for a saturday morning especially, like others have already said. have a beautiful day tomorrow!
Baking Serendipity
May 8, 2011 at 4:59 amWhat an awesome thing to wake up for 🙂 These scones look fantastic and I’m so jealous of your tv experience!
yummychunklet
May 8, 2011 at 3:49 amThese look delicious! I’m excited about the bake sale!
A Plum By Any Other Name
May 8, 2011 at 2:58 amCongrats on the morning show … and the fabulous apron! (Also, your scones look delicious.) 😉
Reeni
May 8, 2011 at 1:19 amCongratulations on being on TV! I would of been scared to death! The scones are delectable – love how easy they are!
Eva
May 7, 2011 at 11:40 pmMan those look fantastic! Such a great idea for a Mother’s Day treat. Congrats on being on Chicago’s morning show, that’s so exciting!!!
Three-Cookies
May 7, 2011 at 11:03 pmCongrats on the TV spot! And drop scones sound like a great idea, I’ve never heard of it before
Daryl
May 7, 2011 at 10:58 pmI sure wish I had one of these for my morning coffee tomorrow on Mothers Day!
Maris Callahan
May 8, 2011 at 6:37 pmI do offer free shipping 🙂 But these stayed at NBC for the crew!
Christina @ Sweet Pea's Kitchen
May 7, 2011 at 10:38 pmI love scones! These would be perfect for tomorrow morning! Yum! 😀
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets
May 7, 2011 at 8:51 pmMmm I love scones and blueberries are the best in breakfast goodies.
Erica
May 7, 2011 at 8:37 pmThat is so cool that you were on tv! You look great. I love scones nothing like that dense crumbly goodness
marci
May 7, 2011 at 8:17 pmthose look delicious! i am a sucker for blueberries in baked goods.
Run DMT
April 16, 2009 at 3:00 amThose look delicious! We get blueberries pretty early here in FL. In fact, blueberry picking season is here already! YAY!
E.P.
April 8, 2009 at 3:00 amOh, yum. These look fantastic, and I’m a big fan of scones! I’ll have to give them a shot!
kate
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amI love a good scone. These would be good with dried cherries in them too…..which I have on hand, and hmmmm…..I suddenly see scones in my near future.
Gotta run!!
Sophie
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amMMMMMMM…..Maris!! They look so delicious!! Love your recipe!! Yum Yum Yum!!
Scoop
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amLooks yummy! We love scones so I will have to try this new twist on dried blueberries.
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amThey look delicious and great to know that you can use dried blueberries too! We mostly buy frozen ones here unless they’re in season. It gets too crazy expensive otherwise at $5-6 for 3 ozs.
Heather
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 ami have no shame in admitting that i too purchase delicious produce when it is seasonally not available in my area. and my life is better for it 😉
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amTrader Joe’s sells a wonderful mix of dried blueberries, cranberries and cherries — would be perfect with these scones!
Chrissy
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 amThose look great! I love drop scones; I only have one good recipe that I always turn to and could make good use of another one. I use dried cranberries and figs in scones a lot too.
Allie O.
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amBlueberry scones have become one of my favorite breakfast indulgences – although I’ve never tried making them myself. I usually have one at the local coffee shop where I go to catch up on offline reading on Sunday mornings.
Pearl
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amdried blueberries? oh my 🙂
elra
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amMaris my dear, this utterly look so good. What a perfect post to see on Sunday morning.
Cheers,
elra
Ashley
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amI should not have read this before getting breakfast!
kat
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amThose look like they would have been perfect for this lazy Sunday morning
alexandra
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amyum! These look awesome. I have house guests arriving tonight, staying till Thursday…they may be in for a treat. i have about 5 bags of frozen blueberries on hand. i need to do something about that.
ksgoodeats
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amWhat a great recipe!! I just got a bunch of dried blueberries I could use 🙂 Perhaps there will be baking in my near future!
VeggieGirl
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amHaha I’m the same way sometimes with the “food movement” 😉
Love the addition of dried blueberries!!
Leslie
April 5, 2009 at 3:00 amOh yes..I love the fact that dried blueberries can be used!!