Blueberry Oat Scones

9.26.2012

Blueberry Oat Scones

I have a confession to make: we have a Costco membership. Having this membership makes me feel a bit ashamed. Not only is the picture on my membership card really hideous*, it’s a different way of eating and shopping here that almost encourages overconsumption. It was so easy to be a food snob and frequent great specialty food stores in New York with the subway system, but you had to shop regularly because you are so limited in space; it was difficult to over-consume on goods just for that reason. In Minnesota? Not so much. With the extra space we have here in Minneapolis, it’s always tempting to over-consume when we’re shopping at Costco because we do have the room to store all that stuff. It’s so easy to buy too much especially since we are a household of two humans, not four. Or twenty. Things tend to spoil a lot faster because we can’t eat things that quickly so I tend to bake things off when I’m worried about something going bad. That’s why I made blueberry oat scones this week:

I adapted a Apple and Oat Scones recipe from the Martha Stewart recipe site but I’ve found that the recipe works really well with sweet berries because the scones themselves are not very sweet. I like to add a dollop of sweetened whipped cream to these scones because, well, I think it’s more delicious that way.

*It would’ve turned out better if the membership guy didn’t lie to me when he said he was going to take my picture on “3”. There was no “3”, damn it!

For a dozen scones (adapted from Martha Stewart):

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 1/3 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c. blueberries
2/3 c. cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers. With your fingertips, flatten butter pieces into small disks. Add blueberries and buttermilk, carefully mixing until dough just comes together. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

Pat dough into a 6” x 8” rectangle, and cut into twelve 2” x 2” squares (I used a heart shape cutter to shape my scones though). Place about 2 inches apart on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.