Strawberry Scones

My neighbor brought us some strawberries yesterday, so I decided to make strawberry scones for brunch at home with my brothers. Scones are something that I never liked until I made myself--I always thought them to be dense, crumbly, and dry. Even though I've tweaked the recipe to what I usually have on hand (skim milk instead of sour cream, vanilla instead of lemon zest) these scones are anything but! I make them when I'm bored. I make them when I have friends over for breakfast before church. I make two batches at once with different berries and freeze them so I can pop them in the oven in the morning. Hurray for scones!



Berry Scones
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup berries of any kind, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack on upper middle.
2. Grate whole stick of butter on a box grater over plate, then freeze until needed.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder and soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Toss in the frozen butter shreds until coated.
5. Stir in the milk and vanilla until a ragged floury ball just comes together--don't overmix!
6. Turn out dough and floury bits onto a floured surface and knead a few times until a ball forms.
7. Roll the ball into a 12-inch square. Fold dough over twice like a letter. Then fold it twice again to form a square.
8. Chill the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes.
9. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into another 12-inch square.
10. Spread berries over the dough and press in lightly.
11. Roll up the dough, being careful not to squeeze too many berries out.
12. Roll the log into a flattened rectangle and cut into 8 pieces on the diagonal.
13. Sprinkle with a teeny bit of sugar on top.
14. Bake for 20 minutes on a lightly greased baking sheet, rotating halfway through.
15. Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!