Blueberry and Herbes de Provence Scones

These blueberry and herbes de Provence scones graced my family table on Easter this year as our holiday Brunch treat. Flecked with thyme, basil, savory, fennel, and lavender flowers, a small spoonful of this French mix of herbs originated from the stunningly beautiful region of Provence gives a subtle sort of uniqueness to an otherwise blissfully familiar blueberry scone. The plump berries are folded between layers of buttery dough, bursting sweet purple juice during baking and forming a rustic pool of jam around each scone. Unlike other scone recipes that are overly sweet and too dry to be had without coffee to wash each bite down, this one produces pastries with a soft texture and restrained, modest sweetness. You can easily prepare them in advance; after cutting the dough into triangular pieces, chill them overnight to bake the next morning or store in the freezer for up to a month if you’re needing a stash of ready-made pastry.

Blueberry and Herbes de Provence Scones

makes 8 scones

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

• Approximately 8 oz fresh blueberries

• 1/2 cup half and half

• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon herbes de provence

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar, for topping the scones

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grate the frozen butter with a box grater and set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the half and half, sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and herbes de provence. Toss in the grated frozen butter and mix until all the butter pieces are coated with flour, then pour in the liquid ingredients. Gently fold with a spoon or spatula until combined.

On a floured surface, knead the dough with your hands until it’s just come together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a square approximately 12 inches on all sides. Fold the dough into thirds to create a long rectangle, then fold again to create a square. Roll the square of dough out again into approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. Sprinkle the fresh blueberries on top, pressing them into the dough, and roll the dough up over the berries to create a log. Press with your hands or rolling pin to flatten the log into a rectangle, then cut the dough into triangles - first cut the dough into four squares, then diagonally to create equal sized triangles.

If you’re making the scones ahead of time, you may stop here and refrigerate them for the next morning or freeze them for later use. When doing so, you can put the scones straight from the fridge or freezer into the oven; baking time may need to be adjusted.

To bake the scones, line a baking sheet with parchment and place the scones in an even distance from one another. Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until just browned; do not over bake.