White Chocolate Blackberry Scones

This will probably come as no surprise to you, but I am a fool for summer berries – almost to a fault. My summer trips to the farmers market can be seriously classified as dangerous because when I see a pint of fresh, local berries – doesn’t matter what kind, be it strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries – there is no stopping me.  I must buy up as much of that berry goodness as my little wallet will allow. (Which is usually a lotttt more than just one little pint.)

If you were to see the loot I come home with after the average Saturday trip to the farmers market, you might think that I have gone a little mad. It’s okay – I understand the judgement because at first glance, it really looks like I buy way too many berries for a household that consists of two people to ever consume before they go bad. But let me assure you, there is no wasting of fresh berries in my house and I say when it comes to berries, the more the berry’er… get it…. the more the berry’er? Hehe, clearly my devilish wit knows no bounds (not!) ;p

Since I have never met a farmers market berry that I didn’t like, whenever I am stocking up at the market, I make sure that I buy at lease 2 pints worth of each given berry at a time. Why do I do this? Well, because one pint will be used for a baking adventure of  some sort, (what else?) While the other remaining pint will be used as a snack to feast on during the process of said baking adventure. Yes – I can consume an entire pint of berries to myself in one sitting…. what of it?

So the story behind these White Chocolate Blackberry Scones really began like many of my other berry baking adventures – with a trip to the farmers market. I was taking a break from our Sweet & Simple Kitchen stand, when I saw them… a table full of these gorgeous, plump local blackberries. It was love at first site – No exaggeration needed. As soon as I laid eyes on them, I knew I had to have them. Fate had brought us together at last.

What is it about blackberries that makes them so tantalizing to the eye? Every time I see a ripe blackberry I just have to pop it in my mouth. Does this qualify as an obsession? I never thought I would say it… but I think I am officially on my way to becoming one of those people you see frequently raiding the neighborhood blackberry bushes at the park with a bowl from their kitchen in hand.

Is it weird to be one of these blackberry bush raiders or is it just smart?  I mean seriously, these people are just reaping all of the free blackberry benefits (!!!) Personally I need only one word to describe these people –  genius’.  I used to be super hesitant about this whole business of taking the berries off of my neighborhood blackberry bushes, for fear that my neighbours might shoot me sideways glances or start trying to shoo me away like some kind of pest – but I’m over worrying about the possible judgement. I want in on this free blackberry action. I feel like it is worth the judgement because at the end of the day, the people doing the judging are really just jealous of your blackberry goods – am I right?

As usual I have gone slightly off topic, so let’s get back to these White Chocolate Blackberry Scones shall we? I’ll get straigght to the point with this one – the addition of the white chocolate and the blackberries to my usual flaky and tender scone recipe was just heavenly. The combination of the juicy, tart blackberries with the sweetness of the white chocolate was enough to have Cole and I positively smitten.  Not to mention the subtle hints of flavour coming from a touch of cinnamon and freshly grated orange zest, which managed to take these scones to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Even before they went in the oven I was drooling over how delicious they looked and I just had to snap the shot above. Honestly I could have just eaten them right then and there as they were… no oven time required. But in the interest of sharing the finished product with all of you, I managed to refrain from eating an entire batch of raw scone dough. Am I proud of myself? Yes.

When they finally did come out of the oven, and we made it through yet another painful waiting period of ten minutes while the scones cooled off enough so that they could finally be consumed… it was finally go time. We ripped into these scones like two hungry animals and let’s just say there was no shortage of yummy noises coming from Cole as he ate not one, not two, but three of these scones all to himself for his breakfast. (Not to mention the fourth he then ate as his afternoon snack.) 

Was this a successful baking adventure? I think so. This is definitely a recipe to try this summer, while your market is full of local blackberries – so enjoy the recipe below my lovelies.

White Chocolate Blackberry Scones
Makes: 8 large scones

Things you need…

Blackberry Scones
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tbsp orange zest
1 cup blackberries, fresh & flash frozen
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

White Chocolate Drizzle
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 tbsp milk
1 cup icing sugar

How to make…

Blackberry Scones
Preheat oven to 400 degrees if you are using a regular oven and 375 if you are using convection. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, heavy cream, egg, vanilla, almond extract and orange zest; place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the cold, cubed butter and use your fingers or a pastry cutting to work the butter in until most of the chunks of butter are the size of peas with a few larger chunks the size of almonds. Mix in the white chocolate chips.

Drizzle the wet ingredients over the dry and use a spatula or a fork to gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until a ragged dough begins to form. Turn the ragged dough out onto a cool, lightly floured work surface and gently pat together into a rectangular shape and dust the top with some flour.

Fold one half of the dough onto the other and gently press down. Sprinkle 1/4 of the blackberries onto the top of the dough, and fold one half over top again and gently press down. Sprinkle another 1/4 of the balckberries on top of the dough, and fold half of the dough over again. Sprinkle another 1/4 of the balckberries on top of the dough, and fold half of the dough over again reserving the remaining 1/4 cup of blackberries for now.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle the top with the remaining blackberries and gently press them into the top of the dough. Cut the rectangle in half length-wise and then cut each half into 4 equal pieces. Place the scones onto the prepared baking sheet leaving about 2 inches between each scone. Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Place in the center of your oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and they spring back to your touch. Remove from oven place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool.

White Chocolate Drizzle
While your scones are baking, prepare your glaze.

Melt your white chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl until fluid; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and icing sugar until smooth. Whisk in melted white chocolate until smooth. Your mixture should be fairly fluid but not runny. You may need to add additional milk or icing sugar to get the right consistency.

Once your scones have cooled for about 5 minutes, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over top. Allow them to cool and set for at least an additional 10 -15 minutes before serving.

Serve warm or completely cooled with extra butter or jam if desired.

A couple weeks ago Cole informed me that there are some very large blackberry bushes at his work, that are just chock full of delicious blackberries just waiting to be picked. I had only two questions for him…

1. Why is this the first year I am hearing about this? (as he has been working there for 6 years now)
and
2. Why have you not been bringing home blackberries home in cornucopias amounts?

So he has promised to take be after working hours one day to pick some blackberries for us – I’ll say that again – he will be taking me, after hours.…  Clearly he is embarrassed about being that guy at work raiding the blackberry bushes. It’s okay hunny, you can stay in the car while I pick the berries – I will take one for the team 😉

I would love to hear what you thought about this recipe (and any stories you may have about raiding your neighbourhood blackberry bushes) :D:D

Happy baking & blackberry picking!

KP xoxo