classic lemon scones with blueberry jam

every week, we have a meeting at my office, and one member of the group is tasked with bringing breakfast. this week was my turn, so i decided to make classic lemon scones and blueberry jelly. scones are pretty easy as far as baking goes. there is no rising like there is with bread, there isn't even any yeast. essentially, dry ingredients are mixed in one bowl, wet in another, and then they are combined. it's as simple as using an easy bake oven!

this recipe was adapted from the joy of cooking, and it doubles well.

classic lemon scones

ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 tablespoon pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup of heavy cream
zest of one lemon
more milk or heavy cream (about 2 tablespoons)
sugar or cinnamon and sugar mixed (about 3 tablespoons sugar to 1 tablespoon cinnamon)

directions:
whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. toss all of the butter into the flour mixture, being sure to coat the butter with the flour. using a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour, breaking it up as you go. at the end you will likely need to use your hands to continue breaking up the butter until the pieces are quite small (at this point you should be able to squeeze a handful of the flour mixture and have it hold together).

in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, heavy cream, and lemon zest. make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. mix them together with a wooden spoon, and then ultimately your hands. the mixture will be dry, but it will all come together.

turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a round that is just below an inch thick. cut it into 8 wedges, and place them 1/2" apart on a very lightly greased baking sheet. brush the top of each with the extra milk or heavy cream, and then sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar.

bake at 425 for about 14 minutes. serve with blueberry jam (recipe below).

blueberry jam

ingredients:
2 pints of blueberries, cleaned and any stems removed
juice of one lemon
2/3 of a cup of sugar

directions:
place the berries, sugar, and lemon juice into a small saucepan over medium high heat. stir together. continue stirring until the berries have all popped (you can help a few of the stubborn ones along with the back of your spoon) and the jam is a vibrant magenta color, this will take about 20 to 30 minutes. taste, add sugar if needed.

pour into a mason jar. this will keep for about a week...but you won't want to wait that long to eat it.

notes:
everyone at work seemed to like the scones and the jam. the scones are better the next day, and they are great heated up with butter. enjoy!