Sarah’s Fast Raspberry Scones

I am a longtime lover of anything raspberry – ever since I used to stain my fingers and collect lots of chigger bites picking berries from the bushes in my grandparents’ front yard. I am also a lover of scones – so when I saw this recipe on Sarah’s delightful site that combined the two, I had to make it. (Especially since we are at the end of raspberry season.) And I’ve made it three or four times since.

My scones are not pretty, like the photo on Sarah’s site; they are not neat or tidy or wedge-shaped, as we Americans seem to think scones should be. (Scones in the UK tend to be round, whether tidily cut out or rather heaped up.) These scones are messy and fruity, piled-up dough stained crimson with blotches of my favorite fruit. And they are completely delicious.

The dough is a pretty basic one, I think, but then you get to heap luscious red raspberries on top of it:

You knead it a few times to fold the berries in, and then they come out like this:

I’m no great food photographer, but I assure you, these scones are delectable.

Fast Raspberry Scones
from Everyday Food

Makes 20

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk [I used nearly 3/4 cup milk with 2 tsp lemon juice]
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, pulse together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. [I just stirred it together in a regular mixing bowl.] Add butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form. [I stirred the butter in, then rubbed it in with my fingers till the pieces were small enough.] In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk. Slowly pour buttermilk mixture through feed tube into processor [or bowl, in my case], pulsing until dough just comes together.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle raspberries on top. Knead three times to fold in raspberries (there may be loose pieces of dough and a stray berry or two). Gather and pat dough into a 1-inch-thick square and cut or pull apart into 2-inch pieces. Place pieces, about 2 inches apart, on two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle tops with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let scones cool slightly on sheets on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature. [They’re good with butter.] Store in an airtight container, up to a few days.

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