Lemony Thyme & Blackberry Scones

I was given the sweetest tea set for my birthday from one of my factory contacts in Taiwan.  It came with six tiny tea cups which clearly implied Tea Party.  And that’s when I decided to make scones.  Lemony Thyme & Blackberry Scones. 

Scones are as easy to make as muffins with just as many flavor/ingredient possibilities.  Here’s a quick step-by-step on making scones.

As always, gather all your ingredients.  We keep sticks of butter in the freezer.  If you don’t pop one in for 30 minutes before you begin.

The dry ingredients are whisked together before the cubed butter is blended in with a pastry cutter.  The mixture will become coarse and crumbly.

I recently learned this tip on zesting.  Keep your zester on top of your lemon as shown.  All of the zest will be captured in the zester.  Brilliant.

Gently add your blackberries, lemon zest and lemony thyme (or your favorite flavor boosters) to the crumbled flour/butter mixture, then make a well in the center.  Add in your liquid ingredients and stir until just moistened.  The mixture will still be a bit crumbly.  (I just caught myself speaking with a British accent.  Crumbly.)

Pour the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently until the mixture comes together (7-8 times).  The edges will still be…say it with me…crumbly.  Oh and yes, no matter how hard you try some of the blackberries will burst.  Character.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a circle about 3/4-inch thick.  It’s okay if the edges aren’t smooth.  That adds more character.

Cut into 8 wedges and separate them slightly.  They won’t spread out much during baking.  Brush tops lightly with cream, then sprinkle with fine sugar.  Into a 400 degree oven for 15 – 18 minutes, or until golden brown on tops.

Scones are not overly sweet on their own so I like to add a little glaze.  In this case a simple combination of confectioners sugar and fresh lemon juice did the trick.  Transfer the warm scones to a rack over a sheet pan, then drizzle liberally with lemon glaze.  These Lemony Thyme & Blackberry Scones were the perfect Sunday Brunch addition.

Lemony Thyme & Blackberry Scones

Libby with Lemony Thyme

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

For the scones…

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbl. sugar
• 1 Tbl. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 8 Tbl. butter frozen & cubed
• zest from one lemon
• 2-3 lemony thyme sprigs leaves only, minced (about 1 Tbl.)
• 3/4 cup fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 eggs

For topping…

• 2 Tbl. cream
• 2 Tbl. fine sugar

For the lemon glaze…

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice

Instructions

 

For the scones…

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in cubed butter and with a pastry blender combine until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Gently fold in the blackberries, lemon zest, and lemony thyme. Make a well in the center and reserve.
• In a small bowl whisk together cream and eggs. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until moistened.
• Pour out onto a well floured surface and gently knead just until mixture comes together, about 7-8 times. It will still be crumbly around the edges.
• Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a circle about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and separate them slightly. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For the lemon glaze…

• Whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon. Drizzle liberally over warm scones.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

Lemony Thyme Peach Lemonade