Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Scones

It's #SundayBrunch time again! And this time I've made something healthy and wonderful. Filled with seasonal goodness. Blueberries! I happened to have some fresh blueberries in my fridge (because Moira LOVES them) and thought they would be delicious in scones. And then I added them to the dough and immediately thought "May day! May day! This is a mistake. It's going to make a horrific mess. I should've used dried blueberries. Oh well, too late now."

I figured if they were a complete failure, I would give it another go using the dried fruit. But...they turned out wonderful! The fresh blueberries gave it that POP of freshness every few bites. A little bit of juiciness with a touch of tart and sweet. Now, I have to advise against using frozen berries for this. Once frozen, the berries seem to retain more moisture, which is released during baking, which leads to runny berry juice all over. There may be a tad bit of personal experience here. Ahem. I didn't have enough fresh berries to make a full cup, so I supplemented with some frozen guys...only a few, but it told me "DO NOT USE" for next time :)

Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Scones

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1 cup flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 egg white, beaten
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a two cup measuring cup, combine buttermilk, 1/4 cup sugar, egg, and lemon juice. Mix well and refrigerate until needed. In a large bowl, combine flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Using a pastry blender (or a couple butter knives or food processor), cut* cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal texture**. Gently toss blueberries with flour. Carefully mix in buttermilk until dough is completely moist. Dust a working surface with a couple tablespoons of flour. Turn scone dough onto floured surface. Gently coat exterior of dough lightly with flour and form into a ball. Place dough on prepared baking sheet. Press dough into a flat circle, about 1/2" tall. You may need to flour your hands a few times during this process. Make sure there are no heavily floured places on the dough when you are through. Using a knife, "cut" the dough circle into wedges (I cut it into quarters and each quarter gets halved, but cut the wedges to the size you'd like to serve). Brush dough with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and the center of your circle appears to be cooked. Cool and serve.

*Cutting in butter is a technique that "cuts" the butter into small pieces while coating the butter in flour. I personally prefer using a pastry blender for this process, but I know it can be achieved with two butter knives, a food processor, or even a hand mixer.

**Coarse meal texture indicates how small your flour-covered-butter-pieces should be. Coarse meal usually means the butter should be smaller than a pea, kind of looks like coarse bread crumbs. Bon Appetit has a great picture of what coarse meal looks like, if you want something to compare to.

Source: Adapted from Skinny Taste

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