September 26, 2021
Fall weather is just around the corner. With September winding down and warmer temp slowly turning to cooler temp, I can’t help but to try to get the most out of the in-season summer produce while I still can. Fall is one of my favorite seasons for many reasons. I love the cooler, crisp weather, the start of cozy sweaters and cardigans, and the transition to spiced foods and drinks. I am anxiously waiting for the spiced drinks to fill coffee shop menus throughout the states. Before summer ends, I definitely want to enjoy the warmer weather a bit more. Lately, I have been experimenting with infusing dried lavender flowers in sweet (and dare I say savory) dishes. My obsession with lavender began shortly after I discovered the magically delicious blueberry lavender almond beverage at a local Trader Joe’s near our home in Ohio one Saturday afternoon. Kev and I went to pick up groceries at Trader Joe’s and I made my way through each of the aisles hoping to discover a cool new snack. As I scanned through each aisle, my eyes were drawn to a nicely packaged container with the words “Blueberry Lavender Flavored Almond Beverage” printed across it. The beautiful contrast of the white and lavender packaging definitely caught my attention. What was more intriguing was the pairing of a fruity berry with a floral herb. I immediately grabbed a couple cartons of the beverage out of curiosity without even thinking twice and made my way to the register along with some other groceries. The instructions on the carton indicated the drink can be consumed cold or warm. I enjoyed the beverage warm more than cold. It didn’t take long before I became hooked on the drink. There was just something about the drink I found very comforting. I loved the hint of fruity blueberry and fragrant lavender laced throughout the drink. The flavors just seemed to complement one another very well. The drink inspired me to apply the flavor combination into one of my favorite morning treats – scones. My experiments led me to the creation of my blueberry lavender scones featuring bursting blueberries and fragrant lavender layered throughout my favorite version of scones. To test out the scones, I baked them up for a weekend brunch at a neighbor’s home. I folded some frozen blueberries and dried lavender flowers directly into my dough for scones, cut them into equal pieces, and baked them to golden brown perfection in a high temperature oven. Of course, when making scones, I had to reserve some of the dried lavender flowers to make a side of honey butter. Scones and honey butter is a staple treat in our home. Kev always requests extra honey butter to spread all over his scone. The amount of honey butter on his scone probably weighs more than the scone itself. I like just a hint of honey butter spread thinly across parts of my scone. I usually let the scone itself shine. When baking up the scones to bring for brunch, I packed along some homemade lavender honey butter as well. Honey butter is super easy to make and requires just some room temperature unsalted butter and a heavy dollop of honey. Folding in the dried lavender flowers into the honey butter was definitely a game changer as it added a wonderful fragrance to the already fragrant scones. When the test scones were done, I packed them up neatly and toted them to brunch. The moment I brought the scones to the table, they went flying off the table. Most people were intrigued by the combination of flavors. The blueberry lavender scones turned out to be a hit, so I ended up making them a couple more times for casual brunches shortly after. The best part of these scones is how easy they are to pull together. I pretty much just combine all ingredients together in a bowl, roll out the dough, cut them out, transfer them to a sheet pan, and pop them into the oven to work its magic. I sometimes watch the scones rise in the oven as they are baking through the oven door. Even before the timer on the oven is up, I can smell the delicious scent of the scones filling each and every corner of the kitchen. I often hover by the oven to make sure I snag a warm scone straight out of the oven. They are the absolute best when eaten straight out of the oven. Add on a swipe of lavender honey butter and the scones are perfect for serving.
For the blueberry lavender scones:
· 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling out dough
· 2 tablespoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· ½ tablespoon dried lavender flowers
· 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
· ¾ cup whole milk, plus additional for brushing on scones
· 1 cup frozen blueberries
· 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar for sprinkling onto scones
For the lavender honey butter
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
· 1 tablespoon honey
· ½ teaspoon dried lavender flowers
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dried lavender flowers. Add in the cubes of unsalted butter. Use your fingers to press the cubes of unsalted butter into the dry ingredients until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add in the whole milk. Gently mix in the frozen blueberries until the dough starts to form.
3) Lightly flour a working surface. Roll dough out and gently form the dough into a circle, taking care not to work the dough too much. Use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out as many scones as you can. Reroll the dough and cut out additional scones. Arrange the scones on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper about an inch from one another. Brush the tops of the scones with more whole milk and top each of the scones with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar.
4) Bake the scones for 20-23 minutes until the scones are puffed up, golden brown, and cooked through.
5) To make the lavender honey butter, combine the room temperature butter, honey, and dried lavender flowers in a bowl. Stir all ingredients together until well combined. Serve the lavender honey butter alongside or topped on scones.
Takeaways: I found frozen blueberries work better than fresh blueberries for working into the scone dough. The frozen blueberries maintained their shape better and made the blueberries less likely to burst when working into the dough. The baked scones are best when consumed immediately, but if there are any left, they can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. To rewarm the scones from the fridge, pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350°F or just plop them on a pan over the stovetop and warm for about 5 minutes.