Easy Blueberry Spelt Scones

It has been a busy summer here in apartment 2b, as they always seem to be. I am finishing up my book (!), working on a couple of fun freelance projects, and also trying to eat lots of ice cream and grilled corn and tomatoes and other summery things while the getting is good. Tough life, I know...But! I want to pop in to say a quick hello and share this easy recipe for blueberry scones with a bit of spelt flour. I am liking spelt flour more and more these days, mostly because you can easily substitute it for all purpose flour in most recipes and it has a great nutty flavor (and some added nutrition if that makes you feel better about eating baked goods).

These scones are a riff on the tangerine poppyseed scones I posted a few months ago with a summery twist: a generous amount of blueberries. This is the kind of recipe I love because you can swap ingredients in and out easily to suit your own tastes: change up the lemon for lime or orange, use raspberries, blackberries or currants instead of blueberries, add a handful of chopped chocolate, use all purpose flour or part whole wheat, rye, or oat. Go for it, and have some fun!

Easy Blueberry Spelt Scones

makes 8

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

one lemon

1 cup (4 1/2oz/128g) all purpose flour

1 cup (4 1/2oz/128g) spelt flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (112g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 cup (120ml)  buttermilk

1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the sugar to a large bowl and zest the lemon into the bowl. Add the flours, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter and use your fingers to press each cube of butter into a flat shard about the size of a quarter. Keep tossing the butter in the flour mixture to ensure that it is well coated. Make a well in the center of the mixture add add the buttermilk and heavy cream. Stir gently to combine, but don't worry if there are a couple of dry spots. Add the blueberries and stir gently couple more times. It's best to not over mix this type of dough. Use your hands to knead the dough a couple of times in the bowl then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a circle about 1-inch tall and 7- inches wide. Use a knife to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Transfer the wedges to the baking sheet, brush each one with a bit of heavy cream and sprinkle granulated sugar on top. Bake until the scones are golden brown, 18-22 minutes. Enjoy warm. These scones are best enjoyed on the day they are made.