Easy Blackberry Scones {For Foraged Blackberries}
These blackberry scones only require a couple of small handfuls of blackberries so ideal for using up the small yield of blackberries from an impromptu pick your own on the way to the park. They are really tasty served warm, split and spread with butter.
I've taken the boys out blackberry picking a few times recently. We hardly live in the countryside but there's a quiet 'country' road parallel to ours where Joshua (he's nearly 3) and I pick a few blackberries and Daniel (7 months) happily sits and takes it all in.
Joshua insists on holding the bucket, and stopping to say hello to any passing dogs, their owners and bike riders, so you can imagine it's a fairly slow process. In half an hour we're lucky to pick around 100g, that is if Joshua hasn't got bored and started throwing them. We could hardly go into jam making business, so I feel the blackberries we do painstakingly pick deserve to be used for something special.
My top tip is to freeze the blackberries before you use them in the scones. The hard frozen blackberries are much easier to work with and are less likely to get mashed up to make purple dough.
Easy Blackberry Scones
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 12 -14
Ingredients:
75g margarine or butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
Good pinch cinnamon (optional)
120ml milk
350g self-raising flour
Around 75g blackberries (two small handfuls) preferably frozen.
Demerara sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 C / gas mark 6.
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, lemon juice, milk and cinnamon. Mix until well combined. Add the flour and mix until you have a smooth dough.
Finally mix in the blackberries. If they are frozen it's much better as they are less likely to get squashed during the mixing.
On a floured surface, split the dough into 12 pieces. Roughly shape each piece into a ball and flatten the ball to make a rough scone shape.
Pop the scones on a greased baking tray and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until golden on top and slightly risen.
