Blueberry Scones and some Mighty Leaf

The northeast was thoroughly taken over by a severe case of snow-steria this week.
You couldn’t find a grocery store with a gallon of milk or a slice of bread from D.C. to Boston. Snow plows were ready and waiting at mall parking lots and trucks were filled with salt in preparation for our area’s second 20+ Inch storm this winter.

The one thing I always do when I’m stuck in the house like this is bake.
The thing is, I’m still fairly sheepish about trying new things. I’ll spend and hour looking at new recipes and trying to figure out what to make and I end up making vanilla cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies.
So I sent out a call for help on facebook, asking what I should make this time.
My first response was from the fabulous owner of The Hope Chest (you can check out their blog here!) saying how she had just made cranberry walnut scones and almost instantly my mom piped in asking for some of them.

Scones may not be that adventurous, but I’ve never made them –
so I decided to give them a try.
The fridge just happened to be recently stocked with blueberries… a sign, perhaps?

So I set out trying to find a recipe that fit my tastes and used only ingredients that I already had, as there was no way I was going to pay a visit to the grocery store and have to knock down little old ladies and fight shopping carts and strollers just for some heavy cream or dried cranberries. I, of course, spent some time on taste spotting (isn’t it just the most lovely recipe site ever?) and found one that I could work with.
I finally settled on Food for Poems’ recipe for Scones with Currants and Yoghurt and decided play with it a little bit.

They turned out lovely, and oh-so delicious if I say so myself.
With just a little honey, they were the perfect breakfast along with a cup of my favorite tea.
The dough came together so easy too! I was surprised, and honestly felt as though I must have forgotten something and would inevitably end up with hockey pucks or some disgusting blobs of dough…but they came out perfect (insert happy sigh here)

Before I hand out my recipe though I do want to make a mention of my favorite tea,
which I cannot believe I have yet to do.

I first had Mighty Leaf Tea at the late Brasserie Perrier. You can ask Frank – it was love at first sip and quickly became my little obsession. Every restaurant we visited I would say a little prayer that the waitress would could back with a pouch of Mighty Leaf for me.
For christmas last year Frank even got me the huge sampler box of teas and about a minute later I had gone through them all.
Unfortunantly, it is both difficult to find in stores (the only place I know to get it is the Whole Foods in Philly) and also pretty expensive (about $7 for a box of 15 pouches) so besides having it at restaurants I have been missing curling up with cups of it before bed for almost a year now.

Well, I finally caved and week or two ago and picked up a box of my favorite flavor while I was in the city.
Their Green tea Tropical is my favorite tea in all the world – light, fruity and just a little sweet. All of their teas are whole leaf in these fancy little biodegradable pouches and individually sealed, so every single cup is absolute perfection.
I know its pricey for tea – but if you happen to be at whole foods in philly, or love your tea and want to do a little online shopping, I would absolutely reccomend it. And I’m a super cheapskate, so you know its worth it!

Okay! Recipe time finally!

Blueberry Yogurt Scones
Adapted from Food For Poems
Makes 8 small or 6 large scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks of about 1 cm sq.
1 6-oz container honey flavored greek yogurt (Plain would also work fine)
1/2 cup Fresh blueberries
¼ cup milk (I used 2%)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter using a fork, two knives, a pastry cutter, or your hands (I usually use my hands) until the mixtures is crumbly.

Add yogurt and blueberries. Add the vanilla to the milk, and stir in gently.

Stir milk into dough, sprinkling it to distribute evenly, and mix just until blended – I use my hands to incorporate everything and do a couple of kneads in the bowl before turning it out.

Pat into a round, flat disc. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, divide into eight even pieces. Separate the pieces at least 2″ or so apart from one another.  Bake on parchment-paper lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes, or until light brown.

Serve with honey and enjoy! :)