Blackberry-Blueberry Scones with Honey-Butter Glaze

.  Well sadly...summer is a-windin' down.  Even though we really didn't have a summer though, I guess.  So regardless that it's nearly September, it seems odd to me that the weather has already begun to cool.  Fall is by far my most favorite season so I'm not complaining one bit.  But I will admit that I did miss the summer heat that never seemed to show.  Oh well...

But like I mentioned before, I have a couple of 'summer' treats that I have to pump out before it gets too late.  Because we all know that once August hits, it's officially Fall baking season.  So pumpkin, spices, apples, and more pumpkin, are fair game.  Watch out peeps.

So for one of my last summery goodies, I must say that we're leaving the season with a b.a.n.g.  Or in other words, this is a legit scone that even Robbie enjoyed [i.e., he's not a bready fan, so scones are one of his least favorite things].  

But lucky for you, me and Robbie, these are one of the most unique scones I've had to date because the flavor combination of fresh, tart, juicy blackberries and blueberries with the thick, sweet, salty taste of the Honey-Butter Glaze?  Well, dyyyyyamn.

And we all know that scones get a bad wrap because they don't seem to keep very long [i.e., they get crumbly and somewhat stale].  But the secret to keeping these scrumptious scones fresh for days?

That Honey-Butter Glaze.

If you happen to sneak a bite of the scones straight out of the oven [pre-glazed], you'll first realize how incredibly delicious this buttery, fruity goodie is just by itself.   But slathering the salty-sweet combination of honey-butter over the fresh scones seems to lock in all of that moist goodness.  And no doubt adds an extra flavor element to make this one of the best scones I've ever eaten.  Let alone produced out of my very own kitchen.  BOOM!

To leave you all, it's officially Robbie's birthday weekend so I'll be spending the next couple of days tending to his every need.  Oh, is that different from other days around here though...?

Just kidding ☺ But we will be out and about and his brother, Danny, will be joining us Sunday for the day, so we definitely have a packed weekend ahead of us!  Hope you enjoy your days off as you please, until next time!  .

From A Passion for Baking

Ingredients:

Blackberry-Blueberry Scones:

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 c. heavy whipping cream

3-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. frozen blueberries 

1/2 c. frozen blackberries

Milk (for brushing)

Honey-Butter Glaze:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Put lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup and add heavy whipping cream to the 1 cup mark.  Let stand for a few minutes to make soured cream.  
2. Heat oven to 425°F.  Arrange oven rack to upper third position.  Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper; set aside.
3. In a food processor, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and blend briefly.  Add butter and pulse to make coarse mixture.  Turn out mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center.  Add egg, vanilla extract, and enough soured cream to make a soft but firm dough.  Gently fold in blueberries and blackberries.
4. Turn out dough to lightly floured surface and knead briefly to make a firm dough.  Pat out dough into 1-inch thick circle.  Cut dough into wedges or rounds and place on prepared baking sheet.  Brush each scone with milk.
5. Bake 16 to 19 minutes or until scones are nicely browned.  
6. While scones are baking, make the glaze by heating honey and butter in a liquid measuring cup until melted mixture is simmering (about 1-1/2 minutes).  Brush scones with honey-butter glaze as they come out of the oven.  Let scones cool for about 15 minutes before brushing on honey-butter glaze once more.

Yield: 1 dozen scones

Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

. Remember how I mentioned that I hit the jackpot at the local farmer's market this last weekend?  Well, take a glance at the picture above and just try to tell me different.  I know, you can't do it.  It's okay, it happens.

I couldn't tell you how many visits to the Saturday farmer's market I've made over the past couple of years.  Too many to count, I would say.  But do you also remember my gripe regarding the lack of local fruit in this darn state?!  Well last weekend, this all changed.

As I was making the final round with Ollie, perusing the lovely produce (i.e., veggies, veggies, and more veggies), I was pretty much ready to head out empty handed.  But then the heavens ascended upon Nebraska!  As I was walking by a tiny little booth, with a banner that said they hailed from Iowa (go figure!), I spotted three clear containers of BLACKBERRIES!  And not just blackberries, but gigantic, juicy blackberries!  I quickly whipped out some mula and snagged one of the final pints of blackberries.  The lady probably thought I was a tad crazy, I can guarantee my eyes were glittering as I paid for those little berries.

I'm not really sure why, maybe because I don't have many blackberry recipes, but I knew exactly what I wanted to make with my purchase.  I'd had this Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake bookmarked for quite some time and knew it was going to be a winner.  And oh was it!  And I say 'was' because Robbie and I polished off this breakfast goodie in less than three days.  Aaand I'm going to go for an hour run now...

I've made a few coffee cakes in my day and this is by far a top, top recipe.  It's that good, I tell ya!  This treat begins with a layer of a soft white butter cake, followed by a deeee-lish cream cheese filling, which is then followed by the sweet-but-tart blackberries, and finished with a scrumptious cinnamon streusel.  Four layers of heaven and can you believe we can call this breakfast?!  You're welcome .

My Notes:

• Don't be turned off by the slightly longer ingredient list, this coffee cake is super simple to assemble and is more than worth the couple steps.  Belieeeeeeve me!
• Feel free to substitute any kind of berry for the blackberries.  Or if you don't have any fruit around, you can also use 1/2 cup of your favorite preserves.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

From JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 c. sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. grated lemon zest

1 tbsp. all purpose flour

Cake:

1 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. milk

1 c. fresh blackberries

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  Butter 9-inch spring form pan and line bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

2.  For topping, mix together flour, sugar and ground cinnamon in large bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Set aside.

3.  For filling, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth.  Add sugar, egg, vanilla extract, zest, and flour and beat until very smooth.  Set aside.

4.  For cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

5.  In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter.  Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.  

6.  Add flour mixture, alternately with milk, and beat only until combined.

7.  Spread batter onto bottom and slightly up sides of pan.  Spread cream cheese filling over batter.  Scatter with berries and top with streusel.

8.  Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until streusel is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Yield: 10 servings