{Mixed Berry}

There's a pretty high chance people get sick of hearing me talk about brunch. I seriously consider hosting a brunch every weekend at my house, and when I'm not having friends over to cook quiche/monkey rolls/potatoes, I'm begging asking them to join me for bottomless mimosas at my favorite brunch restaurant in Scottsdale.

If all else fails, I have been known to make myself one single pancake. Which is damn near impossible to make that small of a batch of batter, so I end up making too many and freezing them, which leaves me with sprinkle filled pancakes whispering my name each morning as I'm trying to be good and have fruit & yogurt for breakfast. Sigh.

But this post isn't about the woes of my pancake making, it is another ode to the scone. Oh scones, how I love thee! I've made my strawberry scones several times since posting them to the blog, but this time I decided to mix it up a bit. With mixed berries. Clever.

We're just barely getting in to the summer season, and while a mini carton with 16 sourish blackberries will still put me back $3.99 - I will continue to by frozen from Trader Joe's. The organic mixed berry pack is the best, with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries & raspberries picked at their ripest point and flash frozen to lock in the flavor. (Hi, Trader Joe's infomercial much?)

Once the wet & dry ingredients are combined, toss in the berries you've been defrosting in the fridge - preferably not too mushy. I left mine in the fridge overnight which was too long, the moisture made my dough way too sticky.

But also made it the loveliest lavender color! You win some you lose some.

Horrid photo of the scones, but you get the idea. All the others came out blurry! They were so so tasty, and friend brunch approved! 

Mixed Berry Scones

Adapted from Tyler Florence

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tbl. sugar
• 1 tbl. baking powder
• 1tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 stick of cold, unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups mixed berries
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a food processor (you can do this by hand too!) add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
- Add the butter, chopped into cubes, and pulse until you have the texture of bread crumbs (or cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter....or a fork).
- Transfer to a large bowl and add the buttermilk.
- Fold in the berries.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking pan.
- Brush some buttermilk on the top of each scone, and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake until golden brown, and nice and puffy, about 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

...

{Strawberry Season}

Strawberry season is here! Markets everywhere are selling these lovely treats marked down for half price, practically giving away the ripe berries for next to nothing. I for one, am happy about this. 

The seasons are changing in Arizona. Forecasts read frightening triple digit temps and my utilities bill is already on the climb. For now, I'm taking advantage of the ceiling fans in every room in my apartment, and hoping the scattered cool breezes hold out for a couple more weeks. 

Sunday morning came and I decided to bake. The weather was looking quite nice, and the idea of turning on my oven didn't completely freak me out. So I made scones while the boyfriend was still sleeping. Some mornings I love waking up earlier than expected, with a few moments of peace & alone time to wake up and sip my coffee. I woke up extra early, and needed something to fill the gap before I'm allowed to become the worlds most annoying alarm clock. 

I can't stay alone for too long. I get stir crazy.

The strawberry scone recipe I used was found in one of the most wonderful cookbooks I own. Purchased during one of many fun scavenging trips to Goodwill in downtown Seattle with my mom, when I was gearing up to move into my college apartment. The entire book is filled with breakfast recipes from famous bed-and-breakfasts and inns in the Pacific Northwest.

Whenever I wake Chris up with the news of breakfast, the look of surprise and curiosity of what I'm about to pull out of the oven is absolutely priceless. We ate the scones warm, with homemade strawberry syrup & scrambled eggs with italian sausage. A lovely way to start out a morning. A highly recommended way to start out your Sunday!

In other news...have you heard Bon Iver's new song, Calgary? Goodness gracious that song gives me chills.

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Strawberry Scones

Adapted from Breakfast In Bed Cookbook by Carol Frieberg

  

 - 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

 - 2 tsp. cream of tartar

 - 2 tbl. sugar (i recommend using a little more if you want the scones to be more sweet)

 - 1 tbl. baking soda

 - 3 tbl. chilled butter

 - 1/2 c. milk

 - fresh strawberries

Preheat the oven to 400. 

Combine flour, cream of tartar, sugar & baking soda. 

Cut butter into mixture until it is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Add milk, toss lightly until well blended. 

Pat into a circle 1/2 inch thick, then cut into fourths. Place onto lightly greased cookie sheet & bake for 15 minutes.