BLACKBERRY VANILLA SCONES

I'd never been a real fan of scones prior to finding my all-time favorite scone recipe. I always thought they were too dry despite having good flavor. Then I found "THE Scone Recipe" and I've loved trying a variety of new takes on them. In the past I've always used dried berries and lemon zest or whatnot to flavor them. This time I decided to try something pretty different and they turned out just as amazing!

I bought my blackberries from Costco- they've had them here in Utah for a couple months now and my 16-month old daughter goes absolutely nuts for them. They've almost become a staple at our house! So pick up a container next time you're at the store!

Blackberry Vanilla Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons butter, frozen {1 whole cube}
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 TBSP good quality vanilla
• 1 cup fresh blackberries, washed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture using the large holes of a box grater (mixture should resemble coarse meal.) This step sounds difficult but it's easy- your hands just get a bit buttery. It takes about a couple minutes to grate the entire cube of frozen butter. {I just mixed it all up in my Kitchenaid afterwards.}

Add in the sour cream, vanilla and egg and mix until dough pulls from the side of the bowl and there are no crumbs on the bottom. Dough will be somewhat firm and sticky, but still manageable.

Add in the fresh blackberries. Now some of the berries will burst and the dough will turn a bit purple- this is okay! I just used the lowest setting on my Kitchenaid and mixed until most of the berries were incorporated. Flour a counter top and use your hands to shape the dough into a circle that's about 3/4" thick. If some of the berries escape  just squish them back in- it's a very technical process. ;) Your hands will get purple and messy- just dig deep and let your inner child enjoy this part! 

Once you've got a decent circular shape going, use a pizza cutter to cut the circle in half through the center, then again on the other side- until you have 8 pieces. 

Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with raw coarse sugar if you have it. 

Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature. I love to lightly add a bit of vanilla glaze to mine...

To make icing, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 TBSP melted butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1-2 TBSP milk. {You won't use all of it!}

ENJOY!