Oxford Blueberry Scones with Lemon Curd

Ok, ok, I know - enough of the rain already!! We've had over 30 days of straight rain here in Nova Scotia. After this amount of time without even a glimpse of the sun you can do one of two things - you can mope and complain about it, or you can make the best of it. I choose option number two. I mean, is there really any better way to spend a drizzly afternoon than with a freshly baked homemade treat, a hot cup of tea and a good book? This past Sunday I did just that - I made Oxford Blueberry Scones (Oxford, Nova Scotia is the blueberry capital of the WORLD!!), a small batch of tart Lemon Curd then I curled up with Earl Grey and my favourite book of all time - Wuthering Heights.

Usually I avoid scones because I find they're almost always too dry - too crumbly. These scones are anything but with the addition of full-fat sour cream. Combined with the super-easy-to-make lemon curd, they're almost more of a dessert than a snack but who really cares anyway?!?

Blueberry Scones (from All Recipes)

4 C Flour + 2 tsp Baking Powder + 1 tsp Salt - whisk in large bowl

1 C (one 250 mL tub) Sour Cream + 1 tsp Baking Soda - mix together in smaller separate bowl - it will puff up and become somewhat frothy

1 C Butter, room temp + 1.5 C Sugar - Beat until light and fluffy

Add 1 egg + 1 tsp Vanilla to Butter and Sugar - beat until well mixed

Gradually add Flour mixture to Butter mixture until just combined

Add sour cream mixture until just combined - add 1 C Fruit/Nuts/Chocolate Chips etc - whatever you want

**I divided my dough in half - I added 1/2 C Oxford Blueberries to half of the dough and left the other half plain (see below) - you have to be gentle with the blueberries because they have a tendency to run and pop if handled roughly

On a floured surface, form the dough into a circular patty - cut into wedges (I cut mine into 12 - they were the perfect size)

Bake on a well-buttered baking sheet at 350 degrees until golden - about 25 minutes

**Do not crowd these onto your baking sheet - they puff up and spread quite a bit - I would suggest baking 6 at a time

Lemon Curd (recipe from Chow - technique from Fine Cooking)

6 Tbsp Butter, room temp + 1/2 C Sugar - beat until fluffy

Add 4 Egg Yolks, 1/3 C Fresh Lemon Juice, 1/4 C Lemon Zest, 1/8 tsp Salt - Beat - It will look kind of curdled - this is ok

Put mixture in saucepan - heat on low until sugar dissolves - turn heat up to medium and stir constantly for 15 minutes

Pour into container to cool, covering the entire top with plastic wrap so a nasty skin doesn't form

Eat (with a spoon or with a scone - it's pretty hard to resist)

Alright, enough already - back to Cathy and Heathcliff...