A combination of fresh and freeze-dried strawberries produces a fruit forward Triple Strawberry Scone
Triple Strawberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter diced
- 1 cup diced strawberries
- 3/4 cup buttermilk*
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
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Add butter.
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Combine dry ingredients using a pastry blender (or two forks) until butter is reduced to the size of grains of rice.
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Add diced strawberries to the flour mixture, tossing gently.
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Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, and vanilla in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl.
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Add liquids to dry ingredients; mix until dough forms a ball.
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Place dough on a lightly floured surface and press into an 8-inch round.
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Cut into 8 wedges.
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Transfer wedges to a rimmed cookie sheet, preferably lined with parchment paper.
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Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the scones are crusty on top and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
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While scones cool, place freeze-dried strawberries in a sealable bag, and crush using a rolling pin.
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Combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons crushed, freeze-dried strawberries, and 1 tablespoon milk.
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Add more milk as needed, a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches desired consistency.
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Top each scone with strawberry glaze.
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Sprinkle with remaining crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
Notes
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love strawberries. As much as I’d love to say that I only eat them when they’re available locally that would be a lie. As long as they’re ripe and red, I’m glad to eat them even when shipped many miles.
In addition to the fresh version, I have become a fan of freeze-dried strawberries as well. They’re light and airy and have a texture that’s almost like a hardy cotton candy. You need to chew, but then they melt away. Quite often you’ll find a bag in my pantry, which makes a fine afternoon snack.
A couple years ago I decided to try using them not only as a snack but also in cooking. What I discovered is that they do a fine job of imparting their strawberry flavors without adding a ton of moisture, which isn’t always a desired effect. For example, these Sweet Strawberry Biscotti stayed nice and crisp while being berry forward.
As I began to think about this scone recipe, I debated how to get lots of strawberry flavor into it. Scones like a bit of moisture, so fresh strawberries were the obvious choice for the baked good. To add more strawberry flavor, I wanted a glaze, which is where the freeze-dried berries came into play. They grind up into a lovely powder that would blend well with powdered sugar.
Thus, I was off and running with my double strawberry scone recipe, when it dawned on me, why go with double when you can have triple strawberries?
With more freeze-dried strawberries pulverized, I now had more strawberry powder that could decorate the glaze. Suddenly, I had triple strawberry scones that delivered on my idea of a strawberry-forward scone.
Three layers of strawberry in a scone? Yes, these are my new, favorite breakfast treats.
