I’ve recently become obsessed with Greek yogurt, and after the huge success of my blueberry muffins, the idea of baking with yogurt intrigued me. Yogurt is great for baked goods; it adds a light, moist texture and flavor and is much healthier than fat substitutes like butter, sour cream, or cream cheese. In general, you should be able to replace half of the butter in baked goods with half Greek yogurt (e.g. 8 tablespoons of butter becomes 4 plus 2 tablespoons of yogurt).
Since scones have a lot of butter, I thought they’d be perfect for customization. So I looked for recipes for whole-wheat scones with Greek yogurt and ended up finding a great recipe on the now-defunct blog Chocolate and Carrots. It was exactly what I was looking for, so I followed her recipe exactly and just 35 minutes later had one of the best scones I’ve ever had.
The scones have everything a scone should: slightly crisp on the outside, tender, moist and fluffy on the inside. Not too sweet but full of flavor. Because of the lighter texture of the whole wheat flour, they don’t taste like heavy, nutty whole wheat scones. The Greek yogurt adds moisture and a slight tartness that pairs perfectly with the lemon zest. I firmly believe this is the best scone recipe of all scone recipes.
Not convinced? Let’s take a look at the reactions of two grown boys who happily came into my kitchen the day I baked these scones. After the first bite, he screamed with delight and cursed perfection. Another boy practically danced in the kitchen that evening, making “mmmm” sounds as he savored the last bite of his scone. The latter may have had a few drinks beforehand, but I assure you these guys don’t usually like scones. They were just that good.
Blueberry Lemon Scones
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold
- cubed)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large bowl
- whisk together flour
- sugar
- baking powder
- and salt
- Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
- In a separate bowl
- whisk heavy cream
- egg
- vanilla
- and lemon zest
- then add to dry ingredients
- Gently fold in blueberries
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface
- shape into a disk
- and cut into 8 wedges
- Place scones on baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown
- Let cool before serving