My friend Debra is over in the UK on a business trip of sorts: not like the business trip I wrote about last week. She’s got a tour guide and is touring the local sights. However, she does have 20+ students with her so there’s probably a bit of wrangling and babysitting involved. But she’s a tough girl and I know she can handle them and anything else thrown her way! Including the scones recipes she was baking up before she left. Now it seems like I see recipes for scones everywhere along with recipes for strawberries … Can you guess what’s coming next?

If you guessed strawberry scones, you get partial credit. I took the recipe that Debra got from her friend Martha, made a few changes and added in some strawberries and basil. And voilà! Strawberry basil scones. It’s an interesting flavor combination for sure and I was excited to use basil in a dessert. I sprinkled a bit of sugar on the tops to give it an extra bit of a crunch and sweetness while the insides stayed soft and moist. The scones are best served warm and with a bit of lemon curd which nicely complements the strawberry flavor. And how do I make this yummy lemon curd? So glad you asked! Check out my post here.

Strawberry Basil Scones
(Yield: 6-8 scones)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the scones
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup strawberries, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1.5 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons of water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
• In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir together. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. You can use a pastry blender, your hands or a food processor to cut the butter into the flour mixture. The  should still be pea-sized pieces of butter in the flour mixture. The flour will have a sandy, coarse texture to it. Add the chopped basil and strawberries to the flour mixture, making sure the strawberry pieces are coated with flour. Make a well in the center of the bowl.
• In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and add to the flour mixture and stir until a dough just comes together. The dough will be sticky.
• Flour your hands and your work surface.
• Shape the dough into an 8-inch diameter round about 3/4″ thick and cut into 6 to 8 wedges.
• To create the egg wash, beat the egg with two teaspoons of water.
• Brush the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle the tops with a bit of granulated sugar.
• Place the scones onto the baking sheet and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool scones slightly before serving.

Recipe notes: You can omit the basil if you just want strawberry scones. The key to flaky scones is to use cold butter. I cut mine into cubes and then put it back into the fridge until I was ready to use it. I used a pastry blender instead of the food processor and was still able to get bits of butter in the dough. It takes a little bit of arm power but it works just as well. The recipe calls for the scones to be baked at 400F. I started at 400F and they seemed to be browning a bit quickly so I turned down the oven to 375F part way through.

(Adapted from: Martha Stephenson, Orginally from: Simply Scones)