Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Scones = YUM

Since summer is winding down, my love affair with fresh berries will come to a halt because I refuse to pay $7 for a half pint of strawberries in November- sorry Trader Joe. Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of all the fruits that are in season, especially ones grown locally. A great friend of mind visited family in Maine this past weekend and was so kind to bring me a pint of fresh picked Maine blueberries that she bought at a farmer's market in Bar Harbor. She even saw Martha Stewart at the aforementioned market, so these have to be some great berries. With instructions to "look for blueberry recipes," my mind immediately went to blueberry and lemon- two of my favorite flavors to combine. I am also in the process of moving (aka haven't actually started packing but am *thinking* about it and getting stressed out) so I want to use up any ingredients I have in my cabinets. I have a three-quarters full jar of cornmeal, so I knew that had to be included as well. The recipe I ended up using is adapted from Life on Breck Hill.

Ingredients:
1  1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup white cornmeal (yellow would work too)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used vanilla soy milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar)
1 egg
Zest from one lemon
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add butter and combine until the mixture becomes crumbly. I used a potato masher (and my hands) for this step because I don't have a pastry cutter. Create your "buttermilk" or use actual buttermilk if you're fancy like that. I'm not. Into the same measuring cup, break the egg. Zest the lemon (just use the finest side of a regular cheese grater) and add to the other liquids. Mix to break the egg yolk. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Toss the blueberries in the cornstarch until coated, and then add the blueberries to the rest of the ingredients. (Yes I was using a tablespoon measuring spoon to mix everything. Don't judge. It saves on dishes, and I'm all about that.)

Scoop out onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet until you have 12 scones. Sprinkle a little bit of raw sugar (I use Trader Joe's Turbinado Sugar) on top of the scones. Tip- see that small scone in the bottom left? That's my tasting sample. I always try to make one scone/cookie/muffin/cupcake a bit smaller than the other ones so that I can taste it the day I bake them to make sure they're edible enough to serve to other people! Also I just want to taste my creation right out of the oven- who wants to wait?!

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Clean up the mess you created.

And enjoy!