Roasted Strawberry and Rosemary Scones

Leave it to me to find breakfast inspiration from a drink. Last week we had friends in town which is all the excuse I needed to indulge in a fancy cocktail. We took them out to one of our favorite restaurants that is more of a speak-easy bar than a restaurant, so you can probably imagine how great the drinks are. I can't even tell you what I ordered except that it had muddled strawberry and a rosemary sprig. I would have never thought to put the two together before, but they were delicious! As I was taking my first sip I immediately thought that this would make a great scone or muffin recipe. Minus the gin, of course.

I didn't just want this to be any old strawberry scone, so along with a hint of rosemary, I roasted the strawberries for an extra, unexpected flavor. Roasted strawberries are just a little bit sweeter, softer, and since the juice has had a chance to cook out, they mix in perfectly with the scone dough so that it isn't too soggy

The rest of the scone recipe is pretty basic, almost like a biscuit dough. Cubes of butter are cut into the flour and sugar and then mixed with milk, an egg, and some vanilla. I have ruined a few scone recipes before by over mixing the dough, so now I know that it's okay if the dough is a little lumpy. In fact, it's preferred. All those little lumps of butter will melt and make the scones light and flaky!

Right at the end, I mixed in some chopped up fresh rosemary leaves and the roasted strawberries. Typically I roll out the dough and cut it into rounds, like biscuits (0r you could cut them into wedges). In an attempt to be a little rustic (and because I was lazy), I just dropped spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet. And then because they looked a little too rustic once baked, I camouflaged them with a drizzle of strawberry glaze made with the reserved strawberry juice and some powdered sugar.

I will admit, I was a little nervous about the rosemary in a sweet and fruity scone, but it just worked! Normally I pair rosemary with garlic so I think of it as a savory herb, but now I know it doesn't have to be.

But if that doesn't convince you, you can just drop the rosemary all together and just make these roasted strawberry scones, instead. They will still be delicious!

Also, if you haven't signed up for Yummly, I would highly recommend it! It's a great way to find and collect recipes. If you are on Yummly, I would really appreciate it if you "Yum" my recipe,by clicking that little orange button.

Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: 12 scones

Ingredients

Scone:

1 cup strawberries, halved (separated)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp of the roasted strawberry juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread strawberries out on the baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until tender and a little shriveled.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking sugar, and salt. Cut butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives, until the texture of thick gravel.
In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour into the center of the flour, butter mixture, then slowly mix together, gradually adding in more flour into the wet mixture until completely combined. Mix in the rosemary with the last bit of flour.
Drain juice off of the roasted strawberries and set aside, then fold all but a few reserved strawberries into the dough. Drop about 1/4 cup of dough onto a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they are brown on top.
Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Spoon over the tops of the cooled scones.