Scones With Honey Butter

This is a Tyler's Ultimate recipe (with some minor tweaks for my taste) for berry scones, but the basic recipe is an absolutely perfect jumping off point for any flavor scone. Instead of berries (for example, when they are out of season) I make chocolate chunk orange scones by adding chocolate and orange juice and zest as the final step.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6 scones

Ingredients

• 1  pint heavy cream
• 1  orange zest
• 1⁄4 cup honey
• 1  pinch salt
• 2  cups all-purpose flour
• 3  tablespoons sugar
• 1  tablespoon baking powder
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄8 cup  cold cubed unsalted butter
• 1  cup  fresh berries
• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. For the buttermilk and honey butter: combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and turn on high. The liquid will slosh, whip, and then separate after 4 minutes. When the mixture separates, stop processing and strain out the buttermilk--there should be exactly 3/4 cup, which is what you need for the scones. Strain out the butter and squeeze dry.
2. For the scones: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. In a food processor bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add cold butter cubes and pulse until you have a texture of coarse bread crumbs.
5. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Toss berries (which have been washed and dried thoroughly) in a small amount of flour and add them to the mixture.
6. Add the buttermilk and either toss with a fork or fold with a spatula to incorporate the berries without smashing them. Mix to combine, but don't over mix.
7. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of each scone lightly with buttermilk or a bit of milk and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake until golden brown, and nice and puffy, about 10-15 minutes.
9. Serve warm with orange honey butter.
10. Notes: if you are making a scone with juice, add that after you do the buttermilk step. When I use fresh fruit juice, I don't put any sugar in the dough recipe because I think it makes it too sweet. You want to stick with small to medium scones here. Large ones will be too dark outside and under cooked inside.