Blackberry-Thyme Scones with White Chocolate Glaze

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes –
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Blackberries are in season and chock full of nutritious benefits.  After being inspired by the blog Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine, I thought I would try them in my go-to scone recipe.  Did you know blackberries have the highest level of antioxidants than any other food?  They are also a good source of anthocyanins, which have a protective effect against Alzheimer and dementia as well as against GI cancers such as colon cancer. Of course having them just plain is best,  but who can resist having them in a scone with white chocolate?   Because scones are already not very sweet nor are blackberries, I felt I needed to sweeten the blackberries a bit before folding them into the batter.  They also needed to be cut down in size as the scone would have crumbled apart with  the full sized berry.  The final product was delicious, especially with the addition of a white chocolate glaze!

BLACKBERRY-THYME SCONES

• Servings: Makes 10 scones
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Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups blackberries, cut in thirds, horizontally
• 1/3 cup sugar plus 3 T for berries
• 2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves(optional)
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado or coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
• 2 onces white chocolate

1. Combine the chopped berries with 3 T sugar and the thyme leaves and reserve.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together, reserve.
3. Beat the cream with the sugar.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. With a wooden spoon, gently fold in the berry mixture.
4. Dump contents of bowl onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and shape into a round mound. Score the dough into 10 scones.  Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle with 2 T of Turbinado sugar.
5. Bake on a middle rack at 375F for approximately 17 minutes, until golden.  Start checking for doneness at 14 minutes.  The juiciness of the berries can affect the baking time.  
6. Once the scones have cooled a bit, melt your white chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or in a bain-marie and watch carefully not to scorch the chocolate.
7. Place in a plastic baggy with the corner clipped, or in a pastry bag, and drizzle the melted white chocolate across the scones.   I started by making horizontal lines across the scones then ran a knife across the stripes of chocolate to create the zig zag pattern above.  Cut into 10 individual scones and serve plain or with jam. The scones were even more delicious the second day!

One of my children’s favorite childhood books was Jamberry by Bruce Degan, meant to be read out loud with much joyful expression, letting all the rhyming words roll off your tongue with gusto.  I couldn’t help digging it out and leaving you with the blackberry section: