Whole Wheat Ricotta Blueberry Scones

Scones are one of those baked treats that seem very impressive, but are really embarrassingly easy to assemble. If you are new to baking, I recommend trying scones as a gateway recipe, because they are also pretty forgiving.

This recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, and I made it for our brunch while we were in the Outer Banks for a week. The original recipe calls for raspberries, but they are so expensive at the grocery store. We happened to have a big bucket of blueberries, so I just adjusted accordingly. You really could do these with other fruits, but it should be something jammy and squishable. Yes, those are official baking terms.

You wouldn't think that whole wheat flour and ricotta would make for a nice and delicate scone, but it does! The end result is a light, cakey and flavorful treat, perfect with a cup of coffee or a mimosa.

Whole Wheat Ricotta Blueberry Scones
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1 cup fresh raspberries (or blueberries), chopped
3/4 low-fat ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries (or blueberries) on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.
Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula.

Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.