Hi Friends, Scones are a delicious treat often enjoyed at teatime in England today, just as they were back in 1911 when Julia Foster became the governess at Highland Hall and enjoyed them with the Ramsey family at their beautiful country estate.

Serving Tea at four o’clock each afternoon became a tradition in England in the early 1800s. One of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting, Anna Maria Stanhope, known as the Duchess of Bedford, is credited as the creator of afternoon tea time. Because the Duchess suffered from “a sinking feeling” at about four o’clock in the afternoon, she asked her servants to sneak her a pot of tea and some bread. She soon invited friends to join her for tea each afternoon in her rooms at Belvoir Castle. The menu centered around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea. This practice became so popular, the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, and the practice soon spread.

Here’s one of my favorite recipes to enjoy for afternoon tea.

Lemon Blueberry Scones

2 ¼ Cup Flour

2 tsp Baking powder

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Baking soda

4 Tbs Sugar

½ Cup (1 cube) Cold Butter

¾ Cup Buttermilk

1 Egg

¾ Cup Blueberries

Grated zest from lemon

 Streusel Topping:

¼ Cup Rolled oats

¼ Cup Brown sugar

1 Tbs Butter, melted

1 Tbs Flour

Lemon Glaze:

½ Cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Cup Confectioner’s sugar

1Tbs Butter, melted

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the dry ingredients of the scone into a food processor. Cut the cold butter into cubes and put into bowl of food processor with the lemon zest. Pulse the mixture until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, add the blueberries and toss with the flour. Mix together the buttermilk and egg and add to the dry ingredients. Fold mixture together gently, being careful not to break the berries. Press dough into a large circle on a flour surface. Cut out dough with a biscuit cutter. Sprinkle streusel on top of them and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake the scones for 18 -20 minutes until golden.

Mix together the glaze, adding as much powdered sugar as it takes to make the consistency you want. Let scones cool a bit before drizzling with the lemon glaze. Serve while warm and fresh. Scones may be re-warmed in a 350 F. oven for 5 min.

If you try this recipe and bake some scones, be sure to let me know how you liked them. Happy baking!

This recipe is adapted from Terri Bender’s Book Bound Blog.