Red, White, & Blue Scones

Did you know?

The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for “Uncle Sam”. This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government.

The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’

Before cars ruled the roadway, the Fourth of July was traditionally the most miserable day of the year for horses, tormented by all the noise and by the boys and girls who threw firecrackers at them.

Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.

In 1941, Congress declared 4th of July a federal legal holiday. It is one of the few federal holidays that have not been moved to the nearest Friday or Monday.

Show you're patriotism this Fourth with these Red, White, & Blue Scones courtesy of Two Peas & Their Pod.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup fresh chopped strawberries

1 large egg

3/4 cup cold heavy cream, plus extra cream to brush the tops

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of shortcakes

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted-for drizzling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Use your fingers or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. You will have some small pea size pieces of butter and that is fine. Gently stir in the blueberries and strawberries.

In a small glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the egg, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pour mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just until the dough comes together. Carefully knead the dough by hand, just until the dough comes together.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Pat the dough into a circle. Gently roll out the dough. You want the dough to be about an inch thick. Cut the dough into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Lightly brush the scones with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer shortcakes to a rack and cool to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, drizzle each scone with white chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is dry.