Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Scones...

When I received a message from a friend asking me if I wanted a bag of Meyer lemons picked fresh from his tree, I didn't have to think twice, I was in my car faster than George Dubbyah, avoiding a size ten shoe! If you haven't tried these citric balls of flavor you really should. Next time you buy lemons put the regular lemon down and pick up the more expensive and probably smaller Meyer lemon. Please don't be put off by my less than inspiring Meyer lemon marketing because when you taste the difference  you'll be happy you shelled out the extra dollar (or whatever they cost, I get mine free remember) The Meyer is sweeter than Mr regular lemon and with a softer, smoother jacket he'll be the Danny Zuko of your fruit bowl!

I had no clue what I wanted to make with my lemon booty. Curd, lemon bars and cookies all flashed through my head but I ended up making scones. After scoring a great deal on blackberries the other day I through in a handful at the end just as the dough was mixed giving the scones some extra moisture and great color. I started by using a recipe from Farmgirl Fare but it wasn't long before I adapted a few things to suit myself, including the milk, yogurt and blackberries. I was well impressed with these scones after they cooled, soft and moist with the berries swirled through I generously slathered one with clotted cream and blackberry jam. I'm actually excited for breakfast tomorrow even though I finished all of the clotted cream. I ended up using only two of my lemons, leaving me with seven left. I feel like a lemon bar weekend is in my future unless anyone else has some fantastic lemon recipes?

Here's the recipe adapted from Farmgirl Fare:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees,

3½ to 3¾ cups organic all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons (or more) finely chopped or grated Meyer lemon

1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) organic butter, chilled & cut into small pieces

1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice (from about 2 Meyer lemons) or regular lemon juice

1/2 cup organic milk, preferably whole, (I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream)

2 Tablespoons yogurt (I used vanilla bean yogurt as it was all I had in the fridge)

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (more vanilla, YEAHH!)

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and salt. Cut the butter into cubes and rub through the flour with your fingers until coarse.

In a separate bowl mix the lemon juice, milk, yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and gently stir with a wooden spoon or if your like me, you can use your hands! As soon as the dough comes together throw in 1 cup of blackberries and mix through breaking them up gently to release the juice. The dough will be sticky. Dump it out onto a floured table or chopping board, sprinkle with more flour on top and gently work the dough into some sort of ball shape. Pat the dough down to about 1 inch thick and cut into strips, then cut into triangles. Don't overwork the dough, I didn't even use a rolling pin.

Place on a baking sheet and glaze with a mixture of 2 eggs and 2 Tbsp of milk. Sprinkle some sugar on top if you like a crunchy top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden in color