Recipe for Lemon Verbena Blueberry Scones

Our lemon verbena is getting huge. We have it in a pot outside and it is really tall, it looks like a tree in a small pot:) If you haven't grown or experimented with lemon verbena, I highly recommend you try to find some. I love it! Sometimes I go outside just to smell the leaves, yes I am a nerd.

I hate letting good things go to waste so I decided to make lemon verbena blueberry scones. I chopped up the leaves really finely and added them into the scone mixture. To bring out the lemon flavor I also added lemon zest. I carefully stirred in the blueberries and baked up the scones. They were fantastic. The lemon verbena made the scones extra special.

Does anyone have lemon verbena recipes to share? If so, send them my way. I might try ice cream or sorbet next!

Lemon Verbena Blueberry Scones

(Printable Recipe)

1 large egg
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
¼ tsp salt
5 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

About 6 lemon verbena leaves, finely chopped

Zest of 2 large lemons

1 cup of fresh blueberries, coated with a little flour

Extra cream for brushing

Turbinado sugar

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

2. Stir the egg and cream together in a small bowl.

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl add the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon verbena leaves. Rub everything together with your fingers to bring out the lemon flavor. Stir in the sugar lemon mix with the flour.

4. Add the butter to the flour/lemon sugar mixture. Using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You will have some little butter clumps and some larger clumps-the size of peas.

5. Pour the egg and cream over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough, comes together. It will be sticky. Don't over mix. Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand, 8 to 10 times.

6. Carefully stir in the blueberries.

7. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that’s about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into wedges or use a cookie cutter and cut out the scones. I used a round cookie cutter. Brush the scones with cream and sprinkle Turbinado sugar on top.

8. Bake the scones for 20 to 22 minutes, or until their tops are golden brown. Transfer them to a rack and cool. These are best eaten warm and on the day they are made.

Recipe for Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cookies

Our summer has been really busy and I haven't had much time to bake, but last week I made time to create a special birthday treat for a friend. I was in a summery mood, so I decided to go with a lemon blueberry cookie.

I love lemon so I made sure there was plenty of zest involved. I didn't want the cookies to turn blue, so I waited to add the blueberries. I scooped the dough onto the cookie sheets and then tucked 4 to 5 berries into each cookie. After the cookies cooled, I added a lemon glaze. These cookies are light, fluffy, and lemony. The blueberries are the hidden gems in these cookies. They add a nice burst of summer.

When I made these cookies last week I posted a photo on Twitter. I had several requests for the recipe, so here you go! Your wishes are finally granted.

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cookies

(Printable Recipe)

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Zest of two large lemons
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk

Fresh blueberries

Glaze:
Confectioners sugar

Fresh lemon juice

Lemon zest

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. I used my Silpats. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub them together with your fingers until well mixed. This brings out the lemon flavor.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar/lemon mixture and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well to mix. Add the vanilla, and beat on low. Mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

Drop the dough by level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leave about 1 ½ inches between each cookie. Tuck 4-5 blueberries into each cookie. Try to make sure they are hidden. Bake one sheet at a time for about 11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes; then transfer them to a wire rack.

For the glaze, whisk together the sifted confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. I never measure, just guess until you get the right consistency and flavor. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies.

Recipe for Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Happy Friday! I am so glad my weekend has already started. It was a busy week at work for me. I work for Healthy Utah, the worksite wellness program for the state. Every year we have a conference for our wellness council members. The conference was yesterday and it went really well. We had speakers address nutrition and physical activity at work, tobacco free worksites, and we also launched a new "Work Well" Challenge. It was a lot of work, but everything went well. I am still glad it is over though:)

The other night we made breakfast for dinner. We do this a lot because we rarely have time to make anything fancy or special in the morning. I usually just eat my oatmeal at my desk. I've been wanting to try buckwheat flour for awhile, so we made Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes.

Buckwheat flour has a rich, nutty flavor and is high in protein and fiber. It is also gluten free. We mixed the buckwheat flour with whole wheat flour. I loved the texture and flavor of these pancakes. They were wholesome and filling. We added in fresh blueberries which really made these pancakes special.

If you are looking for a new healthy breakfast or even dinner option, try these pancakes! This batch made enough for about six people. We had extras, so we put some in the freezer to reheat on busy mornings! Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

(Printable Recipe)

1 cup buckwheat flour

3/4 whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

3/4 cup skim milk

1 T honey

2 eggs

2 T. sugar

1 T. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup of fresh blueberries

Extra blueberries and fruit for serving (optional)

Powdered sugar

Maple Syrup

In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk, non-fat milk, honey, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. Stir in berries.

Preheat a large nonstick griddle. You can use a skillet if you don't have a griddle. Ladle the batter onto the hot griddle or skillet , use about a 1/4 cup batter. Flip the pancake when it is golden brown on the bottom and there are lots of bubbles. Don't flip them too soon. Cook the other side until golden brown. Serve hot with syrup and extra fruit, if you wish!

Blueberry Lemon Loaf Cake

Josh claims he doesn't like sweets, but he does. Chocolate isn't his favorite, but that doesn't stop him from devouring my cookies:) He also loves anything lime or lemon. We both aren't the biggest cake fans, but it was his birthday and you have to have cake, right?

I decided to make a blueberry lemon cake for his birthday BBQ. It is a spin off of one of our favorite loaf cakes. This time I added in fresh blueberries and I am glad I did. They made the cake extra special!

Josh was excited for his cake, but our niece, Aubrey, was VERY excited. She couldn't wait to sing Happy Birthday to Uncle Josh. She helped him blow out his candle. She was one happy camper!

You can't go wrong with this cake. It is easy, very moist, lemony, and the blueberries add extra goodness and love. This is great for any celebration or just because! And don't skip the syrup or glaze, it makes the cake! Bring on the lemon!

Blueberry Lemon Loaf Cake
Adapted From Barefoot Contessa

(Printable Recipe)

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 C. plain whole-milk yogurt (I used low fat sour cream)
1 1/3 C. sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 tsp. grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 C. vegetable oil ( I used canola oil)
3/4 cup fresh blueberries (coated with flour to stop them from sinking)
1/3 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Glaze:
1 C. confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Slowly fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 C. lemon juice and remaining 1/3 C. sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake. Slice and serve!