Oven Lovin': White Chocolate Mulberry Scones

I really love my backyard when it's mulberry season! I grab the ladder and climb up our 35-feet tall mulberry tree and start plucking the ripened fruit.

Here's why my family loves mulberry season: white chocolate mulberry scones. Using a basic recipe from Food Network's one and only Alton Brown, I tweaked it to accommodate the mulberries and white chocolate.

This recipe is always a hit at my house and I barely get the scones onto a plate before they're completely devoured.

White Chocolate Mulberry Scones Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees  

Bake for 20 Minutes

• 2 Cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

• 1 handful of mulberries
• 1 handful of white chocolate chips

For the Top (Optional)

• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Let's Bake!

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together and add to a large bowl.

 Add in the 1/3 cup sugar

 Cut the 4 tablespoons of butter into  small pieces and add to the dry mixture.

 Add the 2 tablespoons of shortening into the dry mix as well.

 Using a pastry cutter (a fork will do just fine, too), cut the butter and shortening into the dry mix until you don't see any chunks. I had to keep scraping the butter off my pastry cutter and it will eventually cut right in.

 Here's what the mixture should look like after all the ingredients are well mixed. It reminds me of corn meal.

 In a separate bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Add to the dry ingredients bowl when you're done.

 Here's what a basic scone recipe looks like. It's VERY wet (and it's supposed to be) so don't worry if you think it's not dry enough.

 Wash and dry those beautiful mulberries and add a large handful to the batter.

Grab a large handful of white chocolate chips and throw those into the batter as well. 

Mix the batter gently- you don't want to mush the mulberries and end up with purple scones.

Using a sprinkle of flour, place about a third of the mixture on the counter or a cutting board. Sprinkle a little flour on the top of the batter so it won't stick to your hands so much and begin to pat out a rectangle shape. I like to cut my scones into triangles, but feel free to use a round cookie cutter or even a glass to cut them out. 

After they're all cut out and on a large cookie sheet, use a pastry brush to moisten the tops with milk. I also like to add a sprinkle of sugar as it makes the top crunchy. Feel free to leave this step out.

Occupy yourself for about 20 minutes while the scones bake until golden brown on the top. 

Once they're out of the oven, I like to let them sit for a couple of minutes so they don'r break when they transfer to a plate. 

This is one recipe where I love the imperfections of the final product. The edges aren't completely square and the tops not perfectly smooth. 

But, oh man, are they tasty! If you try the recipe, please let me know in the comments how they turned out.