Blackberry and Wild Violet Scones
Can you believe that it is finally May? What a wonderful month! I am officially only a month away from welcoming my third baby, and we can all hardly wait. The days are becoming warmer, though the spring rains have been almost nonstop for the past week. I am looking forward to a lovely sunny and mild day where we can spend most of our time outdoors looking for all of the new life that has sprung up seemingly overnight.
At our farm, the fields are abundant with wild violets and dandelions right now. Wild violets are an edible wildflower that grow almost everywhere, and my oldest son has always loved picking and eating them as we wander along outdoors. He is my adventurous eater!
Wild violets have many benefits to your health including being anti-inflammatory, full of antioxidants, and they are a known blood cleanser. Generally, they are for topical use in salves and homemade remedies, but they are perfectly fine for eating, too! I love this post by Grow Forage Cook Ferment on identifying wild violets and how they can be used in your home.
ingredients & recipe:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup butter, cubed and cold
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup wild violets
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs, about the size of a pea. With your hands, mix in the blackberries and wild violets, coating them generously in flour. This will help the juice from the berries to not bleed as much.
Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix gently with a fork or wooden spoon until combined and there is hardly any dry bits leftover in the bowl.
Press the dough into a round disk, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the disk like a pizza into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until puffed and baked through. Serve with an Earl Grey tea!
I had some leftover blackberries from another project, so I thought they would make a good combination with our foraged wild violets! These were a big hit with my little boys. Though, they tend to love anything that is bread-like. These are not entirely sweet, rather somewhere in between a sweet bread and a pastry. They could be made sweeter with a bit of icing, if you prefer a more dessert-style scone. I like these with a sweet cup of coffee or sweetened tea to balance out the flavors.
Have you foraged for wild violets before?
xoxo Kayla
