We have been on a serious huckleberry kick lately and these huckleberry scones are just one of the recipes we’ve been enjoying using these deliciously wild berries. It was the most amazing and prolific huckleberry season in Idaho this year. The bushes were loaded with huge, ripe berries. We aren’t sure if it was due to a drier, warmer climate this summer, but whatever the case … we’re pleased as punch! So far, we’ve made huckleberry jam, huckleberry cheesecake, huckleberry milkshakes, huckleberry reduction sauce for duck breast, and these scones. Believe it or not, the color of the icing comes straight from the berries — no food coloring added!
Taking the time to pick these berries that nature provides is so worthwhile and fun!
It’s such a fun pastime sitting down among the huckleberry bushes and seeing a sea of berries all around you! It’s also a bit addictive … you don’t want to leave a single berry behind, so you need to plan to spend a few hours each time you go out picking, and even then, you don’t want to leave!
Huckleberries freeze beautifully …
One really nice thing about huckleberries is that they freeze beautifully, so you can come back later to use them in your recipes and it’s as if they were just picked. They freeze whole, and they also stay in tact when you cook them, so for example, you have plenty of whole berries even in a jar of jam or berry compote.
The one thing you do get is some nice dark berry juice as they thaw out, which makes a great sweetener and flavoring for icing. The color of the icing on these scones is all naturally and so vibrant!
If you love scones, we have so many fun recipes for you …
Caramelized Apple Scones, Almond Scones with Berry Icing, Maple & Toasted Pecan Scones, Apricot Scones with Amaretto Icing, Pumpkin Butter Scones, Cranberry Orange Scones, Dark Chocolate Chip Scones, Carrot Cake Scones, Jam Thumbprint Scones, The Best Currant Scones, and some fun savory scones: Savory Bacon & Gruyere Scones, Sundried Tomato/Feta/Kalamata Olive Scones, and our newest savory scone, which we will be publishing soon … Sharp Cheddar, Bacon & Chive Scones!
Huckleberry Scones
Ingredients
Scones:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 oz. butter, chilled and cut into small 1/2-inch pieces (8 tbsp. or 1 stick, or 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup huckleberries (Fresh or frozen)
- 3/4 cup milk or half and half – your choice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 10 huckleberries
- 1 tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425⁰. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.
- Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar into a bowl. Stir in brown sugar. Using a pastry cutter or cold fingertips, cut the butter pieces into the dries until the pieces of butter are like small peas. Stir in the huckleberries.
- Add milk all at once and mix just until integrated. Turn dough onto floured cloth or board and gather into a ball. You may need to absorb a little of the extra flour for this step, but be careful to not over handle your dough. Use a very light touch. Remember, as our British au pair once told me, “The keys to good scones are cold hands and a warm heart!” 💕
- Roll the dough ball out to about 1 ¼ inch in thickness. Cut dough into 8 triangles for large scones, or 12 triangles for smaller scones. Or, you can also use a biscuit cutter dipped in flour if you prefer round scones.
- Place scones on prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 12-14 minutes, or until the tops begin to turn golden-brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before icing.
Make the Icing
- While the scones are baking, it’s time to make the icing. Smash the berries wtih a fork or spoon and blend them along with the sifted powered sugar with the milk and vanilla using a whisk or fork. If it’s too runny, add a little more sugar, and if it’s too thick, then add more milk, a tiny bit at a time!
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled scones with a whisk and then top with sliced almonds. Reheat to serve, or serve at room temp. These scones store very well in the refrigerator or freezer, but just let the icing harden before you wrap them up to freeze, or ice them once you take them out of the freezer and reheat them.
Notes
- This is the pastry cutter we love best. It has a great non-slip handle and it’s very comfortable to use.
- You can also use cherries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries in place of huckleberries in this recipe.
- You may find that you need a little more or less milk than 3/4 cup. If so, just compensate by adding a little more milk or a tiny bit more flour to get to a soft dough that you can roll out. We find that different flours act differently and cause some variation in the amount of liquid they can absorb.