Blueberry Walnut Scones

These scones have the dubious honor of weaning my mother off of Cost Co scones. (Which is actually no small matter, I assure you. After trying these for the first time, she literally threw out a whole box of the store-bought ones - and considering how she feels about waste, that is definitely high praise!)

I'm not usually a fan of eating large amounts of "bread", but between its great, crumbly crust and the tons of berries and nuts I toss in (it almost has a hard time holding together - the best type of scone!), even I'm scarfing down a whole wedge at a time. Be prepared for a mess when making it, though - this batter is VERY sticky.

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 8 tbsp very cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 equal-size pieces
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, cream, thinned yogurt, sour cream or crème fraiche
  
• 1 large, very cold egg

• 1 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

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1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Dump out onto a clean work surface.
2. Distribute butter over dry ingredients and toss lightly to coat the pieces with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll over mixture to flatten the butter. Using a dough scraper, push mixture together, and repeat the rolling process two more times, scraping off the rolling pin between each process. Scoop mixture into mixing bowl and refrigerate.
3. Puree 1/2 cup blueberries and the liquids. Whisk in the egg. If not using immediately, refrigerate. Crumble or chop the walnuts.
4. Remove mixing bowl from fridge. Using a large, flexible spatula, add walnuts and 1 cup blueberries, mixing evenly. Now add the liquids gradually, gently folding into the developing dough.
5. Turn dough out onto work counter and gently move it around to ensure all portions are uniformly moistened. Do not knead dough!
6. If desired (for extra flakiness), after dough is formed, flatten somewhat and gently make 2 letter folds in opposite directions. (You can cover with cellophane and store for a day in the fridge.)
7. Pat dough into the desired shape and cut into 8 equal-size scones (or to make more personal sizes, cut these in half again to make 16 roughly triangular mini-scones).
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put scones onto lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 16-18 minutes, until scones are light brown on bottom and just golden on top.
9. Remove scones to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. To store, let scones cool completely, then seal in an airtight Ziploc bag for as long as a day before eating. Otherwise freeze scones and later reheat in a 350 degrees F oven for 5 minutes or in a microwave for 10-15 seconds.