Strawberry Picking + Fresh Scones

I love strawberry season, it always reminds me of the first days of summer.  My mom and I always loved picking berries when I was growing up, and she'd make the best shortcake!  Last year, we found a great little farm to pick blueberries, but I totally forgot how much earlier crops are ready in the South.  When I went to look for strawberry farms in June, they were all already closed for the season.  This year, (thanks to Jacquelyn!!) we found another fantastic farm, this one for strawberries, Wadmalaw Island.  Mike, Erika, her son, and I went right at the peak of the season at the end of April and brought home 10 pounds of strawberries.  

Obviously we made shortcake every night, I added strawberries and pecans to my favorite salad, and every morning has started with a strawberry fruit smoothie.  There are still strawberries left... a lot of them.  Strawberry and lemon is one of my favorite flavor combinations (of yeah, I made strawberry lemonade, too!), so these scones were also made with those delicious berries.  They are so good!

Ingredients:
scone dough:
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 stick cold, unsalted butter (cut into tiny cubes)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon whole milk
glaze:
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and zest.
- Work the small butter cubes into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk, then add to flour and butter, mixing until just combined.
- Add slices strawberries to dough mixture and pour dough onto floured surface.
- Work dough into 8 inch circle, and using a pizza cutter, slice it into 8 equal pieces.
- Separate scones and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
- Mix together the egg and milk for the wash and brush it over each scone.
- Bake in the oven for 15-16 minutes.
- While the scones are in the oven, combine the lemon juice and confectioners sugar for the glaze.  Wait 15 minutes after scones are out of the oven to drizzle them with glaze.

If you're looking for even more strawberry recipes, here are some of my past favorites: strawberry jam, strawberry mojitos, and chocolate-filled strawberries.