July 27, 2013

Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones





There is a place quite close to Waikiki Beach that sells the most amazing scones.  Diamond Head Market & Grill is quite well-known to locals and tourists alike. They have a great variety of gourmet foods that are packaged in to-go containers, so it is the perfect place to stop and pick up a picnic lunch. They also have a great selection of baked goods including pies, cakes, cookies, and their famous scones.  Blueberry was the original flavor and is probably their most popular, but they have added a few new flavors over time including banana, apple crumb, and pineapple. Once you have had one of their scones you are hooked for life.

Since they sell hundreds of these scones every day, it is not surprising that the owner is keeping the recipe a secret.  Of course that has not stopped people from trying to copy it, including me.  In my quest to find a recipe for these scones I came across an article that had been written back in 2003 by Betty Shimabukuro (food writer & recipe guru in Hawaii) in the Honolulu Star Bulletin that seemed pretty close.  I decided to give it a try, with a few small tweaks.





Every time I that I have eaten these scones they seemed to have a very soft, pillowy crumb and I would always wonder how they got them so soft. I decided to replace some of the all-purpose flour with cake flour to achieve a softer and finer texture.  One of my favorite things about these scones was the glaze on top, so I omitted sprinkling the berries with sugar and added a glaze that was brushed on liberally with a pastry brush as soon as they came out of the oven. I also decided that I wanted to use fresh blueberries. I found that the easiest way to incorporate the berries and cream cheese pieces was to leave the dough in the bowl, poke a few berries and cream cheese pieces into it and then gently put my hand underneath the dough and fold it in half, repeating this until all were incorporated. Also, the recipe did call for cutting the cream cheese in pieces, which I have left in the recipe below, but I found it easier to just break off pieces by hand as I was incorporating it.

My scones were a little smaller than the ones you will find at Diamond Head Market, but I have to say that the taste was a perfect replica.  Warm from the oven, with a little glaze over the top, they were melt-in-the-mouth good.  I found myself breaking off just a piece here and there throughout the day, until I finally thought to myself this is ridiculous, so I made a cup of my favorite coffee and sat down to relax and enjoy one.  And I am so glad that I did.





Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ cup blueberries
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (see note above)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup hot water


Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400℉.
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
  3. Combine butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl and cut with a pastry blender or two butter knives until crumbly (I like to use my hands for this).
  4. Whisk milk into softened cream cheese (3 oz), add egg and continue to whisk until well-combined. 
  5. Stir cream cheese mixture into flour mixture until dough forms a ball - if the dough is a little wet sprinkle some additional flour on top and gently knead).
  6. Gently push blueberries and cream cheese pieces (2 oz) into the dough to incorporate evenly. Be careful not to crush the berries or mash the cream cheese pieces.
  7. Using a large spoon or (ice cream scoop) drop mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet to make 8 scones. Tuck berries and cream cheese pieces into the dough as much as possible.
  8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden. 
  9. While the scones are baking make the glaze; place the powdered sugar in a small bowl, gradually add the hot water, and whisk until smooth. Once the scones are removed from the oven glaze them generously with this mixture.
Recipe adapted from The Honolulu-Star Bulletin by ATLATC.



12 comments:

  1. I'm SO envious!! Well, I'm envious of a number of things. First... that I'm not in Waikiki to go have scones with you. And 2nd... that your oven is working! I'm still struggling with my poorly working oven and not baking scones. It's good for my waistline, but I'm craving these beauties!!!

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  2. YUM. Just YUM. Pinning now! Also, what Kim said--I would like to be in Hawaii, hanging out with you and eating these scones.

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  3. Just made these, they are delish. Can't wait for you to make them for me! ^ _ ^

    Danielle

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    1. Me too! And you did such a good job with your scones, I bet everyone loved them. Miss you.

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  4. Oh my gosh! A few weeks back I went to Hawaii and went to the market you were talking about! The scones are the best, and that's why I was looking for a good scone recipe!

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  5. Thank you for this awesome post! My husband said it was the best thing I ever baked!

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  6. I've had the scones from Diamond Head Markey & Grill and let me tell you, THESE ARE BETTER!!! It was incredibly easy to make and my family fought over them! Thank you so much for posting your recipe!!!! Mahalo!

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  7. I made this with non-fat greet yogurt, frozen mixed berries from Costco, all all purpose flour. Delicious!

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  8. Great recipe. Thank you for shairing. My family and friends love them. I brush mine with lemon curd instead of the glaze...lemon goes well with blueberries...they were yumm!

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  9. I made them this morning and they are delicious. They do taste very similar to the Diamond Head Grill scones, but I like these a lot better. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

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  10. I did it all in a mixer…because it was too messy doing it manually. It turned out just as wonderful..yummy

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  11. I have made this recipe many times and I agree with the other posts, this recipe is actually better than the Diamond Head scones! It's a little more buttery and softer. In the summer I like sub mangos and it turns out ono!

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