Tea-Infused Scones with Blackberry Preserves

My husband and I are tea fanatics, we've got at least 40 boxes and tins worth of tea in our apartment at all times. So I got to thinking, what else could I use this tea for other than making tea to drink? Then it came to me, scones. Scones are almost like a cross between a biscuit and cracker. They are slightly on the dry side and usually paired with jams or butter and hot tea. These scones I am making were infused with peach tea leaves for a little extra flavor. You could use any tea you like for this recipe but I would stay with black teas as a white or green tea may not be strong enough to infused enough flavor into the scone batter. You really want to choose a tea that has a deep, strong flavor. Earl grey or a fruity black tea would be perfect for this. For a more exotic flavor, you could use a chai tea for a cardamom cinnamon taste. I'm using peach iced tea leaves from a place called The Tea Room that my husband and I visited while we were recently in Savannah.

Now you could get some store bought jam to go along with these scones or you could whip up some preserves. Preserves are very quick and easy to make and will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for long term use. My tea scones with blackberry preserves are sure to please anyone, especially tea lovers like us.

Scone Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of milk (plus a few tablespoons for the scone icing)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 tbs black tea
3 tbs confectioners sugar

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Add milk and 2 tablespoons of the loose black tea leaves to a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil then turn off heat and set aside for about 10-15 minutes to cool. The milk should be a brown color once infused with the tea.

To make the scone dough, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar until well combined. To add a little extra tea flavor to the scones, take the remaining tablespoon of tea leaves and blend them into a fine powder.

Add the tea powder to the dry dough ingredients and mx well. Next, cut the butter into small chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or your hands (I prefer hands) cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course sand and the butter is evenly distributed in pea sizes pieces throughout the dough.

Once the tea infused milk has cooled slightly, add to the dry ingredients by pouring through a fine strainer. You don't want the wet tea leaves from the hot milk to get into the dough.

Add the lemon zest and mix dough until the liquid is incorporated. If the dough seems a little dry, add a tablespoon of water. Sprinkle a little flour on a cutting board and roll out dough in a rectangle to about an inch thick. Cut rolled out dough into triangles.

Lay scones on a greased baking sheet slightly apart from one another. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the 400 degree oven. When scones have finished baking, place them on a rack to cool. Once scones have cooled slightly but are still warm, combine confectioner sugar, a few tablespoons of milk, and a squeeze of lemon juice to make scone icing. Brush icing over scones liberally. 

Now for the preserves. You can use any berry but blackberries happen to be my favorite and add real depth of flavor when paired with the scones. There is what you will need:

Preserve Ingredients:

3 cups of blackberries

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tbs lemon zest

Blend blackberries in a food processor until all the berries are no longer whole pieces.

In a small pot, combine blackberry puree, sugar, and lemon zest and bring to a soft boil over medium high heat. 

Allow mixture to boil for 20 minutes until it has reduced slightly. Make sure the preserves don't boil too hard otherwise it may burn at the bottom of the pan.

Turn off heat and set aside preserves. Once the preserves cooled completely, they will solidify into a jam-like consistency.

Pair blackberry preserves with the tea scones and some hot tea for a tasty treat!