Strawberry & White Chocolate Scones

So um...

These guys are really tasty. Like extremely suprisingly delicious.

I have never been one for strawberry-flavored things. I LOVE the berry. Fresh sweet strawberries are absolutely amazing!

But I can't deal with strawberry ice cream, or pie (unless it has rhubarb to sour it up a bit), or strawberry jam.

My mom used to give us cut up strawberries for dessert growing up, and she'd sprinkle a little sugar on them so they'd get a little syrup going...my siblings were obsessed! I always asked for them sans sugar. I just never liked overly sweet things in one bite.

These guys however...they've changed my mind about baking with strawberries. And white chocolate. That's one of the best things about the Chocolate Blog Party. I try new things I never would've known I'd like. And it's so fun!

The recipe comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Smitten Kitchen. She made them as biscuits, and I found that my batter came out more scone-like as I made a few adjustments.

They were the perfect way for me to unwind this afternoon after knocking my first final exam and a presentation out of the way. The semester is winding down, and I'm getting nervous, excited and sad all in the same time!

I hate to say goodbye to my wonderful San Sebastián (literally in looove with this city) and all of the fantastic friends I've made, but I'm also unbelievably excited for my summer travels! Definitely full of mixed emotions as it finally sets in...I have a little over a week left before I pack up and start travels. Eep. Just have to survive 2 more final exams and a paper!

These scones most definitely have aided in the emotional roller-coaster that are these realizations of leaving! Baking always makes me feel better! :D

So here we go:

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
85 grams COLD unsalted butter (cubed)
1 cup chopped strawberries (the riper the better)
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate
(plus a few tablespoons chocolate to melt and drizzle on top when baked)
3/4 cup heavy cream (plus 2 tsp to use to melt white chocolate)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then cut the butter in with a pastry cutter, or 2 knives until only pea-sized lumps remain.

Then fold in the strawberries and chocolate with a rubber spatula until the berries are coated in the flour. Then pour in the heavy cream, and gently stir to distribute.

Once the cream has mostly absorbed, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl GENTLY, to get all of it in a ball. Be sure to not overwork the dough, not everything needs to be mixed entirely! Pour out onto a well floured surface, and sprinkle top with flour. Gently press the dough until its down to 3/4 inch thickness, and in the shape of a circle.

 Using a large, floured chef's knife, cut the circle into 8 even wedges.

Place on the baking sheet giving each scone a couple inches to grow, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Once they have cooled, microwave the extra white chocolate and a little bit of cream until melted. Using a ziploc or a pastry cone decorate with zig zags or stripes of chocolate.

And there ya go! If you've made scones before, definitely a super easy recipe! If this is your first time, still a fairly manageable dough to work with. :) And ohhh so yummy when they come out. Now to look towards surviving my 3rd to last finals week. EVER. How crazy is that??!

Here's the rules of the game for the Chocolate Blog Party:

There's a special ingredient each month to be paired with chocolate!

You can submit up to 3 recipes each month.

You include a link back to the monthly round-up or the Chocolate party page

You just have to be sure that the recipe is published for the current month!