I’ve been itching to experiment with fresh herbs from my indoor herb garden since the day they sprouted. My little AeroGarden came with three different types of basil: Lemon, Genovese and Globe. Lemon basil with its sweet smell and strong lemony flavor just begs to be used for baking and I’ve been dying to try my hand at scones. I figured that the big, plump blueberries I picked up at the market would perfectly compliment the lemon basil, and since scones are not too sweet both the blueberry and lemon basil flavors would shine.

Here is what I learned from this culinary experiment:

1. rolling dough with a bunch of whole blueberries in it is no easy feat.

2. getting lumpy blueberry dough to stay in a neat little triangle is pretty much impossible.

3. whole blueberries explode in the oven.

The scones ended up tasting great – most didn’t look like the perfect fluffy triangles but I like to think their odd shapes give them character.

3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with your fingertips to a coarse meal. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Add blueberries and lemon basil.

Transfer dough to a floured board and divide into 2 parts. Roll each to 3/4 inch thick rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with the cream, and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Recipe adapted from here.