This week the cover came off the schooner! Sunny, warm, and folks we are going sailing soon. Now it’s just a race to see what we can get done before we drop the paint brushes and sanders, the cleaning rags and brass polish and hoist the sails for the first time.
This is a lovely time of year when the weather turns to bearable and the jobs don’t seem quite so dirty, the wait for sailing not quite so long and the layers of clothes not quite so confining. The crew begins to sing while they work, chat together now that the sanders aren’t running constantly and imagine what their summers will be like once we are out on the bay. Here’s a look at what we are doing.
Meanwhile, as a treat, I baked some of these scones for the crew. It’s a keeper of a recipe!
Don’t you wish you were going to sail this summer too? It’s easy to join us, just call us or email 800-869-0604 or sail@mainewindajammer.com
Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones
This recipe is adapted from Kate Schaeffer’s cookbook Desserted: Recipes and Tales from and Island Chocolatier who adapted her recipe from Kyra Alex at Lily’s Café.
Scones:
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream (a little less than)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
4 ounces cream cheese, cold
1 cup frozen Maine blueberries
Frosting:
1 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk, plus more if needed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the egg yolks and enough heavy cream to measure 1 cup. Sir in the vanilla extract. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients and mix with your hands, rubbing gently.
Cut or tear the cream cheese into small chunks and toss inot the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries and mix all together.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the heavy cream mixture. Add more cream if needed, mixing quickly. You should have a crumbly mixture that barely qualifies as dough at this point.
Turn the dough onto a cutting board and quickly knead together using a bench scraper to help you form the chunky mixture into a dought that barely holds together. Flatten the dough into a disc and cut with a biscuit cutter into 8 rounds. Place the rounds into a muffin tin lined with small pieces of parchment paper.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating once during baking. The scones are done when they are lightly browned and just firm to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Frosting:
In a small bowl, mash the cream cheese to remove any lumps. Add the powdered sugar and mash together. Add the vanilla and then the milk slowly, increasing the amount if needed to create a spreadable but not drippy texture. Frost the cooled scones and serve.
Makes 8
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