mainebelle

Nectarines and peaches are my favorite fruits and they are only in season in Maine for a very short window. Though I made these about a month ago, you may still be able to find some last waning local nectarines and peaches. I’m eager to try this recipe with many of the apples we have coming our way through the Out on Limb CSA we recently joined. This is by far my favorite recipe of the summer!

I adapted the recipe from Indigo Scones and found I could squeeze in five nectarines, instead of the 1-2 they suggested. The scones are amazing right out of the oven and they also lasted a full week for us in the refrigerator. Just toast them up, add a pat of butte, pair with a fried egg and you have breakfast perfection. The nectarines are sweet and tangy and the dough is soft and full of cinnamon.

Nectarine Scones

Ingredients for dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter (cubed )
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing (there’s no need to buy a whole thing of buttermilk – simply mix one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with about a cup of milk and let sit for five minutes. This way you only use what you need and don’t waste money a whole carton of buttermilk).
• 3-5 ripe nectarines, sliced thin

Cinnamon-sugar topping:

• I used about 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix. Add the cold, unsalted butter (make sure it is cubed) and mix with your fingers or a pastry blender. I started with a pastry blender and ended up using my fingers to combine the butter with the flour mixture. Mix until you have a crumbly mixture and then add the egg, vanilla and buttermilk.

Put some flour down on your counter or a cutting board and knead the dough until you have nice firm dough. Flatten it out with your hands and then a rolling pin into a rectangle shape that is about 12″ x 10.” The dough will be thick. Brush buttermilk on half the dough and lay out the nectarines – the more you put on, the better, in my opinion! Sprinkle some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on the nectarines and then gently fold the other half of the dough on to the nectarines.

From here, cut the dough into the size of scones you want and brush with buttermilk and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Pop into the oven for about 20 minutes (check at 15 – you don’t want these to burn at all). Once the dough seems solid and is lightly browned, pull them from the oven and let cool. Enjoy!