Cousin Chrissie Scones

I sat down this morning to come up with a scone recipe, as I always do, by opening the computer to one of the basic recipes, which I then adapt. Of course, I had to open up Facebook as well, and in a couple of minutes, had "Chris" chatting.

At first I thought it was my friend and co-worker Chris, but then I realized it was my cousin Chrissie, whom I last saw when we were 14, 40 years ago. We were able to catch up over a nearly hour-long chat. A couple of times, I was close to tears knowing that this person, with whom I share both so much and so little, also wanted to reawaken the connection.

I've found many of my literally long-lost cousins on Facebook; when people complain about how stupid and lame Facebook is, I just think how off-base they are. Facebook is an amazing resource. Because of Facebook you never need to be estranged, or cut off, or lost to your far-flung family or friends ever again. I know that there are people we'd all just as soon never heard of us, let alone found us again. But there are lots of people that just slip away, through neglect or inattention. They're out there, just waiting to be found.

I made these while chatting:

Blueberry Scones

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup honey
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup blueberries (works best if they're frozen first)

Preheat oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Adjust a baking rack to the middle position. In a food processor, mix the fresh blueberries, honey, eggs, and sour cream.

Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, knife or your hands until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir the frozen blueberries into the flour mixture. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Dough will be quite sticky (these are drop scones).

Using a soup spoon, drop scones onto a parchment-covered baking sheet about 1 inch apart on and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and let them cool slightly before serving.

I hoped they'd be blue, but no such luck.