Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta Scones
Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones - golden-crusted, tender, moist, barely sweet, and streaked with violet swaths and chunks of blackberry. They're beautiful.
You might not think you need another scone recipe, but you do. And, although I would like to think that this is the sort of recipe I might come up with, I didn't. Deb did, it's brilliant, and it was the first recipe I tackled from her blockbuster new cookbook. I did a blackberry twist on her Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones, and might never look back - these scones are golden-crusted, tender, moist, barely sweet, and streaked with violet swaths and chunks of blackberry. They're beautiful.
I feel like I've been waiting for Deb's book for-ev-er - in a good way. Eager anticipation. I had a bit of a sneak peek a few months ago, but that's never as good as holding the fresh-off-the-presses, crisply-bound, heavy-in-hand volume in your actual hands. Aside from the recipes, one of my favorite things about it is the secret cover, under the paper-wrap, I had my copy for days before I discovered it.
Great Scones
The scones come together in a flash, and because they bake at a high temperature, they're out of the oven before you know it. You might not think you can "throw together" scones at the last minute, but as long as you have the ingredients on-hand, you absolutely can. Deb featured these scones in her book with confetti-like flecks of pink, from chopped raspberries. They were the most charming scones I'd seen. The pink! But the blackberries at the weekend market were plump and juicy, and too good to pass up - so, I made a simple swap.
Deb uses a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flours, which, in combination with the ricotta, keeps these scones from being dense. The one thing I think we would both emphasize is that these are particularly great served warm, after allowing a bit of time to cool and set after baking. They'll lose their magic if you let them sit around all day. If you need to revitalize them, pop them in the oven again for a few minutes.
Huge congrats Deb, I would have loved to have you here to bake these with me last weekend. At the very least, having your book out on the counter felt like you were here in spirit. xo-h
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Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta Scones
Deb uses raspberries in her recipe, but I saw some fantastically sweet, beautiful blackberries at my market this weekend, and swapped in an equal amount of those. I imagine blueberries would be a lovely substitute, or strawberries as well! Also, Deb shapes her dough into a square before cutting into individual scones, my dough wanted to go circular, so I went with it - I ended up cutting the disc shape into six large wedges. Either way!
- 1 cup (120 grams) whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 cup (4 3/4 ounces or 135 grams) fresh blackberries
- 3/4 cup (190 grams) whole-milk ricotta
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
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Preheat your oven to 425F / 220C degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In the bottom of a large widish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt together.
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With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first if your blender is sturdy), and use the blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in the blackberries, and use the blender again to break them into half-and quarter-berry-sized chunks.
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Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife, and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Roughly chop the blackberries on a cutting board, and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.
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Both methods: Using a flexible spatula, add the ricotta and heavy cream to the butter mixture and stir them in to form a dough. Then use your hands to knead the dough gently into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don't fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough.
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With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter or surface, flour the top of the dough, and pat it into a circular disk about 1-inch high. With a large knife slice into six equal wedges. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until they are golden at the edges (hs: I couldn't help but give them a little sprinkle of sugar and a quick kiss of with the broiler for a bit of color on top). Cool on the pan for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooking rack. Allow to set and cool a bit before eating.
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Makes six extra-large scones.
Adapted from the Whole-Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scone recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman.
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Comments
The batter was quite wet and sticky when using this recipe and I needed to add several tablespoons of additional flour before it was a kneadable, shapeable dough that I could slice with a knife. However, fresh out of the oven, they smelled AMAZING and the mild sweetness was perfectly balanced with the tartness of the fresh berries and were complimented by the density of the scone. Wonderful flavor and recipe!
Thank you for adding instructions without the blender! I was trying to figure out how I would create a wonderful looking recipe into real life without a blender (I’m pretty much a novice baker)!
I’ll be trying this out soon to give to my spanish instructor!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Any chance someone made these gluten-free? How did they turn out? If not, any substitution suggestions to match flavor? I have a discerning, GF palate. 🙂
I just had to comment again. This is my favorite scone recipe now. I made them again today, using chopped and grated apples and cinnamon. The ricotta makes these; it never would have occurred to me to include it. My husband, who was never a fan of scones, likes these.
Just tried these this morning with strawberries, turned out delicious!
They turned out phenomenally with frozen cranberries, a few slices of orange (skin removed), and orange zest. This recipe is so amazing I’m sure we can substitute any fruit or maybe even chocolate!
I made the blackberry version and loved how buttery they were! I am trying a cranberry orange version to use the leftover ricotta and cream. Thank you for sharing!
Made these with frozen raspberries on Thanksgiving morning and they came out beautifully. I put all the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulsed. Then added chunks of butter, pulsed to cut in. And finally added the frozen raspberries, pulsed three or four times. Then I put the whole works into a bowl to add the wet ingredients. This method worked great. And the frozen berries served to keep the butter and flour mix cold. The house smelled like raspberry pop-tarts while they baked. Yum!
I just made these with fresh blackberries from the southern hemisphere. Very light, very tasty. I sugared the top, but next time, i’ll also use a bit of egg wash to sweep away the flour remaining on top.
I just made these scones using apple in place of the blackberries and adding 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the dry ingredients. They were fragrant, flaky and delicious! Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
Ohh, someone mentioned blueberries & lemon zest..that sounds wonderful! I have orange-flavored cranberries on hand that I might substitute instead of blackberries. Ricotta & heavy cream….yummm!, Thanks Jacc, for your recommendations on the different types of flours. That is very helpful.
This is exactly the type of recipe I was looking for. I’m making breakfast for a friend tomorrow so these scones are just the thing! Thank you!
It is a lot of flours to keep on hand. I strtead collecting them when the kids were going through a phase where all they wanted were pancakes and since flour seemed to be their primary source of nutrition, I figured I would pack in what I could. I was making pancakes with two cups total flour and using a quarter of a cup of each kind. They had no idea they were eating quinoa, teff, oat, corn, spelt, ect. There are coupons taped to several of the Arrowhead Mills 30 ounce flour bags at both Publix and Whole Foods (in Jacksonville) for $3.oo off if you buy three Arrowhead Mills products. I strtead with spelt, oat, and rye, and have branched out from there. Bob’s Red Mill also has great flours in small bags. I only use a small amount at a time so the little bags are just right. You can also purchase small amounts if you buy from the bulk bins at Native Sun and Whole Foods. I keep the almond meal in the freezer but have stored the other flours at room temp over the winter. If you were only going to purchase one kind of extra flour, I would reccomend spelt. It is very easy to use, tastes great, and much easier to digest than wheat.
I absolutely loved that inside cover and, of course, anything laced with violet swaths. Beautiful take on an already wonderful recipe.
I think I’ll be putting ricotta in every batch of scones I make from now on. It keeps them so soft and moist inside. Yum!
I added a little lemon zest because it’s hard for me to divorce ricotta from lemon zest.
These were wonderful. I did a combo of raspberries and blackberries and used a little egg wash on top. Wound up making some regular size and then some mini scones. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Deb’s original raspberry ricotta scone recipe has been a regular feature in our kitchen since she first posted it in her blog. I’ve spent a lot of time playing around with different types of fruit in this recipe – so far, cranberry has been my favourite take on it.
This blackberry version looks great though. I will definitely have to try it next time I whip these up!
Updating to add that I made these with my leftover cottage cheese (4%… roughly pureed with a handblender), and they came out gorgeous and moist 🙂
I made these this morning and they came out wonderfully. I used a lower-fat ricotta cheese b/c I had it around the house and it worked well. The blackberries in my batch are much more muddled. But I like how it looks!
Thanks Heidi (and Deb). My two favorite cooking blogs in true harmony.
Hey! I just made 2 batches of these to bring for early Thanksgiving this weekend, and neither turned out well 🙁 My first batch I think I under measured my flour and they were super wet. I wasn’t sure if that was part of the recipe, so I baked them and not only did they spread out a lot, but the butter came out and puddled on my parchment – not enough flour to absorb it, I think.
My second batch I measured more carefully and the dough behaved as I expected it to for scones. But the scones still spread out and they aren’t very pretty – tasty, but not much to look at. When I transferred them to my baking sheet, I left space between them so the edges could be brown all around – like biscuits. Should I have placed them back together in a circle?
Can you make a note in the recipe about how to place them for baking? I also brushed them with cream and sprinkled with raw sugar (a la Mega Scone, my favorite company-for-breakfast recipe!) Maybe the extra liquid on top was my undoing?
Anyway, they taste yummy!!
These photos are stunnings! I love the little bursts of blackberry!
I just made these but I substituted the ricotta with buttermilk and yogurt mixed together, and blueberries instead of blackberries. They came out beautifully. I love recipes that adapt to tinkering!
I made these last night, and they taste great! I live in Germany where getting hold of ricotta is a bit tricky. So I used three quarters cottage cheese mixed with a quarter “Quark” (I think you call it “curd” in the US?). I also used blueberries instead of blackberries – I imagine blackberries damage more easily whilst making the dough, but the blueberries burst during cooking too, making them a lovely purpley colour too 🙂
I am craving corn muffins so I’m planning on replacing the ww flour with fine whole corn meal, 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup quinoa flour and maybe adding lemon zest. The ricotta sounds like a nice addition for lightness. I hope the substitutions work out. What do you think Heidi?
These look amazing! You just gave me my weekend baking homework. Can’t wait! : )
OMG looks so delicious. Will definitely be trying that! yummy.
This looks incredible! As always, your pictures are perfect and make me drool that much more. Haha 🙂
These look SOOOOOOO good! Perfect for a weekend brunch with the girlfriends. Thanks for sharing!
I have that age old question…can I make these, freeze them, and bake them straight from the freezer a few days later? The ricotta gives me pause….
Thanks! P.S. I’ve already been experimenting from Debs book….and it’s turning out to be as wonderful as both of Heidi’s. Thank you both of you!,,,,
Just made these with frozen raspberries. They were very yummy, mine were darker by the time they were baked through, though, not as pretty as these pictures. But, delicious.
My one thought on using the frozen berries was that I worked fast, and they were still frozen when cutting them into the dry ingredients. My dough was a tad on the dry side until the berries started thawing into the flour. I think part of the liquid may have been some of the natural juice from the fresh berries. It came together at last without any further adjustments at all, though, after just a few moments on the counter. Very delicious.
I can always use another scone recipe – this looks amazing. I just love your blog. Beautiful photos, stories, all of it. Wonderful!
I am off wheat and slowly eliminating other grains so I can only feast my eyes on the lovely photography.
Hi! It looks very delicious. I love your recipe. thank you very much.
I made these tonight, and let me just say, they’re wonderful. I veganized these because…well, I’m vegan. For the ricotta I used about 1/2 cup firm tofu plus about 1/4 cup vegan yogurt to make 3/4 cup total – I mashed them together until they was a creamy, but grainy consistency, similar to ricotta. For the cream, I used soy creamer. The only fresh berry I had in my fridge was raspberries, but I have such a hard time cooking fresh fruit (I just think it’s so much better for you fresh) so, I opted for frozen blueberries instead – 1 cup.
So, yes, several adjustments, but the quantities remained the same and the result were fabulous. Thank you, Heidi!
I might make these as a slightly unconventional addition to a friendsgiving : )
Ok, I am in love with this recipe because it’s the perfect morning recipe for a lazy person like me and it’s pretty healthy as well. I love to cook, but not in the morning. My kids know that about me and accept it. I also love Deb’s book and purchased a copy. I have yet to make a recipe from it as I just purchased it this weekend, but I have made tons of recipes from her site as well as yours and you both never fail to please.
I will not complain about more scones!
They look delicious!! I love scones.
What kind of adjustments would I need to make if I used cranberries?
Such luscious photos! I’ll be making the scones this weekend — and then again next spring when my weeping mulberry comes into fruit.
Heidi, one quick request: I love the size of the mortar & pestle on the counter top. Can you tell me what brand it is? I can’t really make out the logo. Thanks so much.
HS: Thanks Angela! – that is an old Coors mortar/pestle. If I find more I’ll list them in QUITOKEETO. They’re hard to find though…
Hooray for scones! I’ve been hearing so much about this cookbook that it may ened up going on my holiday wishlist. 🙂 Exciting!
Do you think that I could substitute Raspberries for the Blackberries? These look fantastic!!
HS: Yes Angie, go for it, Deb’s original recipe uses raspberries.
Yummy!
Can’t wait to try these. They look delicious!
Beautiful food! There is just nothing like a scone fresh and warm – it surely is a pleasure in life, eh?!!
if you use frozen berries, don’t thaw before adding them to the dough……if you don’t want to use them and fresh ones are out of season, you can always use currants, which are absolutely delicious or currants plus a heaping teaspoon of grated orange rind. You won’t regret it!
HS: Thanks Michelle! Currants are a great call.
this was a great scone recipe! i actually used Sara’s recipe at Sprouted Kitchen because I had some persimmons. I had to add a little more ricotta to mine as it wasn’t as “wet” as i expected, but they turned out great! the blackberries are great too, i’d imagine!
I have been wanting to make scones for so long. this recipe looks delicious. I was wondering if it is possible to substitute heavy cream & ricotta for something elsE? any recommendations?
I have been wanting to make scones for so long. this recipe looks delicious. I was wondering if it is possible to substitute heavy cream & ricotta for something elsE? any recommendations?
Scones cut in wedges and baked w/ a touch of rough raw organic cane sugar on top sounds really good. I have a little buttermilk in that fridge of mine, so maybe I’ll add that instead of the cream, w/ a touch of baking soda, and since I have no ricotta, I think I’ll try the cottage cheese that someone else wondered about. Orange or lemon zest would add another layer of flavor. Cranberries and blackberries or blueberries. Fun.
Hazel’s Tea Shop in Portland serves a Bleu Cheese scone that I’m also going to try to make some time…
I love that Heidi uses such simple wholesome ingredients, and gives us hints like “non-aluminum baking powder”.
Can I substitute yogurt for ricotta? I must have lactose free products and I can get lactose free yogurt and cream, but not ricotta.
HS: Report back if you give it a go Jan, you might need to make some other little tweaks depending on how fluid your yogurt is.
Just beautiful! Can’t wait to try these. Her peach and sour cream pancakes (first recipe in the book) are fantastic, too!
If one were to substitute something for blackberries (totally out of season on the east coast) do you think a frozen blueberry or dried cranberries would require altering the recipe? If so, how? More/less flour perhaps? Thanks! PS-more of a question than a comment I s’pose…:)
HS Give it a try Caroline – someone else suggested currants and orange zest. Just add as many as you think you’d like in your scones, and go from there. If you use frozen you might need to adjust the baking time a touch.
I had the same question as Julie – I want to make these in the winter, without readily available fresh local berries. My thinking is to keep the berries frozen until the last possible moment, add them and work quickly, with few movements, etc., to keep them from mushifying too much.
This makes me all sorts of happy. Scones are the best, for any occasion. Blackberries are the best for occasions as well.
I eyed up the scone recipe in the book. Can’t wait to try them. There are so many great looking recipes in the book, we have already started making our way through them.
Your kitchen was MADE for beautiful food – totally gorgeous subway tile and counters. The scones look amazing and I’m equally excited over Deb’s book – thanks for sharing!
I LOVE scones and noticed this recipe in the smitten kitchen cookbook (along with so many more!) I will definitely be cooking my way through Deb’s recipes. As usual, beautiful pictures!
I love them cut large like that! So pretty, as usual. Love these shots.
Looks awesome! Can frozen berries be used instead?
Yes yes and YES! Blackberries have been my recent craving, so very exciting. Thinking of adding a bit of an orange puree (1/2 orange, with the rind too) into the mix to give a bit of a floral flair. I did this recently with a dark chocolate scone recipe, totally rocked my family’s world. Thanks for yummy comfort foods this time of year. I find that scones are a perfect freeze-friendly recipe, so you can haul them out during holiday season when you need sweet treats.
Thank you for your beautiful, inspiring food journal. Can’t say enough. Best to you!
You know how when you learn a new word you suddenly hear it all the time? That’s what’s happening to me with blackberries! I have been reading Nigel Slater’s “Ripe” and have been exploring his beautiful blackberry recipes, and here you are with blackberries too. I LOVE (and have “planted” all over the world) your mega-scone recipe and look forward to trying this one too.
These look wonderful! I’ve never made scones with ricotta before, but I prefer scones that are not too dense, and I can imagine the ricotta makes them that much fluffier…
Now I’m even more excited to get my hands on the Smitten Kitchen cookbook! I already cherish the one cookbook I have of yours… It feels a bit like worlds colliding to see one of you writing about the other! 🙂
I actually do a ‘similar’ recipe that is vegan and using half buckwheat flour and half unbleached. Seriously good stuff that raspberries and blackberries add to scones.
I hope to get my hands on Deb’s book soon, so many recipes look amazing
I’m so fond of the dark blackberries, and the blackberry ricotta scones look delicious!
Oh fantastic….will make these at the weekend. And thanks SO much for including all the weights in grams, makes my life here in Dublin a lot simpler 🙂 Greetings!
These look fantastic! I love Deb’s recipes and can’t wait to pick up her book. I have a half container of cottage cheese languishing in my fridge… Does anyone know if I could purée it and sub it for the ricotta, or would it be too wet? Maybe purée and strain? Thanks!
I LOVE Deb’s book as well. Such a beautiful work and I can’t wait to try EVERY recipe!
Oh yum. Blackberries are a bit out season where I live so maybe I’ll look for something to replace them with. Or if I happen to find some blackberries that are just seductive enough I’ll go for it!
I was leafing through old magazines over the weekend, looking for a scone recipe that wasn’t too labor-intensive or sweet. I think this will work just fine! I’ll have to see what kind of berries I can get (or at a minimum, swirl some homemade blackberry jam into the batter) – it’s November in Chicago – however, this is worth pursuing. Thanks for sharing!
funny. Both you and Deb are the two places I look up to for food-styling. Still, you could do worse than come to the UK together and sample some of our traditional scones. They’re a little different to yours; plainer, and in the West Country (Devon and Cornwall) Served everywhere for with clotted-cream, Jam and a pot of tea between 4 and 6pm…you’d have a great time…
Thanks for the recipe in grams. These scones look very appetizing
Yuuum these look fabulous!!! Makes me wish that we got blackberries here…..
I always need another scone recipe! I make fig scones that I’m in love with. I really want to make this base using figs now – I can imagine how fantastic the ricotta makes the texture!
i’m definitely saving this recipe! these look amazing!
Looks delicious! I love barely sweet scones too – they’re the best. I’m hoping to get my hands on a copy of the cookbook this weekend =)
These sound fabulous! I love the ricotta in these!
Love the idea of using ricotta to keep this light and fluffy and those ribbons of purple running through them from the blackberries.
My two favorite bloggers, together in one post. This made me so happy! I am also smitten with Deb’s book. These scones look delicious. Love the way the light falls in these photos – so simple and beautiful.
I love berries – especially blackberries 🙂 These scones look gorgeous – cannot wait to bake them at home!
I love the hidden cover, way better than the normal cover. And now I really need to give this scone recipe a try, they sound and look amazing. Blueberries and a little lemon zest in mine, I’d say.
Never let scones sit around for too long, that’s a savvy piece of advice. My gf, after baking a batch of scones, pops them in the freezer, and then we heat them whenever we need to.
Can’t wait to try these babies out, they look awesome!
these are beautiful! adding ricotta is always a good idea in my book 🙂
I had to go straight to my book to find the hidden cover. 🙂 I love the combination of berries and ricotta here–although I have to admit that I’m a little jealous that you still have fresh blackberries. Berries are long gone in Seattle, but I’ll always be a California girl at heart when it comes to my expectations of seasonal produce. 🙂
They look gorgeous and the world can never have too many scone or muffin recipes – love the big chunky, pretty blackberries especially!
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