strawberry vanilla scones

i've professed my love of scones many times before, so i'll keep this one short and sweet. these scones combine two of my favorites - strawberry and vanilla. and just like tuesday's strawberry cupcakes were a great way to use up super ripe berries, so are these scones. they bake up perfectly sweet, moist, and full of vanilla flavor.

usually when i form  scones, i turn the entire ball of dough out onto a cutting board or baking sheet and cut into wedges. this time, i changed it up. i knew i wanted to coat the unbaked scones in even more vanilla sugar for an extra burst of vanilla and to get a nice crunchy crust from the sugar and figured i'd have to mess around with sprinkling a wedge with sugar. until i saw a picture of classic peanut butter cookies. you know the kind, rolled in sugar and smashed with a fork. a perfect way to drench scones in sugar! and instead of using a fork, i used my fingers to smush them down, ever so gently to flatten out the top. this might be my new go to way of forming them.

strawberry vanilla scones
30 minutes, makes 8 scones

vanilla sugar is granulated sugar that's had a vanilla bean steeping in it for a couple days or weeks. after making ice cream or another treat that requires a vanilla bean, rinse off the bean and toss it in with some sugar. after a couple days, the sugar will be full of vanilla flavor. if you don't have vanilla sugar, substitute granulated sugar.

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely chopped super ripe strawberries
about 1/4 cup vanilla sugar, for finishing

1. preheat your oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. using your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. add the milk and vanilla extract and mix just until combined. fold in the strawberries.
5. using your hands, divide the dough into about 8 equal pieces. the dough will be pretty wet, form into a loose ball, and coat in the vanilla sugar. place each ball onto the baking sheet. using your fingers, gently press down on the top of the ball so the dough is flat (see the picture above).
6. bake for about 15 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing.