Lemon Scones — TBLSPOON

Feb 24

Feb 24 Lemon Scones

There’s nothing like a fresh-from-the-oven scone, and since you can make them start to finish in around 40 minutes, there’s no reason not to treat yourself this weekend. Serve them with butter and jam or pretend you’re at a fabulous London hotel and serve them with clotted cream. Yum. Definitely enjoy your scone with hot coffee or tea.

Scones should have a slightly crisp, craggy exterior and a tender, buttery inside. They should be a little crumbly but definitely not dry. To get this texture right, you need to use a gentle touch. Too much mixing and you’ll end up with a tough scone, so when in doubt, stop.

This recipe is amazing on its own but it’s also easy to turn into Lemon Ginger Scones, Lemon Poppyseed Scones, or Lemon Blueberry Scones. See variations below.

Lemon Ginger Scones. (Photo by Daniel Marks)

Lemon Scone Recipe:

Yield:
8 large scones

Time:
20 minutes prep, 20 minutes bake

Difficulty:
Easy

Ingredients:

312 grams All Purpose flour
3 TBSP Granulated sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted butter, diced, cold
⅔ cup Buttermilk*
1 TBSP Lemon zest (from about 1 medium sized lemon)
For topping:
2 TBSP Unsalted butter, melted
2 TBSP Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

*Don’t have buttermilk? Make your own. Add 2 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Now fill the measuring cup up to 2/3 cup with the whole milk, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

Variations:

Add one of the following to the dough when you add the buttermilk and lemon zest.

For Lemon Ginger Scones add:
½ cup Crystalized ginger, diced

For Lemon Poppyseed Scones add:
1/4 cup Poppyseeds

For Lemon Blueberry Scones add:
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), patted as dry as possible

Instructions:

Place a baking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and add to food processor along with the cold, diced butter. Pulse a few times until the mixture is like course crumbs. Transfer mixture to a medium sized bowl.

No processor? No problem. Combine the flour mixture and butter with a pastry cutter.

Add the buttermilk and lemon zest to the flour mixture and combine just until you don’t see any dry spots of flour. It will be crumbly and sticky. Be careful not to overmix.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Lightly flour your hands and gather the dough together. Gently knead for a 20-30 seconds. Then stop. Seriously.

Gently pat the dough into a disk. With a floured rolling pin, roll into a circle that’s about an inch thick. Roughly 10 inches in diameter.

Go lightly when rolling, you’re just trying to even it out the top a bit.

Cut the dough into 8 wedges (see picture) with a floured knife. Wipe off and flour your knife between each slice to keep it from sticking.

See those little pieces of crystalized ginger? This is my favorite variation on the scone.

Transfer wedges to the prepared baking sheet and brush each scone with the melted butter. Sprinkle Turbinado sugar on top. I go lightly with it but use the amount to your taste.

Buttered and sugared and in the pan. Space scones out with at least an inch or two between them so they have room to expand.

Bake until golden brown about 20 minutes. Rotating halfway through for even browning. Place on a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving.

Scones are best the day they are served but will keep a few days tightly wrapped in foil. (Let cool completely before wrapping.) Reheat for a few minutes before serving day old scones.