Lemony lemon scones

Do your taste buds tingle whenever you think of lemon? Mine do, and sometimes, that tingling is the sensation I crave, more than salty chips, more than rich chocolate, more than fiery hot sauce. Lemon in any form will calm the craving, but lemon in this form, lemon scones with a lemon glaze, takes the prize.

Scones are casual, and if you have all of the ingredients on hand, these scones take less than an hour, start to finish. You can make pat the dough out and cut it into perfect little triangles or squares, but I like this method, large balls of dough formed with the aid of an ice cream scoop. The result is ten good-sized scones, perfect for a weekend brunch. And though scones won't last more than a day in a container on the countertop, they freeze perfectly, even after you glaze them (though if you're making ahead for a large crowd, I'd recommend freezing the scones unglazed, and adding the glaze on the day you're planning to serve). My husband Ted likes them slightly warm, with a bit of butter and strawberry jam. I take mine straight up and lemony. 

Lemony lemon scones

From the pantry, you'll need: all-purpose unbleached flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, granulated sugar, butter, lemon, egg, plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, confectioners sugar.

Makes 10 large scones.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into chunks
Zest of 2 lemons (approximately 2 heaping Tbsp)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp half-and-half (not sugar-free) or milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat (silicone liner) or parchment paper, and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Pulse 2-3 times to combine. Then, add the butter, and pulse a few more times, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Mix in the zest of 2 lemons, and pulse once or twice more.

In a separate bowl, stir together the lemon juice, egg yolk, yogurt and wine vinegar. Pour into the flour mixture, and pulse 8-10 times or until the ingredients are just incorporated. Do not overmix.

Use an ice cream scoop with a release (called a disher) to form 10 large scones and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes, until lightly browned on top, and a toothpick inserted into the fattest scone comes out clean. You can serve as is, or freeze the scones after they cool.

Or, while the scones are cooling a little bit, make the glaze: mix together all of the glaze ingredients until you have a slightly runny glaze. Use a spoon to drip the glaze all over the scones. As they cool, the glaze will harden. You can freeze them with or without the glaze.

Serve slightly warm, with butter and strawberry jam.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More scones:
Currant cardamom scones, from The Perfect Pantry
Cranberry orange scones, from Add A Pinch
Cinnamon sugar maple scones, from Dine & Dish
Whole wheat blackberry ricotta scones, from 101 Cookbooks 

Lemony lemon scones

From the pantry, you'll need: all-purpose unbleached flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, granulated sugar, butter, lemon, egg, plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, confectioners sugar.

Makes 10 large scones.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into chunks
Zest of 2 lemons (approximately 2 heaping Tbsp)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp half-and-half (not sugar-free) or milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat (silicone liner) or parchment paper, and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Pulse 2-3 times to combine. Then, add the butter, and pulse a few more times, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Mix in the zest of 2 lemons, and pulse once or twice more.

In a separate bowl, stir together the lemon juice, egg yolk, yogurt and wine vinegar. Pour into the flour mixture, and pulse 8-10 times or until the ingredients are just incorporated. Do not overmix.

Use an ice cream scoop with a release (called a disher) to form 10 large scones and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes, until lightly browned on top, and a toothpick inserted into the fattest scone comes out clean. You can serve as is, or freeze the scones after they cool.

Or, while the scones are cooling a little bit, make the glaze: mix together all of the glaze ingredients until you have a slightly runny glaze. Use a spoon to drip the glaze all over the scones. As they cool, the glaze will harden. You can freeze them with or without the glaze.

Serve slightly warm, with butter and strawberry jam.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More scones:
Currant cardamom scones, from The Perfect Pantry
Cranberry orange scones, from Add A Pinch
Cinnamon sugar maple scones, from Dine & Dish
Whole wheat blackberry ricotta scones, from 101 Cookbooks 

Comments

Hi there,
I'm assuming that the lemon zest is added to the dry ingredients??
They look delicious ~ thanks for sharing!

Barbara, thanks for catching the omission! I've corrected the recipe. Hope you try these. They are sooooo good!

I agree about the love of lemon! And this definitely looks like a good way to satisfy that craving for lemon.

Oh boy! These are going on my lemon Pinterest board. Lemon makes my taste buds sing. I also love scones, so this recipe is a winner in my book. I like to put my scones , pre-baked, in the freezer and then bake them from frozen. It seems to work out well with other recipes, so I'll give it a try with these. I love a warm scone in the morning.

Kalyn, these are great to make for a brunch party.

Donna, I haven't tried freezing these before baking them, so please let me know how that works if you try it with this recipe. They do freeze really well after baking, and make great snacks!

I don't know why I don't make scones more often. Love the simplicity of this recipe and it's just what I needed to get me to turn on the oven to make a batch. :)

Janice, same here. And scones are so very easy to make. And, well, lemon.