Lemony Scones

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

06 Mar 2008 04:51 AM

This is a great breakfast dish to welcome in Spring. These scones have a lightly lemony taste. What's better, is that this is a great recipe for kids to help you prepare. I always make my scones by hand--as that will typically prevent over mixing, and besides, what kid doesn't love to mix dough by hand?

The secret to great scones is all in the mixing, and the ingredients, but more in the mixing. How you mix the dough, and in what order you mix the dough, will have a great effect on the results. If you mix too much, your scones will turn out too doughy.

When making scones, you always must whisk the dry ingredients together first. For this recipe, mix together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Now comes the fun part. Using a pastry blender or my preferred method--your hands--add 3 tablespoons of butter and the zest of one lemon to your mixture. The result should resemble fine crumbs. Be careful not to over mix here. You should never have a smooth dough when making scones.

Next comes the wet ingredients. Scone recipes (or at least good ones) always call for cream. I once tried to make my scone recipe 'lighter' by using milk--to no avail. Cream is meant for the scone recipe and substituting it out will have decided effects on the finished dough. (So don't be tempted.)

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix quickly with a fork. Make a well in your dry ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients.

Mix it all together with a wooden spoon--just until it's combined and all the dry ingredients are moistened. I'll say it again: don't overmix the dough.

Turn the scone dough on a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough a few times. You want a rounded, and then flattened shape. Use a floured pizza cutter and cut the dough into 8 pieces like you would a pizza. Use a spatula and transfer the pieces to a baking sheet.

Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes.

While the scones are cooling, mix together this excellent glaze to go on top:

You will need:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together until it is the desired consistency.

Other Recipes to Try:

Maple Oat Scones

Blueberry Scones

Nifty Things to Do With Crescent Rolls

Valorie Delp shares recipes in the food blog, parenting tips, breastfeeding advice, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as the regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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