Description
Deliciously light and fluffy scones infused with fresh lemon and lavender, perfect for a delightful breakfast or afternoon tea.
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ cup COLD butter (small cubed, see notes)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest (~3 lemons)
- ¾ cup milk + more for brushing
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons dried culinary grade lavender flowers
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 – 1 ½ Tablespoons milk (sub with lemon juice for extra lemon flavor – but don’t use both)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into small cubes now and place in the fridge or freezer. Alternatively, grate frozen butter and place back in the freezer until ready to use.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest, rubbing between your clean fingers until a coarse, wet sand-like mixture forms. This step helps infuse the lemon flavor!
- In a separate bowl, combine milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. This will form a “buttermilk” like consistency. Place it in the fridge until you’re ready to use so it stays cold.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, dried lavender, and the lemon-sugar mixture.
- Cut the cold butter cubes (or grates) into the flour mixture until a small, pea-sized mixture forms. If needed, you can use your fingers to press it together, but if so, put it back in the fridge to chill the dough before proceeding. You want the dough as cold as possible.
- Gently stir the milk mixture into the flour until just combined and everything is moist. Do not overmix or you’ll end up with tough scones.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently form it together into a ball. Again, do not over-knead it, just gently push the dough together. Press it into a rectangle and fold the two horizontal sides over each other, as though you’re folding a pamphlet. This will help form layers.
- Then, press the dough into an 8 x 5 inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle down the middle, lengthwise, to have two long rectangles.
- Then make two horizontal cuts, into thirds horizontally, to create 6 squares.
- Cut each square in half diagonally to form two triangles. This will result in 12 small triangles.
- Use a thin spatula to transfer the scones to the baking sheet. Leave plenty of space in between each one, around 2-3 inches (they will expand when they bake). Brush the tops and sides of the scones evenly with a bit of additional milk to add color as they bake. If using coarse sugar to top, sprinkle on now.
- Bake the scones for 18-22 minutes until the bottoms and tops are slightly golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Icing (optional): Stir together powdered sugar, milk (or lemon juice & zest, if substituting it), until combined into a thick but drizzle-able icing. Drizzle on cooled scones and enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or see the notes below for freezing.
Notes
- Freezing: To freeze, wrap cooled scones tightly in plastic wrap and then place in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- For extra lemon flavor in the icing, substitute lemon juice for milk.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scone
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg