Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

These easy lemon poppy seed scones are buttery, flaky, tender, and full of lemon flavor. Serve them with homemade lemon curd or butter for the perfect breakfast treat or afternoon snack.

I love lemon anything. Whether it be lemon cupcakes or a lemon tart I'm ready to dive in, which is why I was excited to take on these lemon scones.

Scones get a bad rap because of all the bad bakery scones we have. But scones are so good when done right and I love how easy they are to make. So I was determined to come up with a good scone recipe.

Once I perfected the recipe my love affair with scones begin. This lemon poppy seed scone recipe will produce some of the best scones you've ever had. And it's such an easy scone recipe you'll be making scones at home on a regular basis. And when you've made these next try my Cardamom Brown Sugar Scones or Chocolate Hazelnut Scones.

Why This Recipe Tastes So Good

These lemon poppy seed scones are absolutely delicious. They have a:

• Full of incredible lemon flavor from the lemon zest and lemon juice
• Moist and soft inside with crispy edges
• Buttery and flaky

Lemon Poppy Seed Scone Ingredients

Here's are the simple ingredients you'll need for these scones:

• Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. The flour provides the structure for the scones.
• Unsalted Butter. Besides flour, butter is the main ingredient in scones. It’s responsible for flakiness, flavor, crisp edges, and rise. Use frozen butter for the best results.
• Granulated Sugar. This recipe has only 1/4 cup sugar to add just a little sweetness to the scone.
• Baking Powder. The baking powder combined with the cold butter helps the scones to rise.
• Lemon Zest. The lemon zest is the major flavor component for these components. The lemon is zested directly into the sugar to maximize the flavor and the release of the lemon oils.
• Fresh Lemon Juice. The lemon juice adds that extra lemony flavor to the scone.
• Poppy Seeds. The poppy seeds add crunch and a visual appeal.
• Heavy Cream. The heavy cream adds flavor, and fat, and helps create a moist tender scone.
• Kosher Salt. A little salt rounds out all the other flavors.

Lemon and poppy seed are a classic combination, but if you don't have poppy seeds you can make regular lemon scones. You might miss that poppy seed crunch, but they'll still taste amazing.

How to Make a Delicious, Flaky Scone

The basic recipe for the scones is easy to make. You don't need any special tools and since the butter is grated into the flour mixture, you won't need a pastry blender or food processor to mix the butter into the dough.

Start by placing the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Zest the lemon directly into the sugar and then use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Your kitchen will now smell like lemon. Juice the lemon or lemons until you have 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Add the flour, salt, poppy seeds, and baking powder to the large bowl and whisk for at least 30 seconds to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.

Grate the frozen butter directly into the flour mixture. If you're using a box greater it should fit comfortably into the bowl. If not, grate the butter onto wax paper and then quickly add the grated butter to the flour mixture.

Toss the butter in with your hands until the butter is coated with flour and dispersed throughout the dry ingredients. Add the heavy cream and stir the dough together using a silicone spatula until moist clumps start to form. Don't overwork the dough. There will still be some flour not thoroughly mixed in. That is okay, this flour will be mixed in when we shape the dough.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough and press it together into a rough-looking rectangle. Use a bench scraper to fold the dough into a letter fold. Use your hands to press and shape the dough into a rectangle. Repeat this step two more times.

After folding and shaping the dough will come together and be a little sticky. Shape it into an 8-inch circle. I recommend using an 8-inch round pan as a guide to shape an even circle.

Cut the scones into 8 pieces. Please the unbaked scones on a board or tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

How to Bake the Scones

Place the scones on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use a large baking sheet (12 x 18-inch) so the scones are not crowded and have plenty of room to rise and spread. Brush each scone with the egg wash. Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes until the scones have doubled in height and the tops are golden brown.

The center of the scones will be at 204F degrees. Check the temperature by inserting an instant-read thermometer in the center of one scone.

Remove the scones from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to completely cool. If adding a lemon glaze to the scone let the scones cool completely to room temperature.

How to Make a Simple Lemon Glaze

The sweet lemon glaze or lemon icing is easy to make. Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl, add the lemon juice and stir until the glaze is smooth.

Spoon or drizzle the icing over the lemon scone. If you want decorate the top with additional poppy seed, lemon zest, or lemon peel.

How to Store the Scones

You can store the scones for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can also wrap each scone individually and freeze them for up to a month.

Why Use Cold Butter for Scones

When cold butter is used in a recipe it creates pockets in the dough. As the scone bakes the butter melts, releases steam, and creates air pockets. The steam helps expand these air pockets ultimately helping the scone to rise. These pockets studded throughout the dough create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp.

Frozen butter gives you the best results. Because the butter is grated it's already in small pieces which means we don't have to work the dough as much to mix the butter into the dry ingredients and therefore there is less of a chance that the butter will melt while the dough is mixed.

Pro Tips for Making These Scones

• Use a scale to weigh the flour to ensure the right amount of flour. Too much flour will make the scone dry and too little will make the dough hard to work with.
• Use cold ingredients for this recipe. The cold butter will melt as the scones bake releasing steam and causing the scone to rise. The cold heavy cream will keep the dough cool.
• Fold the dough. After kneading the dough, fold the dough three times to create layers when the scones are baked.
• Don't overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will cause gluten to develop which will result in a chewy scone. If the dough starts shrinking as you are rolling or patting it out, it means you have overworked the dough.

Recipe - Frequently Asked Questions

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Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

A tender, buttery scone that is full of lemon zest, crunchy poppy seeds and hint of ginger. The dough is kneaded to create layers of flaky goodness and they can be frozen to enjoy during the week.

4.67 from 12 votes

Print Pin Comment

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: English

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Chilling Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 8 scones

Author: Cheryl Norris

Ingredients

Scones

• ▢ 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 2 or 3 lemons
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• ▢ 8 tablespoons (114 grams) unsalted butter frozen
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (345 grams) heavy cream cold
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Egg Wash

• ▢ 1 (50 grams) large egg
• ▢ 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Lemon Glaze

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

• Place the sugar in a large bowl and zest the lemon directly on top of the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the sugar and lemon zest together. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and poppy seeds to the bowl and whisk the ingredients together for about 30 seconds.
• Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to toss the butter and flour together. Measure the heavy cream into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add lemon juice and whisk to combine. Add the cream mixture to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients together until just blended and most of the flour is mixed in. The dough will look shaggy and there will still be some flour not mixed in.
• Pour the dough onto a floured work surface and knead the dough to mix in the remaining flour. Form a square (approximately 8 x 8 inches). Fold the dough in half and use your hands to pat it into an 8 x 8 square. Fold the dough again in half. Shape the dough into an 8-inch circle, about 1-inch high.

  If you have an 8-inch round cake pan, use that as a template for an 8-inch circle/ Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
• Place the wedges on a tray or board and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400F while the scones are chilling.
• Whisk together the egg and the cream (or milk). Place the unbaked scones on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the scones with the egg wash.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the internal temperature is 204F degrees. The scones will have golden brown tops and doubled in height. Remove the scones from the oven. Let them cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack. If adding the lemon glaze let the scones cool to room temperature before added the glaze.

Lemon Glaze

• Place the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir together with a spoon until the glaze is smooth. Add the glaze to the scones and enjoy.

Nutrition

Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1037IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg

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