Easy Lemon Poppyseed Scones
When lemons abound, there’s nothing more delicious to make than Easy Lemon Poppyseed Scones.
Citrus season in Arizona means stepping out into your yard and picking lemons, oranges, grapefruits, tangelos, etc. right from your trees. As awesome as that is, and it really is very cool, there is a compulsion to cook and bake with citrus throughout this season. The citrus is just so abundant!
Start with this easy lemon poppyseed scone recipe. It really is easy and so tasty. And, using a unique technique from Cook’s Illustrated, these become the best scones EVER! These smart people discovered that you can eliminate the tedious task of cutting the butter into the flour and instead melt the butter and chill the buttermilk and then combine the two to form little globules of butter suspended in the buttermilk. Once combined with the dry ingredients, the result is identical to the tiresome work of cutting the butter in.
These scones are just what a lemon scone should be: crunchy on the exterior, soft and lemony on the interior, not too crumbly with bits of poppyseed to bite into and draped with a tangy lemon glaze.
They are also part of my Easy Peasy category as they really are simple and they’ll make you look like a rockstar!
To begin, combine very cold heavy cream with melted butter and stir it until the butter forms small clumps (see the photo above). Add this to the dry ingredients, which have been whisked together in a bowl. This will produce a thick batter. Be sure not to overmix it.
Scoop scones onto a sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. This will help them keep their shape in the oven. They can also be refrigerated for several hours if you want to make them ahead of time.
Bake them, cool them, glaze them…that’s it, folks!! Easy peasy!
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Easy Lemon Poppyseed Scones
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the Scones:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of 1 medium-size lemon
For the Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp milk or half and half
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
For the Scones:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (you’ll need 2 sheet pans for smaller scones). Set an oven rack on the middle level of the oven.
Measure 1 cup heavy cream and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel and heat on high for 1 minute. If not completely melted, return to the microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.
Whisk flour, sugar, corn starch, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium-size bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
After heavy cream has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules (see the picture above in the post).
Add the cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until all flour is incorporated. The batter will be very thick, like a cookie dough. Don’t over mix it, but you do need to make sure all the little flour bits are incorporated.
Spray a cookie scooper or large spoon with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop up scones in mounds onto the prepared pan. Space the scones at least 2 inches apart to allow for some spreading.
Refrigerate unbaked scones for at least 15 minutes (longer is fine).
Bake for 12 minutes then check for doneness. You want them to be a nice, light, golden brown. In my oven, it takes 15-20 minutes, but every oven is different. When scones are light golden brown, remove them from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
For the Glaze:
While the scones are baking, make the lemon glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, milk (or half and half) and lemon juice in a medium-size bowl. Whisk well until smooth to make a thick, but spoonable glaze. (If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar, if too thick add a little more cream.)
Place a sheet pan or piece of foil under the cooling rack and spoon the glaze over scones to cover completely, allowing any excess to drip onto the sheet pan or foil. Sprinkle each scone with extra poppy seeds for a pretty presentation, if desired. If you can wait, let the glaze set before serving.
Recipe by The Cafe Sucre Farine
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