Since moving to Ireland I have come to enjoy scones much more. While scones and tea immediately bring London to mind, it seems that scones have infiltrated many of the shops and cafes in Dublin as well. These scones are lightly lemon scented with their flavor coming from lemon zest. Once you add the glaze, they are fantastically lemon with a bold hit of flavor on top. The glaze by itself reminds me of sweet and tart lemon candies.
Usually you can get about 1 Tbsp or so of zest per lemon and a couple Tbsp or more juice. I used 2 medium to large sized lemons for this recipe. When you zest the lemon make sure you are only getting the yellow peel right on the outside and not the white pith underneath. The pith is very bitter. Since you are using the zest, it is a good idea to use organic lemons.
These are best on the day that you make them. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!
Lemon Scones with a Perfectly Tart and Sweet Glaze
Delicious Lemon Scones with a robust lemon glaze that you are sure to love!
- 18 ounces All purpose flour ((510 grams or 4 1/4 cups))
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
- 4 ounces unsalted butter – chilled (115 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon zest ((from 2 lemons))
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 Tsp vanilla
- 3/4-1 cup half and half
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C
Cut 4 oz of cold butter into chunks and place it into the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
In a large bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Place the cold butter into the flour mixture and cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter.
You want the butter to be about the size of peas. You can also do this by pulsing it in a food processor but you need to be careful not to over process. If you use a processor just pulse the mixture a little at a time until your butter is the size of peas.
Stir the sugar and lemon zest into the flour mixture.
Gently whisk the two eggs in a small bowl or cup and add the vanilla to the eggs and stir.
Stir the eggs/vanilla and about 1/2 cup of the half and half into the flour. Gently stir.
Only add as much of the half and half as you need to bring the dough together. Add it a little bit at a time. It will probably be somewhere around 3/4 cups. You may not need a full cup. The dough will be very dense and not wet. It should still be just slightly crumbly to where you can form it together with your hands.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll or press out the dough to around 1/2 an inch thickness.
Using a 3 inch (7.5 cm) biscuit cutter or circle cookie cutter, cut out the dough and carefully transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Roll up any excess dough and roll it out again as needed to make more scones. You should end up with about 18.
Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes until the edges turn golden.
Lemon Glaze
Sift 1 cup of confectioner or icing sugar into a small bowl.
Juice the lemon and strain out the seeds.
Add 1/2 tsp of the remaining lemon zest along with 2 Tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the sugar.
Stir the lemon juice and zest into the confectioner sugar and stir it until it is smooth. (You can add a little more lemon juice for a thinner glaze or a little more sugar for a thicker glaze.)
Drizzle the lemon glaze over the scones.
Enjoy!
