Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
A bright start to any morning— buttery scones scented with lemon zest and filled with poppy seeds, all topped with a lemon icing.
Being a baker on a diet is hard. Every night I crave chocolate chip cookies. Every morning I want waffles. I’ve been doing pretty good, though, despite the fact that this week I tested and perfected these lemon poppy seed scones.
Three batches of scones in four days meant extra laps in the pool every morning, but it’s all been worth it.
The third time really is the charm because this last batch was near perfection. These scones are rich and buttery, flaky, and have a hint of lemon and subtle crunch of poppy seeds. The lemon icing ties it all together and I’ve never been fonder of the lemon-poppy seed combination.
I may have to start jogging or lifting weights, or something, because I see a lot more of these scones in my future.
baking tip:Why biscuit and scone ingredients need to stay cold
A key factor in the rise of biscuits and scones, and an even bigger part of their texture, is the little bits of cold butter that melt and make steam as they bake. If the butter is too warm it will incorporate into the dry ingredients and those little pockets of butter and steam will be gone.
For tall, soft, and flaky biscuits and scones, make sure you start with cold butter and milk/buttermilk, and work the dough quickly so the butter doesn’t have a chance to warm up.
Lemon Poppyseed Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (14 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (10 grams)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , cold and cubed (70 grams)
- ¾ cup cold heavy cream (177 ml)
- 1 large egg
- Coarse sugar , for sprinkling (optional)
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar , sifted (227 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or fork.
- Whisk together the heavy cream and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the cream mixture. Stir with a spoon until mixture mostly together into a ball. There may be some dry crumbs.
- On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough to be about 1 inch tall and shape into a rectangle. Cut into triangles. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan and brush with additional heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.
- Bake until edges turn golden brown, about 20-22 minutes. Let cool completely.
- To make the icing, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled scones and let set 10 minutes before serving.
I’ve never had the chance to try scones, even if I’ve heard great things about them. Here in Italy they’re still quite unknown, but I can’t wait to try them out and this sounds like the perfect flavor combination to start with!
Such beautiful photos!! Wish I had some of these for breakfast today 🙂
Scones are one of my many diet downfalls! The lemon poppyseed combo sounds heavenly, my mouth is watering!
Thank for the tips with the scones. it boiling down in Australia right now, so the tip will really help me this weekend when I bake scones for my Australia day feast.
Thank you for your full proof recipes! The glaze makes them mouth watering
These look absolutely perfect! I love lemon poppyseed anything!
I am all over these scones!! So purdy!!
We must be on the same wavelength! I made some lemon scones last week though they didn’t make it long enough for me to photograph….they sure were good though!
I loved these scones. I’ll have to make them for my family. I can so relate to craving sweets all day long.
I adore lemon, these scones look fantastic and the glaze tops it of perfectly.
These scones are definitely worth a little more exercise! Love them!
Absolutely beautiful! These look like the perfect way to start the day. 🙂
Wow! Stunning! I could sure use some of these in dull kitchen right now
I’ve always loved the lemon poppy seed combination too so I can see myself trying these some time. Love your photos, too!
I made these scones recently. They were good, but only took about 15 minutes to bake in my generally standard oven. I also thought they could have used just a little it more sugar, as they were hardly sweet at all without the glaze. I still enjoyed them very much, and understand that a lot of variables could have caused these differences. I plan to adapt the recipe, and then make them again soon.
These are going to be my 17-year old son’s favorite scones. He devours lemon poppy seed muffins and loves scones. Thank you for this recipe. I cannot wait to see his face, it will be joyful.