Lemon scones are my all time favorite and I make them often.
Oh how I love lemon…
especially lemon desserts!
That wasn’t always the case though, you see when I was younger it was all about the CHOCOLATE I wouldn’t choose anything but CHOCOLATE!
Now I’m glad I grew up a bit and branched out because now I LOVE lemon!
These lemon scones are always a HUGE hit, it seems everyone loves lemon!
Making scones isn’t difficult, be sure the butter is COLD and the oven is HOT.
Those two tips make for great scones!
You can cut your scones into any shape you like. Use a biscuit cutter or a knife. The smaller you cut them the more scones you’ll have to share.
You’ll find some really great LEMON Recipes in my Lemon Ebook HERE.
If you are craving more lemon deliciousness take a look at:
SWEET:
SAVORY:
Lemon scones are perfect for breakfast or dessert or to snack on ANYTIME!
Now about the glaze…
It’s super easy to whip up and it’s oh so lemony!
I just love them iced, but you can serve them un-iced if you’re CRAZY prefer.
Scones bake up like biscuits, tender and delicious. Scones are essentially sweet biscuits. Remember to keep you butter cold and the oven hot!
I’ve made so many batches of lemon scones I couldn’t keep track, I often make double batches so there is plenty to go around, they are my all time favorite to make and eat!
YAY for LEMON!!!!
Lemon Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup butter (be sure to use really cold butter, dice it then place in freezer for a few minutes so it's ice cold)
- ½ cup milk (updated I now use ¼ cup heavy cream)
- 3 T lemon juice ( updated I now use 2 tablespoons then add a third if the dough is not too sticky)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 2 eggs (updated I now use 1 large egg)
- *icing recipe in notes
Instructions
- Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add milk, lemon juice, zest and extract along eggs.
- Mix until blended.
- Knead on a floured surface for a rectangle then cut into triangles.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Notes
Lemon Icing:
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 3 T lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon extract and tint if yellow if desired. Then drizzle on top of scones when they are cool.
The scone dough should be the texture of biscuit dough. If it's humid I reduce the milk to ¼ and often now use heavy cream instead of milk. I also have reduced the egg to 1 egg if the eggs are "really large" baking should be done with large eggs, it’s the standard in recipes.
Depending on the “milk” used, skim milk is more watery and less thick than whole milk, so I now use heavy cream in all my score recipes and don’t have the overly wet dough as I had sometimes in the past. I also reduced the heavy cream to ¼ cup and add a tablespoon at a time if needed.
Add additional flour if you feel it’s needed. Start with ¼ cup and add to it until it’s easy to work with.
Be sure your butter is ice cold and cut into small pieces before adding it. I dice up the butter on a sheet of wax paper then freeze it for a few minutes while I get everything out and then take it out of the freezer so it’s really cold, this ensures a high rise on the scones.
Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, add additional if the dough isn’t too sticky.
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 3 T lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon extract and tint if yellow if desired. Then drizzle on top of scones when they are cool.
The scone dough should be the texture of biscuit dough. If it's humid I reduce the milk to ¼ and often now use heavy cream instead of milk. I also have reduced the egg to 1 egg if the eggs are "really large" baking should be done with large eggs, it’s the standard in recipes.
Depending on the “milk” used, skim milk is more watery and less thick than whole milk, so I now use heavy cream in all my score recipes and don’t have the overly wet dough as I had sometimes in the past. I also reduced the heavy cream to ¼ cup and add a tablespoon at a time if needed.
Add additional flour if you feel it’s needed. Start with ¼ cup and add to it until it’s easy to work with.
Be sure your butter is ice cold and cut into small pieces before adding it. I dice up the butter on a sheet of wax paper then freeze it for a few minutes while I get everything out and then take it out of the freezer so it’s really cold, this ensures a high rise on the scones.
Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, add additional if the dough isn’t too sticky.
Brisbane Baker says
April 26, 2010 at 10:21 amMmmm yum, I love plain scones with lemon curd.. but this seems interesting. May try this next time I whip up a batch 🙂
angie says
April 26, 2010 at 7:22 pmYummy. I am a sucker for lemon scones. These look particularly appetizing!
Ms Bibi says
April 26, 2010 at 8:47 pmI love anything with lemon. I made cranberry orange scones before, but never lemon…not sure why.
Raina says
April 26, 2010 at 9:58 pmThese look so beautiful. I have never seen lemon scones. Sounds delicious, though.
Leslie says
April 27, 2010 at 1:11 amThese are just screaming SUMMER!!!!
Janie B says
April 27, 2010 at 3:10 amI have never heard of scones in the lemon flavor. They sound delicious!
~Carrie from Cottage Cozy~ says
April 27, 2010 at 5:14 amOh I could bite right into that lovely lemon scone!
[email protected] Domestic says
April 28, 2010 at 5:09 pmOh my! This looks wonderful. I love lemon scones. I love your blog and all your wonderful recipes!
Candi says
April 28, 2010 at 6:10 pmThose are beautiful. I love how you tinted the icing yellow…so pretty!
Monica Acosta-Zamora says
April 22, 2017 at 12:34 pmI substituted 1cup of coconut flour.
Wonderfulflavor, and very flaky.
Jo says
March 7, 2018 at 11:19 amI have made these twice in 2 days. Nice light lemon flavor and just so good.
Diane says
March 8, 2018 at 1:22 pmThanks for coming back and letting me know you liked the recipe. It’s one of my all-time favorites!
Amelia says
June 5, 2018 at 11:55 amI made these and they were amazing! They were light and buttery with a soft lemon aftertaste. I didn’t realize until after I went to the store that the ingredients list did not include the ingredients for the glaze, so I didn’t have them with the glaze. Despite that, these scones were irresistible and it was hard to not eat more than one!
Jackie says
August 18, 2018 at 12:15 amOh yes, lemon please, I just love everything lemon and scones, I am looking forward to making these soon.
Annette says
August 19, 2018 at 1:50 amThese look so pretty, I know everyone will love when I make them, hopefully, tomorrow!
Jane says
October 12, 2018 at 10:19 amSince I had a lemon in the house that needed using using up I decided to give this recipe a try. I’m soo glad I did! I did cut the recipe in half, getting to be a bit of a pro at that with only cooking and baking for one now. I managed to get 4 scones out of it – breakfast and coffee time? lol. I was a bit worried when I took them out of the oven though, they were sitting in a small pool of butter on the bottom of the pan. I just let them cool and the butter soaked right back in. One little trick I’ve learned is to take the cold butter from the fridge and then grate it – just need to stir it through that way. I will definitely make these again…with lemon, or even orange next time too!
Diane says
October 12, 2018 at 8:33 pmI’m so glad you liked the recipe Jane, and yes most scone recipes can be cut in 1/2 or doubled easily happy to hear it worked well, I don’t get any pooling of butter, but I do bake on parchment paper, and some cookie sheets that are thinner will melt the butter fast and that can happen, I bake on somewhat thick baking sheets and haven’t had that happen. If you want to try more scones recipes you can find them here https://www.createdby-diane.com/category/scones-2