You’ve tried lemon poppy seed bread, muffins, and pound cake—now try lemon poppy seed scones. Ample poppy seeds give these light, flaky scones a bit of crunch. The lemon cream cheese frosting in this recipe tops the scones off just right.
Like all scones, these are best if eaten warm from the oven with plenty of thick frosting piled on top.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons poppy seeds [1]
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
6 tablespoons butter, ice cold
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
milk as required
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
12 to 14 minutes
1. Measure the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, poppy seeds, and zest into a medium bowl. Stir to disperse ingredients.
Baker’s Note: One-half tablespoon zest is about what you will get from a medium or small lemon. Do not scrape down into the white pithy part of the peel is bitter.
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2. Using a pastry blender, cut the chunks of butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks granular with butter pieces the size of wheat kernels.
Baker’s Note: The trick to flaky scones is to keep the butter solid, not let the dough get warm enough that the butter melts. It’s the solid little pockets of butter that melt in the oven, bursting with steam, and create flaky, buttery pockets. Start with the coldest butter, work quickly, and handle the dough as little as possible.
3. Add the whisked eggs and cream and stir with a fork until the mixture starts to come together. Place the dough on the counter and knead with your hands only until the dough comes together.
Baker’s Note: Working the dough develops the gluten and makes the scone tough and chewy instead of tender and flaky.
4. Pat or roll the dough to a thickness of almost 3/4 inch. Use a sharp knife or cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes. Place the scones on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes of until the tops begin to brown. Immediately remove them from the sheet to cool on wire racks.
Baker’s Note: Do not pat the cut edges. The scone will rise in layers if the edges are not molded.
5. In a small bowl with an electric mixer, mix the cream cheese, lemon juice, and powdered sugar until smooth. Frost the warm scones and serve immediately.
Baker’s Note: We made the frosting fairly thick so that we could pile it on the scones. If you prefer a thinner layer, thin the frosting to where it is just a bit runny. Drizzle it over the scones letting it drip down the sides.