Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
This recipe is a variation on a classic scone recipe that I bake often. The addition of poppy seeds and lemon add a nice flavor and texture to the scones. They rose beautifully and were crisp on the outside and tender in the middle. The secret to a good scone is not to over mix the dough. Handle the dough as little as possible once the dough comes together.
Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 T. poppy seeds
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ -1 t. Lemon zest
½ t. salt
¼ c. butter, cut up
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 egg
Topping
2 T. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
Mix together sugar and lemon juice and brush on hot scones.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet or line with silicone baking mat. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Beat together milk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Transfer dough to prepared sheet and with floured hands, press dough into an eight-inch circle. To get a perfect circle, dust an 8-inch round cake pan with flour. Press dough into the pan, then quickly turn the pan over onto the prepared baking sheet. Remove cake pan. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.
Dough can also be patted out on work surface and cut into circles or pressed into a square and cut into smaller squares.
Orange and Oatmeal Scones
Orange and Oatmeal Scone
I love fresh scones, still warm from the oven. Since it is citrus season, I decided to make scones with some seasonal orange flavor. These scones have a nice, crunchy outside and crumbly, tender middle.
The orange juice and orange zest gives them a wonderful flavor. The oatmeal gives them a lovely texture and the raisins add just a bit if sweetness. A very nice combination.
These are great served warm, topped with sweet butter and jam. They are perfect for breakfast or brunch.
You can also use these scones as the base for a berry shortcake. Split, topped with sweetened berries and some whipped cream, they turn into a simple and tasty dessert.
Orange and Oatmeal Scones
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup very cold, unsalted butter – cut into chunks
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
2 t. grated orange peel
1 cup raisins – plumped and well dried
Glaze
milk, sugar, orange zest
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (double two sheets if you have them – one inside the other). Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large bowl, place flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and mix together. Cut or rub in butter to make a mealy mixture. Stir in egg and orange juice. Add orange peel and raisins. Mix to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes. Roll or pat out into a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a serrated cookie cutter cut into disks or rounds. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar and orange zest. Bake until nicely browned – about 14 minutes. Makes about 24.
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
If you love coffee I think you are going to love these scones. What better to have with your morning cup of coffee than a scone infused with coffee and cinnamon in the dough and finished with a coffee and cinnamon glaze? They are tender, full of coffee flavor and not too sweet. Simple to make, as with any scone the secret is not to over work the dough. You can eat these plain or with a bit of butter.
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
2/3 c. half and half
2 T. instant coffee powder or espresso powder
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 c. cold butter
1 T. half and half, for brushing the scones
2 T. cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on the scones
Coffee Cinnamon Glaze- recipe follows
In microwave safe container combine half and half with the coffee powder and heat 30 seconds or so. Stir to dissolve coffee and cool down before using. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Add vanilla and egg to cooled coffee mixture and beat until smooth. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Some small pieces of butter can still be visible. Stir in coffee mixture and mix gently until a soft dough forms. At this point you are supposed to press the dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet. To get a really neat circle use an 8-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the pan with a little flour and put the dough in the pan. Press the dough into the pan. Turn the cake pan over onto an ungreased baking sheet. Do this part fast. Slam it down and then remove the cake pan. You will have a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough in half. If the dough is too sticky sprinkle the top with a little more flour. Cut in half again and then 2 more times. You will have eight wedges of dough forming 8 scones. Pull dough apart slightly using a spatula. They grow a lot when baking and this will give them more room to expand. Brush with the extra half and half and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until they spring back when touched lightly. Make glaze and drizzle over the warm scones. Makes 8.
Coffee Cinnamon Glaze
2 T. half and half
2 t. instant coffee powder or espresso powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. powdered sugar
Heat half and half and coffee powder together in microwave safe container for 10 seconds. Stir until smooth. Stir in cinnamon and powdered sugar until smooth and drizzle over the scones.
Press dough into 8-inch cake pan
Pull apart slightly before baking
Drizzle warm scones with glaze
Cherry Scones
Cherry Scones
I found myself with an open can of cherry pie filling. Those who know me know that I hate to waste anything. It sat there in the fridge for several days, taunting me. I wanted to do something different but I wasn’t sure what. In the end I decided to make cherry scones. I started with a basic scone recipe and adjusted some ingredients to allow for the moisture of the pie filling. I experiment a lot with this sort of thing and am usually pretty good at it. Most things come out just fine. Sometimes, however, things come out better than fine. This is one of those recipes. I almost want to call them cherry biscuits. Soft, not too sweet and full of flavor from both the cherries and a vanilla glaze. I will surely make these again. Here is what I did.
Cherry Scones
3 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 c. cold butter
1 1/3 c. cherry pie filling
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. vanilla
water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease lightly. I have silicone baking mats so that is what I use. Set aside. In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Combine pie filling with eggs and vanilla and stir to blend well. Add to dry ingredients and stir until mixed well. Mixture will be a stiff batter. Scoop 1/4 cup portions of batter onto the baking sheets- leaving a couple of inches between them. You will need both baking sheets. I used a 2 oz. ice cream scoop and got 22 scones. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. I switched my baking sheets about halfway through the baking. Remove to a cooling rack and make the glaze.
Combine the powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and add enough water so the glaze is about the thickness of maple syrup, probably a couple of tablespoons. Dip the tops of each of the warm scones in the glaze and return to the cooling rack.
Cranberry Buttermilk Scones
Cranberry Buttermilk Scones
I love scones fresh out of the oven. Don’t get me wrong- I’ll eat them even after a couple of days but there is nothing quite like the taste of fresh baked scones. These scones are actually baked in cake pans so this recipe is easy and tasty. If you don’t have buttermilk just add a little lemon juice to regular milk. Perfect breakfast for this weekend.
Cranberry-Buttermilk Scones
3 c. flour
¼ c. plus 2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) chilled butter, cubed
3/4 c. dried cranberries
½ c. buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 t. water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour with ¼ c. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Rub in butter with finger tips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries. Combine milk with 2 of the eggs and beat together. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until dough begins to form into a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 stokes until dough holds together. Grease 2 nine inch cake pans. divide dough in half and place one piece in each cake pan. Press dough out evenly. Combine remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water and beat until well mixed. Score top of loaves with sharp knife into 8 wedges each. Brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, turn onto plates and cool right side up. Cut along score marks. Serve warm. Makes 16.
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Irish Soda Bread Scones
I was getting ready to make some Irish Soda Bread but then I got to thinking about scones. Couldn’t make up my mind so I combined them in this recipe. They came out really great. A little crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Wonderful all on their own but even better with butter and jam or perhaps some Devonshire clotted cream.
Irish Soda Bread Scones
2 c. flour
3 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1/3 c. butter
½ c. raisins
1 t. caraway seeds
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 egg
Milk
Extra sugar for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8.
Fresh from the oven
Blackberry Scones
Blackberry Scones
I was in the mood for scones and was thinking of using some of my frozen blueberries but while looking for them in the freezer I saw the frozen blackberries first and ended up making blackberry scones instead. The end result was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Warm from the oven they are crisp on the outside and moist and tender inside with a lot of juicy blackberries. Think it’s time to put on water for tea. Here is the recipe so you can make them, too.
Blackberry Scones
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
¾ t. salt
6 T. chilled butter
2 c. blackberries -do not defrost if using frozen
1 t. orange zest
2 large eggs
1/3 c. heavy cream or half and half
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Toss in berries and zest. Beat together eggs and cream and stir into flour mixture. Mix very gently to avoid bruising berries. Use 1/2 cup ice cream scoop to scoop batter onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar, if you like. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 22-24 minutes. Makes 10-12.
