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Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With Lemon Glaze

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Fluffy and zesty melt-in-your-mouth-lemon scones peppered with poppy seeds and topped with a sweet and tart lemon glaze. It’s a burst of sunshine for your taste buds!

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With Lemon Glaze

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I’ve never met a lemon poppy seed flavored anything I didn’t like–and these Lemon Poppy Seed Scones are no exception.

These scones are tender, melt in your mouth, freshly perfumed with lemon zest and delightfully speckled with crunchy poppy seeds.

The scone itself is very tender, buttery, and lightly sweetened. The bulk of the lemon and the sweetness comes from the tart and punchy lemon glaze–which compliments the richness of the butter and cream inside the scone.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything more perfect to serve on a beautiful Spring morning than a batch of these Lemon Poppy Seed Scones. They’re perfect for a quiet morning with coffee, brunch with your best buds, or even on a platter to celebrate Mother’s day or a bridal shower!

Here’s how you make them:

How To Make Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With Glaze

Makes 8 Scones

Ingredients for the Lemon Poppy Seed Scones:

  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (from 2 medium-large lemons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cubed and cold
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 large egg, cold
  • 1/3 cup of cold heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Lemon Glaze

  • 1 cup of powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
  • Dash of salt

Instructions for making the scones:

Preheat the oven to 375º.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, poppy seeds, and salt. Pulse a few times until everything is well combined.

Add in the cold, cubed butter and pulse again until the butter is just incorporated and the mixture looks sandy.

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the texture resembles sand

Add the lemon juice to the flour mixture.

Whisk the egg, cream, and vanilla together in a small bowl or measuring cup and add to the flour mixture in the food processor.

Turn on the food processor and process until the ingredients are just mixed and a dough ball has formed around the blade. It takes about 30 seconds

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and process just until the dough balls up around the food processor blade

On a lightly floured work surface (or a piece of parchment paper), gently flatten the ball of dough into a disc, about 3/4″ thick.

Cut into eight even triangles (like cutting a pizza).

Place the scone triangles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes. The scones are done when the tops are puffed and cracked and the bottom edges are just barely starting to brown.

Let cool and coat with Lemon Icing.

To Make the Lemon Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon. Add more lemon juice if the glaze is too thick.

Drizzle the icing over the scones and allow to set.

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the lemon poppy seed scones

Storing your Lemon Poppy Seed Scones:

These scones should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. They start to dry out after the first day, so make sure to keep as much air away from them as possible.

How Long Will These Scones Keep?

These lemon poppy seed scones are best enjoyed the same day. I recommend that leftovers be consumed the next day at the latest.

If you need to make these for a special occasion and can’t bake them the day of the event, bake the scones the night before (without the glaze) and wrap really, really, really well in plastic and store them in an airtight container.

A couple hours before you need them, ice the scones and let them set before serving.

Tips For The Best Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

The Best Lemon Poppy Seed Scones with Icing

Below are a few very important tips that will help you make the most light, tender, melt-in-your-mouth scones you’ve ever tasted.

DO NOT OVERMIX THE DOUGH!

You want a light touch on these scones. The more you work, mix, or knead the dough, the more the gluten develops. This leads to scones that are dense and more like bread instead of a fluffy tender pastry.

By using the food processor instead of a mixer, the dough comes together quickly, without a lot of hands-on activity.

KEEP THAT BUTTER COLD!

By keeping the butter cold–or even frozen–when incorporating into the flour, you will ensure that as the butter melts during baking, the water inside of your butter will create steam and make little air pockets throughout the dough. This process results in nicely risen scones, with a light and fluffy texture.

If the butter is too warm when incorporated into the dough, then the scones won’t rise as well, and the pastry will be dense and greasy. That’s not what you want!

King Arthur has a really great blog post explaining all about butter temperature and why it’s important. It’s super informative and I highly recommend it for having a better butter understanding.

USE LEMON JUICE FROM REAL LEMONS

Use real lemons, no exceptions.

Everything will just taste better using juice from a fresh lemon. It’s more floral, bright, and super refreshing. The stuff in the plastic lemon container just doesn’t compare.

FRESH LEMONS ARE BEST FOR YOUR LEMON ZEST

Lemon zest is essential for properly flavoring this recipe, so you’ll need about three medium-large lemons.

I found that when I used fresh lemons instead of my week-old lemons, I got way more zest! My older lemons would only give me about a teaspoon of zest, whereas my fresher lemons would give me a tablespoon.

If you have older lemons sitting around, those are ok for the juice you need in this recipe. But for the zest, use fresher lemons.

For zesting, I like to use a microplane tool. It grates the peel off easily without getting too much of the bitter pith with it.

USE HEAVY CREAM!

The additional fat from the heavy cream will keep the scones from tasting too dry and keep the dough nice and tender.

Add the lemon juice to the dry ingredients-not the wet

I do not add the lemon juice to the other wet ingredients in the scone recipe, for fear of curdling the heavy cream. Instead, add the lemon juice to the flour mixture first, and then pour in your egg and cream mixture. Curdling crisis averted!

How to mix if you don’t have a food processor:

No sweat!

You can mix the dough by hand by using your fingertips or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour. Like making a pie crust!

Make sure to work quickly so the butter doesn’t soften.

Next, using a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or clean hands, make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add in the lemon juice, mix a little flour in and then add the remaining wet ingredients. Gently fold the ingredients together until the mixture is just combined and there are no flour streaks showing.

Shape and bake the scones per the recipe instructions.

I would caution against using a stand mixer for this lemon poppy seed scones recipe. You really need a light touch on these scones to make them extra light, fluffy and tender. The mixer is pretty powerful and I worry the dough would get over mixed.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones

Blueberry Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze

Tools You May Need:

A microplane or zester

A handheld lemon juicer

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With Lemon Glaze

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With Icing

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Total Time: 21 minutes

Fluffy and zesty melt-in-your-mouth-lemon scones peppered with poppy seeds and topped with a sweet and tart lemon icing.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (from 2 medium-large lemons)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cubed and cold
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 large egg, cold
  • 1/3 cup of cold heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the Lemon Icing

  • 1 cup of powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
  • Dash of salt

Instructions

    Instructions for making the scones:

    1. Preheat oven to 375º.
    2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, poppy seeds, and salt.
    3. Pulse a few times until everything is well combined.
    4. Add in the cold, cubed, butter and pulse again until the butter is just incorporated and the mixture looks sandy.
    5. Add the lemon juice to the flour mixture.
    6. Whisk the egg, cream, and vanilla together in a small bowl or measuring cup and add to the flour mixture in the food processor.
    7. Turn on the food processor and process until the ingredients are just mixed and a dough ball has formed around the blade. It takes about 30 seconds
    8. On a lightly floured work surface (or a piece of parchment paper), gently flatten the ball of dough into a disc, about 3/4" thick.
    9. Cut into eight even triangles (like cutting a pizza).
    10. Place the scone triangles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes. The scones are done when the tops are puffed and cracked and the bottom edges are just barely starting to brown.
    11. Let cool and coat with Lemon Icing.

    To Make the Lemon Icing:

    1. Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth. The mixture should be thick but still pour off a spoon. Add more lemon juice if the icing is too thick.
    2. Drizzle the icing over the scones and allow to set.

    Notes

    Add the lemon juice to the flour mixture instead of the wet ingredients. This will prevent the cream from curdling!

    Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 290Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 288mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 4g

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    up close scone with glaze

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