I love whipping up something a little special for a weekend breakfast when I wake up before my family. I usually forage in my refrigerator and cabinets for ideas and that's exactly how the recipe for these lemon poppy seed scones came to be.
With half a bag of leftover lemons in the house, I knew I wanted something with lots of lemon flavor. These delicious scones use both fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest for a bright lemon flavor. The sweet lemon icing is the perfect finishing touch to top of this gluten free treat that is perfect for Easter brunch or afternoon tea
If your family are lemon lovers like mine, I recommend my gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins or this delicious copycat lemon loaf cake (it's just like Starbucks) next!
Ingredient Notes
This tasty breakfast recipe uses simple ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. The recipe is both gluten free and dairy free as written.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Flour Blend for this recipe. You can use the gluten free flour blend of your choice, but ensure it contains xanthan gum or a similar binder.
- Vegan Butter - I used Country Crock plant butter for this recipe. Pop the butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes then grate it with a cheese grater. Keep the shredded butter in the freezer until you're ready to mix things up - it's important to use cold butter for the best rise. If you're not dairy free, use unsalted butter in the same measure.
- Honey - I love the combination of honey and lemon in these scones. Not only does it add to the flavor, but honey helps the scones turn golden brown. If you don't have honey on hand, you can use an equal measure of maple syrup here.
- Non Dairy Milk - I used unsweetened coconut milk in this recipe, but any plant based milk will work fine. If you're not dairy free, you can use whole milk in the same measure. You can also swap milk for heavy cream for more tender scones, but you may need a little more to prevent the dough from being dry.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Not Dairy Free - use dairy butter and milk in the same measure.
- No Poppy Seeds - You can just omit them without any other changes to the recipe.
- No Honey - Replace the honey with an equal measure of maple syrup.
- Add fruit - Strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries would make a great addition to these scones. Make sure to add the fruit before you add the liquid as you may not need all of the wet ingredients.
- Citrus Swap - Swap out lemon for orange or lime flavored scones. Oranges are a bit sweeter than lemons, so you may want to reduce the sugar to 3 Tablespoons.
- Stronger Lemon Flavor - You can use lemon extract or lemon emulsion to intensify the lemon flavor.
How to Make Lemon Scones
Making scones from scratch is very similar to making biscuits or other pastry dough. The fat is rubbed into the dry ingredients before the liquids are added. It's important to use cold ingredients and chill the scones before baking to get the best rise.
STEP 1: Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar imparting the lemon oil. The sugar will take on a light yellow color.
STEP 2: Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon-sugar, and poppy seeds to a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix well.
STEP 3: Add the grated butter to the flour mixture. Toss it together with your fingers until all of the butter pieces are coated with flour and the mixture appears crumbly.
STEP 4: Add the egg and egg yolk to a separate mixing bowl. Whisk it until frothy, like soap bubbles.
STEP 5: Add the milk, honey, and lemon juice to the beaten eggs. Whisk again until smooth.
STEP 6: Reserve 1 tablespoon of the wet ingredients.
Add the remaining wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients half at a time, stir it together with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms. It should not be overly wet.
STEP 7: Transfer the scone dough
to a lightly floured surface or a work surface covered with a piece of parchment paper. Pat it into a circle measuring about 8 inches across. Use a bench scraper or a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 wedges, like pizza slices.
STEP 8: Transfer the eight scones to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving a bit of space between them.
Place the whole baking sheet into the freezer for 20-30 minutes before baking. Immediately before baking, brush the top of the scones with the reserved liquid from step 6 (which is essentially an egg wash).
Expert Tip
Scones are done when they are a bit golden in color and the top is no longer soft when gently poked.
Storage
Place scones in an airtight container in a single layer. Store scones at room temperature for 2-3 days.
More homemade scone recipes to try:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Ingredients
For the scones
- ⅓ Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest from 1 lemon
- 2 Cups Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill
- 2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
- 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Vegan Butter grated and frozen
- 1 large Egg
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 3 Tablespoons Honey
- 3 Tablespoons Non Dairy Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice from 1 lemon
For the icing
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 2-3 teaspoons Non Dairy Milk
- ¼ teaspoon Lemon Zest
Instructions
- Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Rub the mixture between your fingers to impart the lemon oil into the sugar. The sugar should turn a light yellow color.⅓ Cup Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- Combine the lemon-sugar mixture, gluten free flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir together to mix well.2 Cups Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, 2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds, 4 teaspoons Baking Powder, ⅛ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Add the frozen butter to the dry ingredients and work together quickly until all the butter is coated with the flour mixture.6 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
- In a small second bowl, crack your egg and egg yolk. Whisk until frothy.1 large Egg, 1 large Egg Yolk
- Add the honey, milk and lemon juice to the egg yolk. Whisk again until smooth. Set aside 1 Tablespoon of the wet ingredients for later.3 Tablespoons Honey, 3 Tablespoons Non Dairy Milk, 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients (I usually add half at a time). Toss together so the liquid is evenly incorporated. Work until the dough is a shaggy mess, just holding together. It should not be overly wet.
- Turn your dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and gently press it together into a round disk about 1 inch thick and 8 inches across. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, divide your circle into 8 wedges (like pizza slices). Place the wedges on a lined baking sheet leaving a little space between each wedge.
- Places scones into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 °F (218 °C).
- Remove your scones from the refrigerator. Brush the tops with the reserved egg mixture, taking care not to brush the sides. Place directly into the hot oven.
- Bake 20-23 minutes until the inside is done and the top is no longer soft when gently poked. The outside should have some golden brown edges.
- Remove from oven and cool about 15 minutes before adding the icing.
- Prepare the icing. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk and lemon zest. Stir until smooth.1 Cup Powdered Sugar, 1 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, 2-3 teaspoons Non Dairy Milk, ¼ teaspoon Lemon Zest
- Spoon over cooked scones and allow it a few minutes to dry to the touch before serving.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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