Why do you use cold butter in scones?

Using cold butter in scones helps to slow the gluten development, which produces the flaky texture that all the best scones have.

Is cream or buttermilk better for scones?

Both cream and buttermilk make for excellent scones. You should follow the recipe and use whichever is called for rather than swapping one for the other. We use heavy cream in our lemon scones recipe for a richer taste and texture, but we like making other scone recipes with buttermilk, which adds a slight tang.

Why are my scones heavy and dense?

There are a couple of reasons that your scones are heavy and dense. One is that you handled the dough too much when you were forming the scones. Another is that the oven wasn’t preheated or wasn’t set to the right temperature when the scones went in the oven.

Lemon Scone Recipe (With Step by Steps)

Name: Lemon Scones
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 0.333 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; 2 tbsp. packed finely grated lemon zest plus 1 to 2 tablespoons juice from 2 large lemons; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 0.5 teaspoon baking soda; 0.75 teaspoon kosher salt; 0.5 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen; 1 large egg; 0.75 cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing; 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Prep Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 30 mins

Yield:

8 Scones

Our lemon scone recipe is one to bookmark. These sweet, sunny treats are cream scones—that means they’re made with heavy cream, which gives them a rich flavor and soft, cakey texture. They’re just right for lemon lovers as they’re perfumed with lemon zest in the batter and finished with a sticky lemon glaze. Cut into wedges that bake up flaky and irresistible, they’re delicious for breakfast or afternoon tea, but they also ace brunch—in fact, we love them any time we need an easy baked treat.

Tips for Making Scones

Freeze the butter: We often tell you to use room temperature ingredients for better baked goods—but not with scones. For scones, the colder the butter the better, and for this recipe, we take that to an extreme—using frozen butter that you grate into the bowl.
Don’t overmix: Combine the dry ingredients and egg mixture quickly. The dough should be pretty crumbly and there may be a few floury or dry spots. That is preferable to overmixing the dough, which can produce tough scones.
Handle the dough as little as possible: This is related to not overmixing, and it’s one of the reasons we pat this scone dough out rather than rolling it. It’s also why we use a knife to cut the individual scones rather than using a biscuit cutter, a method that is easier (especially if the dough is crumbly) and works the dough less so it's more tender.
Brush scones with cream before baking: Similar to using an egg wash on pastry, brushing the scones lightly with cream before baking them produces an attractive shiny top—and sprinkling them with some granulated sugar adds sparkle. You can skip the lemon glaze, but don’t skip the cream wash.

Ingredients

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tbsp. packed finely grated lemon zest plus 1 to 2 tablespoons juice from 2 large lemons
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
1 large egg
¾ cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Ingredients for lemon scones, eggs, lemon, flour, sugar — Jason Donnelly

Preheat oven and prep baking sheet; Combine sugar with lemon zest:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl and massage them together using your fingertips.

Jason Donnelly
Add dry ingredients to sugar:

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until well combined.

Jason Donnelly
Grate butter into dry ingredients:

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate frozen butter into dry ingredients; using a fork, toss together until butter shreds are coated.

Jason Donnelly
Whisk egg with cream:

In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk egg into 3/4 cup cream until well combined.

Jason Donnelly
Add wet ingredients to dry:

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir in cream mixture until just combined.

Jason Donnelly

Do not overmix; the dough should be crumbly, not perfectly combined.
Move dough to prepared baking sheet:

Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet. Gather dough together and pat into a 7-inch circle.

Jason Donnelly
Divide into wedges:

Cut into 8 wedges.

Jason Donnelly
Brush with cream:

Brush tops with remaining tablespoon of cream and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

Jason Donnelly
Bake:

Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let cool then using a spatula, transfer scones to a wire rack to cool completely.

Jason Donnelly
Make glaze:

In a medium bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, adding more lemon juice by the 1/2 teaspoon as needed until it has a thick glaze consistency, similar to honey.

Jason Donnelly
Drizzle glaze over scones:

Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled scones; let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Jason Donnelly

Storing Scones

Most scones are best enjoyed the day they are made. These lemon scones are at their prime on the day you make them, but they are moist and will keep for up to three days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Variations

We think these scones are perfect as is, but if you want to up your scone game, try one of these variations:

Lemon-Blueberry Scones: Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries to the dough in step 5. Stir in as quickly and lightly as possible so you do not overmix the dough.
Lemon-Poppyseed Scones: Add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds with the flour in step 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you use cold butter in scones?

Using cold butter in scones helps to slow the gluten development, which produces the flaky texture that all the best scones have.
Is cream or buttermilk better for scones?

Both cream and buttermilk make for excellent scones. You should follow the recipe and use whichever is called for rather than swapping one for the other. We use heavy cream in our lemon scones recipe for a richer taste and texture, but we like making other scone recipes with buttermilk, which adds a slight tang.
Why are my scones heavy and dense?

There are a couple of reasons that your scones are heavy and dense. One is that you handled the dough too much when you were forming the scones. Another is that the oven wasn’t preheated or wasn’t set to the right temperature when the scones went in the oven.