Lemon scones are tall, flaky and buttery scones filled with bright lemon flavor. Top these soft and tender lemon scones with a sweet and tangy fresh lemon glaze. This lemon scone recipe makes the best scones for spring and summer breakfast or brunch.
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Why Make This Recipe
I absolutely love scones. The store bought kind are dried out and not very good, but the homemade versions are absolutely the best scones. My Strawberry Scones, Easy Lemon Blueberry Scones, White Chocolate Raspberry Scones and Chocolate Scones are one of my favorites scone recipes. These buttery and flaky scones with fresh lemon flavor are another scone recipe I know you will love.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the tender and flaky scone scented with bright lemon flavor to the sweet and tangy lemon glaze, these lemony scones will delight your senses.
- Easy to make and bake. These lemon scones taste bakery worthy, but they’re actually so easy to make. Simply whisk the dry and wet ingredients together, shape into a thick disk, chill, cut and bake.
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch or high tea. These buttery scones with lemon can easily be made in advance, frozen and baked straight from the freezer. They’re the perfect indulgent and elevated breakfast or brunch treat.
Ingredients
This recipe for sweet and tangy lemon scones requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather sugar, lemon zest, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and cold or frozen butter.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather an egg, heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these melt in your mouth lemon filled scones if you need them.
- Granulated Sugar: Maple sugar would also work well to make these scones refined sugar free.
- All Purpose Flour: Make these scones with lemon gluten free, by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure based off of the weight (300 g) versus cup for cup.
- Baking Powder: This acts as a leavener in this raspberry scone recipe.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter. Just make sure the butter is very cold or even frozen.
- Egg: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Heavy Cream: For soft and tender scones, heavy cream is a must. Substitute with half and half.
- Lemon Juice: This adds another layer of lemon flavor. I highly suggest fresh lemon juice using the lemons from zesting.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
Variation
Lemon Drop Scones: Prepare the recipe as written through the mixing step. Dump the scone dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently gather and knead the scones 2 -3 times. Scoop the dough with a large spoon or cookie scoop. This lemon scone recipe should yield about 12 drop scones. Drop the scones onto a lined baking sheet or large plate. Freeze as directed in the recipe. Bake at 425 F for 12 - 14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Top with lemon glaze and enjoy.
How To Make
Learn how to make lemon scones in a few easy steps.
- Whisk the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined and the same consistency as wet sand. Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt with the lemon sugar until well combined. Grate or toss very small cubes of cold butter into the flour. When all the butter has been added in, use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse sand with some larger pieces.
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk an egg to smooth. Then whisk in the heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract until well combined. Form a little well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Pour ½ of the wet ingredients into the dry and gently incorporate. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients into the dough. Mix until the dough just comes together.
3. Transfer the lemon scone dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape the dough into a ball. Shape into a 7 - 8 inch disk that’s about 1 inch thick. Place the disk onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate to chill in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes. While the scones chill in the freezer, preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C).
- Remove the scones from the freezer and cut into 6 - 8 wedges using a dough scraper or long sharp knife. Space the scones about 2 - inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the heavy cream. Bake in the oven at 425 F (218 C) for 12 - 14 minutes. Allow scones to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Make the lemon scones even better by topping them with a a tangy lemon glaze. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice to your desired consistency. Then drizzle the glaze on the cooled scones and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Store baked lemon scones in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 -4 days.
- Freeze: Place the frozen unbaked lemon scone wedges in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen in a fully preheated oven. Place the baked, fully cooled and unglazed scones in an airtight container to freeze for up to 2 months. I recommend individually wrap each scone in plastic wrap or wax paper. Do not top with glaze if you plan on freezing the scones.
- Thaw: If you would like to bake the unbaked scones straight from the freezer, simply add about 3 - 5 minutes to the baking time. Baked and frozen scones can be heated straight from the freezer in the microwave. I recommend heating the scones in 20 second increments until they reach your desired temperature.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use very cold butter. It’s perfectly fine to pull the butter directly from the fridge, but if you remember, toss the butter in the freezer an hour before you plan to make the scones.
- Cold is a scone’s best friend. In order to create those beautiful tender and flaky layers, the scone needs to be cold. Keep the ingredients as cold as you can prior to baking. Pop the scones in the freezer while the oven fully preheats. This usually takes about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Don’t overmix. Just like making a pie crust, try to handle the scone dough as little as possible while forming it into a disk. Some kneading is necessary to get those tall layers, but try to touch the dough as little as possible.
- Chill the lemon filled scones. It’s helpful to rest the dough in the freezer to help the butter solidify and the flour to hydrate. Use this time to full preheat the oven (which takes about 30 minutes).
- Give the scones some space. Some recipes call for leaving the scone wedges close together. I find the scones need a bit more room in order to have space to fully rise.
- Top with a fresh lemon juice glaze. These scones with lemons are good on their own, but really shine when topped with a lemon glaze. Alternatively, top the scones with freshly whipped cream and lemon curd.
FAQs
Touch the scone dough as little as possible. Gather the dough into a ball and knead just until the dough comes together into an 7 - 8 inch disk that measures about 1 inch thick.
This serves two purposes. One is to allow the glutens in the flour to rest and hydrate. The other is to help the butter fat resolidify before baking, creating beautiful flaky layers.
This is usually the result of overmixing or overworking the dough. Knead the dough with a light hand and only until it just comes together.
Use this rule as a guide to determine when the scones are done without drying them out. Bake them between 400 F - 425 F for about 15 minutes. The scones should have light golden tops.
Other Lemon Breakfast Recipes to Try
If you try this Lemon Scones recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Lemon Scones Recipe
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- 1 pastry cutter optional
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 sheet parchment paper
Ingredients
Lemon Scones
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 lemons, zested
- 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (120 ml) cold heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemom juice
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
- 1½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- 3 - 4 tablespoons (45 - 60 ml) lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, optional
Instructions
- Whisk the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined and the same consistency as wet sand. Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt with the lemon sugar until well combined. Grate or toss very small cubes of cold butter into the flour. When all the butter has been added in, use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse sand with some larger pieces.½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 lemons, zested, 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 10 tablespoons (142 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk an egg to smooth. Then whisk in the heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract until well combined. Form a little well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients into the dough. Mix until the dough just comes together. There should be a few stray pieces of the dough. Try to mix everything in as gently as possible.1 large egg, ½ cup (120 ml) cold heavy cream, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemom juice, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Transfer the lemon scone dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape the dough into a ball. Gently knead the scone dough by pressing down on the dough from middle to edges to form a disk. Fold in half. Repeat gently pressing the dough back into a round disk. Shape into a 7 - 8 inch disk that’s about 1 inch thick. Place the disk onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate to chill in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes. While the scones chill in the freezer, preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C).
- Remove the scones from the freezer and cut into 6 - 8 wedges using a dough scraper or long sharp knife. Space the scones about 2 - inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the heavy cream.
- Bake in the oven at 425 F (218 C) for 12 - 14 minutes. The scones should be lightly golden brown and will be very fragrant. Allow scones to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Make the lemon scones even better by topping them with a a tangy lemon glaze. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice to your desired consistency. Then drizzle the glaze on the cooled scones and enjoy.1½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar, 3 - 4 tablespoons (45 - 60 ml) lemon juice, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, optional
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