Lemon Vanilla Scones with Simple Lemon Glaze
These Lemon Vanilla Scones are soft, buttery, and full of bright citrus flavor. Made with simple ingredients and ready in under an hour, they have a perfect balance of fresh, slightly tangy, and mildly sweet. If you’ve ever wanted to make bakery-style scones without much effort, this easy recipe is it.
Equipment
- 9 cup food processor other medium-large one (can also use a bowl, spoon/spatula, and pastry blender instead)
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 250g) measure by weight or spoon & level method
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup butter, cubed and frozen (1 stick)
- ¾ cup heavy cream, cold (fridge temp) for dough
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream, cold (fridge temp) for brushing on top of scones
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
Prep the oven for baking.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the dough.
- Using a medium-large food processor (ours is 9 cups), mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and lemon zest.2 cups all-purpose flour (about 250g), 2 ½ tsp baking powder, 3 tbsp granulated sugar, ½ tsp salt, Zest of 1 lemon
- Add in the cubed butter and press the "pulse" button on the food processor a few times until the dough mixture looks like sand with a few small pebbles in it. Note: if you don't have a food processor, use grated frozen butter for best results and mix it in with the dough until it's fully coated in the flour mixture but not softened or melted.½ cup butter, cubed and frozen (1 stick)
- Add the vanilla and stream in the heavy cream while the food processor is running. The dough is ready when it has just started to clump together in little bits but is still somewhat crumbly. You don’t want to overmix or the scones will be tough. Note: If you don’t have a food processor, you can stir the in the cold cream, a little at a time.¾ cup heavy cream, cold (fridge temp), 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Shape and chill the scones.
- Dump the dough out onto the counter or surface and press it together into a round disk/circle about 1 inch thick and cut it into 8 wedges. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap (or reusable wrap) and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
Bake the scones and make the glaze.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and place the scones onto the baking sheet about an inch apart from each other. Lightly brush the tops of them with the extra cream.1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream, cold (fridge temp)
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden brown in color. Remove the scones from the oven when done and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Note: If you want a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice (or even milk). Thicker? Add more powdered sugar.½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, ¼ tsp sea salt
- Spread about 1 to 2 teaspoons of glaze on top of each scone. Alternatively, you can drizzle the glaze instead.
Notes
- Use cold cream and butter.
- Don’t overmix the dough.
- Chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes for best results.
- Let them cool a little before glazing.