Lemon Lavender Scones

The initial goal of this blog began as an experiment to see if I could take a few decent pictures, figure out how to upload them to my computer, and write something that was remotely interesting to even one other person besides myself.  

I attempted to improve both my writing 'skills' and my amateur photography 'skills' and to fuel my desire for some sort of creative outlet.

 Over 100 posts later and a very lengthy absence, I think the blog has morphed into more of a digital placeholder to collect my recipes somewhere other than my recipe file of random papers that are becoming difficult to read both because of the condition of the paper itself and because of my advancing need for visual magnification!

I think at this point I'm cool with the outcome of this project as it is with perhaps the ongoing hope that, at some point in time, my kids might refer here to find instructions to prepare their favourite things (for me) or for someone else they love and that I will be able to preserve any information I might forget over time and need to source myself!  

So today I am posting this lemon, lavender scone recipe because they are delicious, I make them a lot, and I want to secure their immortality in my recipe archive.

Gather: 

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

pinch of salt

1 lemon zested and juiced

3/4 cup of milk (soured with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice)

1/2 cup cold, grated butter

a pinch of culinary lavender

1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

a generous grating of lemon zest

Glaze:

icing sugar and reserved lemon juice

Do it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Zest and juice one whole lemon and set both the lemon zest and juice aside (separately).

Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lemon juice to your 3/4 milk stir and set aside.

Mix the first five dry ingredients.  Sprinkle in your lemon zest and lavender.  Stir to combine.  Grate 1/2 cup of cold butter into your dry ingredients and stir with a fork or pastry cutter to combine.  The addition of cold butter is the key to fluffy scones.  Do not use room temperature or melted butter or the finished product will not rise nicely.

Add your soured milk to the above mixture and fold the ingredients to combine.  Gently stir in the blueberries.

Pat the dough into an 8 inch circle and cut into 8 wedges.  Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined baking sheet an inch or 2 apart and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden around the edges.  If you do not plan to glaze, you can brush the tops of the scones with milk or cream and sprinkle with course sugar before baking.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly.  

Mix enough reserved lemon juice with icing sugar to form a thick paste.  Spoon as generously as you like on the pastry when it is still warm.  

Share with your mom (who may have forgotten how to make these) or with a special someone you love who will undoubtedly feel very special after tasting your glazed, pastry offering.

These scones are actually pretty versatile.  Once you get the basic recipe down pat, you can experiment a bit and add other fruit - fresh, frozen or dry.  You can make a savoury version with some herbs and a handful of sharp cheese, and maybe some hot peppers or olives or sun-dried tomatoes.