Strawberry Lemon Scones

Oh my goodness, I cannot even attempt to explain to you how delicious these are!  Admittedly, I don't have a lot of scone experience, eating or making, but these are divine!  My recipe is slightly adapted from the one at What's Cookin, Chicago.  I've seen several strawberry lemon scone recipes, but I liked the idea of using yogurt instead of milk or cream.  Instead of plain yogurt, I thought vanilla yogurt would add a deeper flavor of creamy goodness.  I think I was right.  Yum, yum, yum. 

Strawberry Lemon Scones

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp each, salt and baking soda
• 4 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
• zest of 2 lemons
• 6oz cup of vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 C milk, half-and-half, or cream
• 1 C chopped fresh or frozen strawberries (don't thaw if using frozen)
• lemon juice and powdered sugar for a glaze, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2.  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and lemon zest.  With a pastry blender, or just by pinching and squeezing with your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in Strawberries.  Add yogurt and milk, stirring until it just begins coming together in a ball.  It should still look kinda shaggy and flour-y.

3.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead together gently with your hands a few times.  Pat dough out into a circle about 1" thick.  Cut into 8 wedges and place on the prepared baking sheet. 

4.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and scones feel fairly firm when tops are gently pressed.  If thy don't seem done inside but the tops are browned, chances are they are too thick.  (I do this a lot.)  Just reduce the oven temp to 375 and bake a few minutes more.  You can cover them loosely with foil if you think they are getting too browned on top.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

5.  While scones are still warm, whisk together some lemon juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze to drizzle over the top.  Juice from 1/2 to 1 of the lemons and about 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar should be good.  Keep it kinda thick, or it will just run right off and make a mess.  Slide the parchment from the baking sheet under the cooling rack to catch drips.

Lemon-Berry Scones

This is the same basic scone recipe as the Orange Scones, just a little different. I increased the sugar by just a little to counteract the tartness of the berries. I do not like tart flavors. I hope you feel inspired to try different flavors. I'd love to hear about it if you do!


2 C all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 Tbsp sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 C half-and-half or milk

1 large egg

1 C frozen berries of choice

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and pinching until the mixture resembles a course meal and there are no butter lumps bigger than a pea. Add the lemon zest and sugar, and whisk to combine
2. In a small bowl, combing the milk and egg. Whisk or beat with a fork until well combined. Add to flour mixture along with the berries and stir until just combined.
3. Turn dough out and any unincorporated flour onto a board or counter top. Press and gather and gently knead the dough until it just comes together. Be very careful not to overwork the dough or the scones will turn out tough and chewy.
4. As soon as the dough holds together, pat it into a circle about 1" thick. It doesn't need to look perfect. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
5. Bake at 425 for 10-14 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Frozen berries really work the best in this recipe. I used a mixture of blueberries and raspberries because that's what I had, but I'm not much of a blueberry fan. These are absolutely amazing when still warm from the oven. If you need to reheat them it's best done at 300 in the oven, but I'm too lazy and impatient for that so I just do it in the microwave.

I've made these with half-and-half and with 1% milk, and I truly don't notice a difference in taste or texture... but then I don't exactly have a very refined palate. So if you're looking to cut calories, use milk.