I can’t really express how much I adore lemon desserts.
I love them just as much as a chocolate dessert. And I am someone who looooves rich, dark chocolatey sweets.
I’ve always loved a lemon bar, and I think lemon glaze is a straight-up gift. So it should be no surprise that I absolutely loved how these Lemon Poppyseed Scones came out! Tender, buttery pastries bursting with fresh lemon flavor and topped with a simple lemon glaze. It doesn’t get much better than that!
My love for lemon runs deep. These Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars, Lemon Poppyseed Ice Cream, and Lemon Thyme Donuts are just a few of MANY lemony treats on this blog. I adore the sweet-tart nature of lemon desserts, and these scones are up there on my list of faves.
They are flaky and super buttery with that bright lemon tang. The poppyseeds make them so pretty, too. I love all lemon poppyseed things!
If you’ve never made scones, don’t be intimidated! They are easier than you think. There are a few key things that you need to know for successful scones, but really, the process of making them is simple.
The first key thing when making any type of scone is to make sure that your butter is super cold. I like to dice up my butter first and stick it in the freezer while I gather the rest of the ingredients and preheat the oven. Working with cold butter ensures that your scones will be flaky and puffed. No hockey puck scones allowed here!
Another trick I love is popping the formed scones into a freezer for about 10-15 minutes before baking them. Again, this just ensures that the butter is cold before the scones bake. I have found that this extra step makes a big difference in both the texture and the appearance of the baked scones. They hold their shape better and also puff up so gloriously.
The rest of the recipe is very straight forward! Let’s get into it.
Ingredients You’ll Need for These Lemon Poppyseed Scones:
- Unsalted butter – diced and kept as cold as possible
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Poppyseeds
- Heavy cream
- Fresh lemon juice and zest
- Vanilla extract
- Turbinado (raw) sugar – for sprinkling on top of the scones. This is optional but gives such a great texture!
- Powdered sugar
How to Make These Lemon Poppyseed Scones:
- First, dice up your butter into small pieces. Place on a small plate or in a small bowl and put it in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Ensuring your butter is icy cold will yield the best texture and taste for the scones.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppyseeds in a large bowl.
- Work the cold cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. A few larger chunks of butter are fine.
- Pour the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla into the dry mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Try not to overmix.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently form the dough into a large disc, roughly one inch high and 8-10 inches in diameter.
- Cut the scones into 8 triangles and place them onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet with the scones into a freezer for 10-15 minutes, just to ensure that the butter is super cold. This will allow the scones to puff up and get really flaky in the oven.
- Brush the tops of the scones with a little heavy cream and then sprinkle turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the scones are golden brown around the edges, lightly golden on the tops, and puffed.
- Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- For the lemon glaze, whisk together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until completely smooth and drizzly.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones and sprinkle over some additional poppyseeds.
Tips & Tricks:
- Make sure to use very cold butter when making any type of scone. I prep my butter by dicing it into small pieces and keeping it in the freezer until the very last second. I also put my formed scones in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to ensure the butter is icy cold before baking. This makes a huge difference!
- You can make these ahead, but they are enjoyed best on the day you bake them. I recommend wrapping leftover scones in plastic wrap in storing in an airtight container. They should keep for a day or two.
- You can also freeze baked scones! Wrap well and store in a resealable plastic bag. Defrost them at room temperature.
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars
- Lemon Poppyseed Ice Cream
- Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars
- Pistachio Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Lemon Poppyseed Waffles With Lemon Curd & Blueberry Syrup
- Lemon Cream Scones With Vanilla Berry Butter
- Blueberry Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake With Lemon Sugar Crust
- Apricot Ginger Scones
- Apple Pie Scones with Cider Glaze
These Lemon Poppyseed Scones are a delicious way to ease into spring. They taste like warm weather while still harkening to the lovely winter citrus.
Fellow lemon lovers, these are a must make!
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Lemon Poppyseed Scones
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
These Lemon Poppyseed Scones are buttery, flaky pastries bursting with fresh lemon flavor and speckles of poppyseeds. They are absolutely delicious and very simple to make!
Ingredients
For the Scones:
- 8 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons poppyseeds
- 1 cup cold heavy cream, plus a little extra for brushing on the scones
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon (roughly 1 tablespoon of zest and 1/4 cup of juice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Turbinado (raw) sugar, for sprinkling on top
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Poppyseeds, for sprinkling
Instructions
For the Scones:
- First, dice up your butter into small pieces. Place on a small plate or in a small bowl and put it in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Ensuring your butter is icy cold will yield the best texture and taste for the scones.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppyseeds.
- Using a pastry blender, fork, or your hands, work the cold cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. A few larger chunks of butter are fine.
- Pour the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla into the dry mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Try not to overmix.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently form the dough into a large disc, roughly one inch high and 8-10 inches in diameter.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8 triangles. Place the cut scones onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet with the scones into a freezer for 10-15 minutes, just to ensure that the butter is super cold. This will allow the scones to puff up and get really flaky in the oven.
- Remove the scones from the fridge/freezer and brush the tops of the scones with a little heavy cream. Sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the tops.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the scones are golden brown around the edges, lightly golden on the tops, and puffed.
- Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the Glaze:
Whisk together the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until completely smooth. Add lemon juice and/or more sugar until the glaze is of a drizzling consistency.
To Serve:
- Drizzle the glaze lightly over the cooled scones and sprinkle with additional poppyseeds.
- Allow to set for a few minutes and then serve.
Notes
These are best enjoyed the day you make them, but I have had luck with wrapping baked and cooled scones in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container on the counter. They will keep for a day or two. Baked scones also freeze really well. Wrap well and freeze in a resealable plastic bag.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: scones
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
I made these as soon as I saw them on Insta and they were incredible! I’d never made scones at home before and these were surprisingly easy. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank YOU for taking the time to leave a review!
I have discovered that scones are the perfect breakfast treat to make ahead and bake off the following morning.
I have done this numerous times and they come out perfectly. Being chilled overnight results in perfectly crisp scones with a very nice rise.
I get the scones recipe mixed and shaped into a circle. I then refrigerate and in the morning, I cut the scones, brush with cream and bake.
Love that idea!
lemon plus scones, love this, especially since baked goods plus lemon is at top of my list, and scones are a nice alternative for me to muffins, cakes, etc, for the completely different texture that somehow keeps them tasting super sweet, anyway, thank you!
I’m curious how you get the scones to keep their nice shape., I made these and, while they tasted amazing, they ended up spreading and losing that beautiful shape. I used frozen butter, chilled before baking, and didn’t overmix. Is there another trick? After I cut them into 8 pieces, I separated them out onto a baking sheet to bake. Is that how you do it or do you bake them still together in the disc shape after cutting?
Hmm, it sounds like you did all the right things to get them to hold their shape. I cut them and space them out before baking. Curious: was the dough very crumbly and dry when you were slicing them into individual scones? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the dough was too dry and they did not keep their shape well because of that. Adding a tablespoon of cream to the dough might combat that in the future. Sometimes doughs like this need extra moisture (depends on the brands of butter/flour and also the humidity in the air). Let me know if your try again with better luck. So sorry they didn’t come out perfectly!
Thanks for the reply, Molly. I’ll keep an eye on the moisture of the dough next time and adjust accordingly.
Made these exactly as the recipe described but I’m not convinced that there should be a full cup of heavy cream because these spread SO MUCH and the batter was very thin to the point where I thought maybe these were supposed to be drop scones. Other scone recipes I’ve tried (successfully, I’ll add) have called for 8 tbsp of butter and a half cup of cream/sour cream/buttermilk/greek yogurt. I should have trusted my gut. I am willing to try the recipe again though, albeit with that modification.
That is so strange. I’ve made these several times without issue. Did you chill the dough at all? I’m sorry I can’t be more help – this was a well tested recipe and I’ve made it successfully several times. I’m stumped! So bummed these didn’t work out for you.
The same thing happened to me!
Definitely follow the recipe as written!
I doubled the recipe and baked the first batch immediately while the second batch went in the freezer for 20 minutes. Even though I started with frozen butter, the first batch pancaked (didn’t stop me from eating two right away, they were still delicious!)
The second batch also spread, but not nearly as much. My dough was very sticky to begin with, so next time I will try will a little less cream. And there will be a next time!
Excited to try the lemon curd thumbprint cookies next!