Lemon Poppyseed Scones

This lemon scone is a tribute to my grandmother’s lemon tea biscuit, and while it’s not the original, it’s just as memorable and delicious. The recipe includes vegan and gluten-free options, and I suggest how to make it by hand or by food processor. Read more about the inspiration for these scones below. (Photo source: Miya Lohmeier)

| Yield: 16 servings | Time: 60 minutes |

Ingredients

For scones

4 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free all-purpose flour, brown rice, white rice, or sorghum flour. Add 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum if flour does not contain a binder)

½ cup sugar (for sugar substitute: monk fruit sweetener granulated, golden sugar, coconut, raw cane, or turbinado sugar, pulsed)

1 stick cold unsalted vegan butter, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon Aquafaba, 2 flaxseed or chia seed eggs, ½ cup silken tofu pureed with ¼ teaspoon baking soda, or vegan egg replacer (2 eggs’ worth)

½ cup cold vegan buttermilk (½ cup of unsweetened plain almond milk, soy, rice, or light coconut mixed with 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes in the fridge before using.)

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

For the glaze

1 ½ cups vegan confectioner’s sugar (sugar-free confectioner’s sugar substitute)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Unsweetened almond milk, rice, soy, or light coconut milk

Notes

One of the keys to a flaky and light scone is the cold vegan butter and buttermilk. Try not to overwork the dough. If you feel it’s getting warm, just put it in the fridge for a few minutes, then proceed with the recipe.
·You can make the dough up to two days ahead of baking.
You can freeze unbaked scones on a cookie sheet for up to a week, then bake as directed.
The scones will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Preparation

Make the scones

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

By Hand: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the butter, and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like peas. Make a well in the center.

In a large measuring cup or bowl mix together the vegan eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, and vegan buttermilk. Pour into the well.

Mix the wet ingredients in with a fork toss until it begins to form a shaggy dough. If it seems too dry, add a little more vegan buttermilk to proper consistency.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it’s almost smooth. If a little too sticky, add more flour at this stage.

Cut the dough in half and flatten into 1-1 ½ inch discs. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Food processor: Add the dry ingredients with the lemon zest to the bowl and pulse to combine. Add the butter to the bowl and pulse 2 to 4 times until the mixture resembles peas.

In a large measuring cup or bowl mix together the vegan eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, and vegan buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Pulse until it begins to form a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead as prescribed above.

Form the scones

Working with one disc at a time, turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll into an 8-inch circle. With a knife dipped in flour, cut into quarters, then into 8 triangles. Place the scone on the prepared sheet pan.

Put the first sheet in the preheated oven for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 22 to 26 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Roll and cut out the remaining scones and bake as prescribed.

Make the glaze

Add the confectioner’s sugar to a bowl with the vanilla and lemon juice. Add enough milk, about 4 to 6 tablespoons, to make a spreadable glaze. Set aside.

When the scones are lightly browned around the bottom edges, remove from the oven to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from sheet to cool on a wire rack. When the scones are cooled, frost them with the glaze. Serve with a cup of Earl Grey tea, coffee, or lemonade.

The inspiration for these scones: I was born in the middle of Beatlemania but by the time I truly became aware of the Fab Four, John, Paul, George, and Ringo had gone their separate ways. That didn’t stop me from falling in love with the Beatles and all things British, so it wasn’t a total surprise when my DNA test revealed a UK connection.

My Grandma Annie loved shortbread, Victoria sponge cake, and tea biscuits. Her mother-in-law, my great-grandmother Nandy, made a sweet biscuit flavored with a bit of lemon that everyone recalls, but no one has located the recipe… yet.

In the mid-eighties scones began popping up as offerings in many on-site corporate dining rooms and canteens along with the usual pastry suspects. My sister Natalie is a tea drinker and she’d occasionally get a scone or tea biscuit. They looked like oversized and overbaked biscuits with raisins so hard they could have been actual pebbles for all I know. That sent me on a mission to make a better scone.

I went through family recipes and consulted some classic Mary Berry cookbooks until I was able to figure out the basics of scone-making. My first iteration was a scone with amaretto-soaked raisins and pecans. This lemon scone is a tribute to Nandy’s lemon tea biscuit, and while it’s not the original, it’s just as memorable and delicious.

~Chamein Canton, an author and founder of the Canton Smith literary agency, is at work on her first cookbook, Cooking with My Nanas: Discovering Family, Traditions, and Love In The Kitchen. Find more of her recipes—and stories—at stillachicklit.com; @chamtherese (TikTok); @stillachicklit (Instagram)