Lemon Scones with Poppy Seeds

These Lemon Scones are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, speckled with poppy seeds, and covered in a tangy lemony cream cheese glaze. They are perfect with coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon. 

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These little melt-in-your-mouth lemon poppy seed scones are cut into smaller portions than my regular size scones, which makes them the perfectly portion-controlled snacks. And the lemon flavor is so versatile for any time of year.

The lemony cream cheese glaze is totally optional but highly recommended for an extra layer of flavor and sweetness. You can add more glaze to your liking, or skip it all together if you want. Or serve your scones with homemade lemon curd!

What you’ll need

The ingredients for these lemon scones are a mash up between my buttermilk scone recipe and my cream scone recipe, where I’m using heavy cream instead of the buttermilk plus butter for even more richness. 

➤ Usually, when I’m making scones with heavy cream instead of buttermilk, I would skip the butter because heavy cream already has a high fat content. But these lemon scones get both, which makes them rich, creamy and utterly delicious. 

➤ Poppy seeds add a little crunch and nuttiness to these scones. But feel free to skip if you don’t have them, or don’t like them. They are a classic pairing with lemon that most people love.

Lemon scones step by step instructions

Follow along below for the step by step instructions with process photos. As always, there is a printable recipe card at the end of this post with the full ingredient list, all quantities and instructions.

Making the scone dough

1. Mix together granulated sugar and lemon zest to release the lemon essential oil. 
2. To the lemon sugar, add flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Whisk to combine.
3. Toss in the cold cubed butter.

4. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until all the butter pieces are flat.
5. Beat together the egg, cream, vanilla, and add it to the dry ingredients, reserving 2 tablespoons for egg wash.
6. Fold with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms.

Shaping the scones 

7. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or countertop, and shape into a ball.
8. Pat or roll the dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Don’t worry too much about making it a perfect rectangle.
9. Fold the dough over itself using a bench scraper to help you scrape the dough off the countertop (if any part of it is sticking). Roll and fold 2 – 3 times.

10. At the final fold, shape it into a rectangle about 5” x 8” or 6” x 9”.
11. Cut the dough into 12 triangles. Place the scones on a plate or lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 15 minutes.

Baking the scones

12. Brush the top and sides of the scones with the reserved egg wash from step 5.
13. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar and bake until golden brown.

Making the lemon glaze

14. Whisk together softened cream cheese and lemon juice. 
15. Add powdered sugar and whisk until a creamy glaze forms. 
16. Stir in some lemon zest at this point for even more lemon flavor if you wish. 

Baker’s Tips

• If you’re using homegrown lemons, you may want to increase the amount of lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor – I noticed that some homegrown lemons don’t have as much lemony flavor in the zest as the store bought ones.
• Folding over the scone dough will help create flaky layers, but don’t overdo it because overworking the dough could make the scones dry.
• Using a bench scraper while working with the scones can help you reduce the amount of flour you need to add to the scone dough while shaping, keeping it from drying out too much.
• Freezing the scones before baking will help them keep their shape and rise taller.
• For larger scones, you can shape the dough into a circle about 1” thick and cut into 8 wedges. Bake the larger scones for 20 minutes at the same oven temperature.

Storage

These lemon scones can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. You can also keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. Leftovers are best when you warm them up before serving.

Freezing lemon scones

You can freeze these scones for up to 3 months. You can freeze them and reheat them with the glaze on without any issue.

Thaw and reheat scones in the oven at 350°F for 5 – 7 minutes. You can also reheat them directly from frozen in the oven at 300°F for about 15 minutes.

Make sure to line your baking sheet when reheating just in case some of the glaze drip off onto the baking sheet. This way it won’t burn and get stuck to your baking sheet. Though I didn’t have any issue with the glaze melting off while being reheated.

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This lemon scones recipe will add a little bit of sunshine to your day no matter what the weather is like outside. Try it today!

More lemony treats

• Lemon Cake
• Lemon Cookies
• Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
• Lemon Bars
• Lemon Blueberry Cake

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📖 Recipe card

Lemon Scones with Poppy Seeds

These Lemon Scones are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, speckled with poppy seeds, and covered in a tangy lemony cream cheese glaze. They are perfect with coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American, English, European

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 scones

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Trang

Equipment

• Baking Sheet
• Pastry Brush
• Bench Scraper

Ingredients

Lemon scones

• ▢ Zest of 2 medium or large lemons
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
• ▢ 2 cup all-purpose flour (270 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon poppy seeds (16 g)
• ▢ 4 oz unsalted butter (cold & cubed, 113 g)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ¾ cup heavy cream (whipping cream or double cream, 179 g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (for topping, 13 g)

Glaze

• ▢ 1 oz cream cheese (softened, 28 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup powder sugar (33 g, or more to your taste)
• ▢ Zest of a small lemon (optional)

Instructions

• To make the scones: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar turns slightly yellow and fragrant.
• Sift in flour and baking powder, add kosher salt and poppy seeds, whisk to combine.
• Add cold cubed butter to the flour mixture, work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until all the butter pieces are flat.
• Add egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract to a small bowl, whisk to combine. Set aside 2 tablespoons for egg wash. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or countertop, and pat the dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Fold the dough over itself and pat it out again, do this 2 – 3 times.
• Shape the dough into a rectangle and roll it out to about 5” x 8” or 6” x 9”. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut in three crosswise to make 6 squares. Cut each square diagonally to make 12 triangles.
• Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
• When the oven is ready, brush the top and sides of the scones with reserved egg wash, and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 – 10 minutes before transferring the scones to the wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the glaze: Whisk together softened cream cheese and lemon juice. Slowly add powdered sugar while whisking until a creamy glaze forms. Stir in some lemon zest at this point. Taste the glaze and add more sugar if you prefer this to be sweeter, this is a pretty tangy glaze. Spoon glaze over the cool scones, as much or as little to your taste.

Notes

• If you’re using homegrown lemons, you may want to increase the amount of lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor. I notice that some homegrown lemons don’t have as much lemony flavor in the zest as the store bought ones.
• Folding over the scone dough will help create flaky layers, but don’t overdo it because overworking the dough could make the scones dry.
• Using a bench scraper while working with the scones can help you reduce the amount of flour you need to add to the scone dough while shaping, keeping it from drying out too much.
• Freezing the scones before baking will help them keep their shape and rise taller.
• For larger scones, you can shape the dough into a circle about 1” thick and cut into 8 wedges. Bake the larger scones for 20 minutes at the same oven temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 65g | Calories: 250kcal

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Originally published on 5/3/2018. Post updated and republished on 2/23/2021 with more tips and updated photos.

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