Lemon Lavender Scones

Just read the title and think about what those would mean to you. Fresh, light, Spring-timey? I would have to say these involve everything you're thinking of and then some. I swear, I ate one of these fresh from the oven and almost died of happiness. I'm pretty sure my roommate Cayci and I melted onto the counter at the same time in awe. I only wish they hadn't disappeared so fast that I didn't get a picture of them.

The best part about baking these for our girl's plus two boys trip was watching the first time the boys ate them. I said "Hey guys I brought some lemon lavender scones, y'all want some?" While the boys just stand there, looking wary and go "Well, um, alright, I guess so." Clearly not trying to hurt my precious feelings. Jump to them stealing the entire bag from me while we're in Charleston and polishing them all off. Way to go me.

I got the recipe from Food + Words and all I can say is genius. I pulled a few other things out of my sleeve on this one, and since I can't give ALL my secrets away, you'll just have to make these on your own and put your creative twist on them. Trust when I say they don't need much. They're damn near perfecto. Just make sure you land on something soft when you pass out from too much bliss.

Lemon Lavender Scones

Ingredients

For the scones:

zest of two lemons
1 tablespoon culinary lavender, finely ground (i used a coffee grinder, but a mortar & pestle would do)*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 large egg
1 egg yolk (reserve the egg white for brushing the tops of the scones before baking)
1 cup heavy cream

 *I had no idea if she meant fresh or dried and could only find fresh lavender fyi.

For the glaze:

4 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice (use the two lemons you zested above!)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
finely ground culinary lavender, for sprinkling atop scones

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine sugar, lemon zest, and lavender. Pulse a few times to combine and allow the zest to release its essential oils. Add flour, baking powder, salt and butter to the food processor, and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk and cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and pulse until just combined. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to approximately one inch thickness. You can use biscuit or cookie cutters to cut out scones, or simply cut them into squares.

You can also separate your dough into two balls, and roll each one into a circle. Then, using a knife or bench knife, cut the circle so you have eight pieces, much like you would a pizza. Arrange scones onto baking sheet, about two inches apart. Brush tops of scones with reserved egg white, and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until pale golden. If glazing, allow to cool completely. Then drizzle glaze liberally atop cooled scones, topping with reserved ground lavender.

You can wrap the unglazed scones individually with plastic wrap and foil, and place them in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze them for a week or two, and simply heat them in a 350F oven for a few minutes to warm them up, then glaze and serve!

The glazed scones will keep stored in an airtight container at room temperature for three to four days.