I always forget how short February is, and am pleasantly surprised when March sneaks up on us in no time. I think February may actually be my favourite month. The beginning of the month has stores full of pink, red, hearts, teddy bears, and sprinkles, which makes for the best grocery shopping days ever. When that disappears, it gives way to Easter decorations, and I can start looking forward to my favourite holiday of the year, even if it is still pretty far away. I can make the time pass quite expediently with all the Cadbury creme eggs and Mini Eggs to distract me, and before I know it, February is gone again.
Another beautiful thing about February is the citrus fruit. I cannot get enough of the sweet, juicy oranges and grapefruit, and the lemons are perfect and abundant.
These scones were part of our Valentine’s Day tea, hence the cute little heart shape :) They are an adaptation of my mom’s famous flaky buttermilk scones, and are perfect for a winter or spring day, with a gentle hint of lemon, a sprinkle of poppyseeds, and a drizzle of lightly-lemony icing.
Warm with a bit of butter, there are few things better than a perfectly flaky fresh scone. Don’t forget the spot o’ tea and your prettiest dishes :)
When cutting scones, whether into hearts or circles or hexagons, it’s crucial to use sharp cutters and to press down straight and firmly, once. Twisting the cutter back and forth to cut through will seal the edges of the dough so it won’t rise as nicely and you won’t see the nice layers on the side that the cold butter creates as it travels through the scone during baking.
The things I learn from my mother when we bake together :) Whether lemon poppyseed, plain, or your own variation, you need to try these buttermilk scones!
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup COLD butter, cubed
- 1 Tbsp poppyseeds
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
- Stir in poppyseeds and lemon zest.
- In separate small bowl, whisk buttermilk with egg; pour over flour mixture. Stir with a fork to make a soft, ragged dough.
- With lightly floured hands, press dough into ball. On lightly floured surface, knead gently about 8-10 times or until smooth. Roll dough out to about ¾” thickness and cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter or 2½ ”-3” biscuit cutter, re-rolling dough as necessary. Place shapes on prepared baking sheets about 1” apart.
- Bake at 400º until bottoms are light golden, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.
- In small bowl, combine icing sugar with just enough lemon juice to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm scones.
These were great. My daughter loved them. Thank you for this recipe.
Just made these. They’re easy to make & delicious! I added a little extra lemon zest because I wanted a bit more lemony flavor. Yum!
These scones look so great, and look at how elegant your set up looks! I just want to have a tea party with these!
These scones look so flaky! I love the lemon poppyseed combination and the heart shape is just perfect!
These look absolutely lovely, Anna! I’ve never been one to automatically think of scones when I think of baked goods but you are changing my mind! These look scrumptious!
I love making scones and a lemon poppy seed version sounds wonderful! And I totally adore the cute little heart shape – so fun!
I adore lemon poppy seed anything! And I especially love the cute little heart shape!
These sound wonderful! I love a little treat with my afternoon tea, and these would be perfect for that. Although I wouldn’t say no to one right now, either. =)