The Pioneer Woman’s Lemon Cream Scones

It’s abundantly clear that Ree Drummond (better known as The Pioneer Woman) knows what she’s doing in the kitchen, but she’s truly outdone herself with her perfect cream scones. They’re buttery and the best kind of melt-in-your-mouth crumbly and I speak from experience when I say that it’s incredibly difficult to stop at just one. She takes her basic recipe and sometimes flavors it with rosemary or berries or vanilla, but here we’ve left them simple with bright, sunny lemon. I could go on and on about their wonderful texture and flavor, but all I really need to say is – I don’t think I’ll ever need another scone recipe.

With her method you sift together the dry ingredients, and stir together the wet ingredients (the cream, lemon zest, vanilla, and egg) and let the cream mixture sit to steep for a few minutes. This seems to help that lemon flavor really permeate every bite, so go ahead and follow instructions here. You can let it sit while you cut the butter in, so you’re not standing around waiting or anything.

Cut the (cold!) butter in until it resembles coarse crumbs and then stir in the wet ingredients until you have a loose and lumpy dough. Resist the urge to overwork it, that lumpy texture is what ensures these end up so wonderfully tender and flaky when they come out of the oven.

A quick lemon glaze finishes them off and it adds the perfect extra bite of sweetness. These are buttery, but the cream also adds a clean and sweet moistness, so while they melt in your mouth, they’re never dry.

Lemon Cream Scones

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon
• For the glaze:
• 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
• Zest and juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Stir egg, lemon zest, and vanilla into cream and allow to sit 10 minutes to steep.
4. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cream mixture to flour mixture, and stir gently with a fork until combined. Mixture should be crumbly.
5. Turn dough onto a floured surface and press together into a rectangle. Roll out until dough is about 3/4-inch thick and 18×10-inches.
6. Trim edges with a knife, then cut into 12 even squares or rectangles. Cut each piece in half diagonally to form two triangles.
7. Transfer triangles to prepared baking sheet and bake until just beginning to turn golden brown, about 18 minutes.
8. Let cool 15 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. While scones cool, make the glaze:
10. Stir together lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and milk, and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so.
11. Whisk powdered sugar into milk, adding more if a thicker consistency is desired.
12. Once smooth, dunk each cooled scone into the glaze. Allow to set before serving, about 1 hour. Enjoy!

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman.