I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now, years actually, that scones would be a perfect treat to bring in to work. I could do most of the work the night or weekend beforehand and then just bake them in the morning before work. It would be easy for me, and my coworkers would have fresh scones to go with their morning coffee.
It sounds good in theory. In reality, it was a harried morning of showering, emptying the dishwasher, making smoothies, chugging my morning tea, skipping a couple makeup steps, hoping the blue of my scarf didn’t clash too much with the blue of my shirt, oh and garnishing, baking, cooling, and snapping a few very quick pictures of lemon-ginger scones.
So I was wrong about the convenience of baking scones in the morning before work. But I was right about my coworkers loving them. It was a nice morning of compliments – not on my outfit with its clashing blues, obviously, but the tender and slightly spicy scones made up for the unavoidable shortcomings that resulted from my rushed morning.
One year ago: Pasta with Tiny Meatball Sauce
Two years ago: Stromboli
Three years ago: Baked Ziti
Four years ago: Twice-Baked Potatoes with Broccoli, Cheddar, and Scallions
Five years ago: Deviled Eggs with Tuna
Printer Friendly Recipe
Lemon-Ginger Scones (inspired by Bon Appetit’s Lemon Cream Scones, but when I realized I didn’t have nearly enough cream, I adapted Tartine’s Buttermilk Scones instead)
Serves about 8
As always, you can freeze scones after shaping, before baking. Bake directly from the freezer, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
2½ (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
3 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes, very cold
2 ounces crystallized ginger, chopped fine
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2.Pulse the flour, ¼ cup sugar, 3 teaspoons lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor until evenly mixed. Scatter the butter cubes over the dry ingredients and pulse until the largest bits of butter are no larger than peas. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger, then the buttermilk. Knead a few times to bring the dough together.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat the dough out to ½-inch round. Cut the round into 8 wedges or use cutters to cut other shapes.
4. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Rub the remaining 1 teaspoon of zest into the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Brush the scones with the melted butter and top with the sugar mixture. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 16-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
I can never get my scones to rise this much, what’s the secret?
I’ve thought about baking things in the morning before work, but it is so hard. I’m impressed!
Definitely bookmarking this! Did you make one batch or several? Just wondering because you have way more than 8 scones 🙂 And if they are smaller shapes, did you need to reduce the baking time? Thank you 🙂
Many years ago I lived down the street from an awesome cafe in Minneapolis. They served the best lemon ginger scones. They were my absolute favorite flavor of scones. Ever. I’ve been searching for a recipe to make them. My husband is out of town this weekend so it’ll be the perfect time to make these. He just doesn’t understand.
lately i’ve been obsessed with lemon ginger tea. i’m sure these scones are just as good!
Lisa T – Good questions, sorry I wasn’t clearer. I just made one batch, but they’re tiny – about 1-inch each. If I was making them for myself to enjoy with coffee, I would have made eight, but I’ve found my coworkers appreciate the small portions. Usually you’d want to reduce the baking time by a couple minutes for smaller sizes, but these seemed to take forever in the oven (probably because I was running late already!). I think I squeezed them too tightly onto the baking sheet because I didn’t have time for two sheets to cook separately, which might have slowed their baking time, but even these little guys took over 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Nicole – I’m not sure if I have a secret…the right combination of leaveners helps, of course, and I think just a bit of kneading to bring the dough together leads to taller scones as well.
LOVE this flavor combination, Bridget!
Thanks for the reminder to pull out that crystallized ginger out of my pantry that I didn’t get around to using for Christmas baking. I love how flaky your scones look!
I can never remember if I like scones, so I tend not to make them, but these look and sound so good I might cave. Maybe I’ll add it to my list of stuff to stash in the freezer.