Small Batch Meyer Lemon Scones for two.
I've created a little lemon monster in my house, and I'm here to warn you. She's 2 years old, her name is Camille, and she's got lemon seeds in her pockets to prove it.
If you cross her, toss a lemon near her, and run the opposite direction. If you don't get away fast, you'll feel the full effect of the terrible twos!
I've always been a lemon dessert lover (more than chocolate, thank you and please close the door on your way out). I'll take a lemon bars over brownies, lemon pie before apple pie, and Meyer lemons over regular lemons. My daughter has always wanted to eat whatever I'm eating, and so she has become a lemon lover, too.
When I spied a bag of this year's Meyer lemon crop, I stocked up. I used to have a Meyer lemon tree in my front yard in California, and I miss it so much! Yes, I still think about that tree!
Camille was asking for a lemon slice as I was making these small batch Meyer lemon scones, and I handed it to her. I didn't expect her to eat the entire thing, skin and all. Yikes.
Then, she ate a scone right when it came out of the oven, too. She's hooked.
I haven't made a scone recipe for you since 2013 (and it was these Black Pepper Scones with Maple Glaze), and really, that scone recipe is so solid, you hardly need another one. My scone recipes are made with heavy cream (as all scone recipes should be), has a very tender crumb, and is subtly sweet. One-quarter cup of sugar total for four scones is the perfect amount of sweetness.
The lemon glaze on top is entirely optional; I admit I make these without the glaze most of the time. Since you only need the Meyer lemon zest, I squeeze the rest of juice into a container and make lemonade for Camille with it. Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons (they're a cross between a regular lemon and mandarin orange), I can use less sugar when making lemonade. And anything with less sugar for kids is GREAT in my book.
Lemon Scone ingredients
- Flour. We need 1 ¼ cups of regular, all-purpose flour to make our lemon scones.
- Sugar. Yes, ¼ cup of granulated sugar is the right amount for this recipe. Scones are not overly sweet like a muffin; they are delicately sweet. Do not omit the sugar altogether, however, because the final result will be too tough.
- Salt. Fine, flaky sea salt.
- Baking Soda. One-quarter teaspoon of baking soda.
- Baking Powder. Most of the lift and rise for these scones comes from the baking powder.
- Butter. Half a stick of cold butter, do not soften it. It needs to be cold when we work it into the flour.
- Cream. The moisture for scones comes from heavy cream. This can be double or single cream (if you’re in the UK).
- Egg Yolk. We only need one egg yolk for this recipe; save the egg white for another recipe.
- Lemons. To make 4 scones, we need the zest of two lemons. We’re not actually using any of the lemon juice in the dough--zest only. We will save the lemon juice for the glaze. I use Meyer lemons for this recipe, but regular lemons are totally fine.
- Powdered Sugar. A small amount of powdered sugar to make the lemon glaze for topping the scones when they’re done baking.
How to make Lemon Scones
- Preheat the oven to 400. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Dice the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Work the butter into the flour mixture until it's evenly distributed (and roughly the size of peas). Use two knives, a pastry cutter, or your hands.
- Next, add the heavy cream, egg yolk and lemon zest in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour this on the flour mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Don't overmix, but incorporate things well.
- Scoop the dough out, place it on the baking sheet, and use the warmth of your hands to make it stick together into a circle.
- Slice the dough circle into 4 even pieces. Brush each piece with extra heavy cream.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they lightly brown on the edges.
- While the scones bake, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Pour on the scones when they come out of the oven. Serve immediately.
Lemon Scones Recipe variations and substitutions
- Lemon - Use regular or Meyer lemons for this recipe.
- Citrus - You can technically use any type of citrus zest for this recipe, including orange and lime zest.
- Tea - If you want to flavor these with tea, add the tea to the cold heavy cream and let soak overnight for a cold infusion. Then, strain and use the heavy cream in the dough.
Things to know about these small batch Meyer lemon scones:
- These small batch Meyer lemon scones are made with all heavy cream, which is how scones should be made (in my humble opinion), and this makes the scone super flaky!
- There is only ¼ cup total of sugar in the recipe, which makes them slightly sweet. The glaze on top is optional, but delicious.
- You can definitely use regular lemons, or any other kind of citrus. Check the comments for recipe variations made by fellow small-batch bakers.
Ok, I'm sending you off into the weekend armed with a recipe for a small batch of Meyer lemon scones. Get to work, friends!
If you're looking for the mini quarter sheet pan I use when baking a small batch of scones, it's here.
How to store this Recipe for Lemon Scones
The best way to store these scones is at room temperature, especially if they have the sugar glaze on top. They will keep for 1 day at room temperature in an air-tight container. Beyond that, it’s best to store already cooked scones (without the glaze) in the freezer for up to 3 months. Double-wrap them with freezer bags and foil. To defrost, unwrap and leave at room temperature for a few hours. You can also warm them through in a toaster oven.
Another sweet treat idea for breakfast that's perfect for Mother's Day is this sweet bread recipe from Julie Blanner. Customize it however you like!
Small Batch Meyer Lemon Scones for Two. Makes 4 small scones! ***If you top the scones with extra lemon slices before baking, make sure you are eating the scones the same day. Leftover scones get soggy with a lemon slice on top. Enjoy!Small Batch Meyer Lemon Scones
Ingredients
For the optional glaze:
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 434Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 395mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 2gSugar: 30gProtein: 7g
Amanda Sammet says
This recipe has set my bar for scones and I can no longer buy them from anywhere! These are unctuous & moist, while most bought ones are hard and not nearly as tasty. Thanks for all the hard work you pour into providing all of us with amazing recipes!
Tammy Willis says
I have made these before and they are fabulous! Can the dough be made ahead of time and placed in freezer in individual triangle shapes to bake the next morning? I want to make these for my folks but would rather bake them at their house so they will be fresh out of the oven. Thank you.
Christina Lane says
Hi Tammy!
I'm not sure, because I haven't tried that. I'm thinking if you freeze the dough ahead of time, it will take a bit longer in the oven...
I guess it would be okay, because biscuits that bake from frozen are slightly flakier, you know? Ok, I really hope this works for you! :)
Paula says
I just read in another lemon scone recipe that the baker always freezes her scone batter before baking because it makes them so much flufflier.
anne says
another great thing to do with lemon scones is to add a little candied ginger, chopped on top or mixed in.
Christina Lane says
That sounds amazing! I love ginger!
Hayley says
Hi Christina, I tried making these scones but my dough seemed to be too wet, even after adding an extra 1/4 cup of flour! They're in the oven now so we'll see how they turn out. My question is, how do you measure flour? Do you scoop directly from the jar, or do you spoon flour into the measuring cup and scrape off the top? That's the only thing I can think of that made my dough so wet, the variation in flour...
Christina Lane says
Hmmm...Hayley. I'm sorry you're having trouble. Are you double sure that you measured everything correctly? Did you add extra cream?
Jodi says
I got a bumper crop of Meyer Lemons off the tree I planted last year. I love your blog and was happy to find this recipe to use up some of my lemons.
I made these for breakfast today and they were amazing. I added the glaze right out of the oven. These scones were light in both texture and taste. Just a hint of lemon and sweet. I will be making these again and again with the Meyer Lemons off my tree.
thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Ginger says
The nutrition information says one scone has 1772 calories. Is that correct???
Christina Lane says
No, the nutrition calculator is being wonky. Divide that number by 4 for accurate nutrition.
Courtney says
Hi Christina - could I add blueberries to these?
Christina Lane says
I haven't tried that, Courtney, but you're welcome to. Blueberries (especially fresh) add A LOT of moisture to a dough, so watch your baking time.
Julie says
Christina, thank you so much for the recipe. I've just finished my evening cup of tea with your scones. AH-MAZING!!! I'm of Russian heritage and tea is the social phenomenon without which there is no life for a russian girl lol My hubby is a brit - add that to our mix and you can understand the importance of tea and all things that accompany it. I've tried buying scones at two different tea rooms in the area (we live in Florida) and was appalled: crumbly, dry, overly sweet. Extreme sweetness is one of my issues with food in the US. I only eat desserts or baked goods when we go home to Europe, otherwise, I pretty much cook and bake from scratch. It was fantastic not having to half the recipe and I followed it exactly. I used regular lemons. Had to increase baking time by 2 minutes (they felt too "wet" when i tested them with a pick at 15 min). The scones came out aromatic, moist, perfectly lemony, soft yet with that "scone-ish crumble". Just perfection. I often have afternoon/low tea for my expat friends and I'm most definitely never using store-bought scones again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Beth says
I made these yesterday and loved them. So easy and quick to make. I did use orange zest instead of lemon. They were so delicious. Not sure what I did but it made 4 large scones. Thank you for the recipe.
Tina says
Hi, do you know correct calorie count per scone? Can’t be 1772.... thanks!