Bright & Tangy Strawberry Lemon Scones: Your Ultimate Summer Bake
Transport yourself to a sun-drenched summer garden with every bite of these exquisite Strawberry Lemon Scones. Infused with the vibrant, fresh flavors of ripe strawberries and zesty lemon, and crowned with a luscious, tangy lemon glaze, these scones are a delightful treat that captures the essence of the season, no matter the time of year. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon tea, their light, tender texture and bright taste will instantly elevate any occasion.
My Journey Back to the Kitchen
Life often throws unexpected twists, and for me, the past year has been a whirlwind of significant events. It feels important to acknowledge this journey, as it’s profoundly shaped my return to sharing these cherished recipes with you. My blogging hiatus wasn’t planned; rather, it was a series of life milestones that demanded my full attention and energy.
It began with a conscious decision to step away from the blog during the festive holiday season, prioritizing precious family time. This soon snowballed into a cascade of life-altering events, each bringing its own set of challenges and learning experiences:
- **A New Home:** The excitement of moving into a new house quickly gave way to the daunting task of packing, unpacking, and settling into an entirely new environment.
- **Health Challenges:** A severe bout of influenza B knocked me off my feet for weeks, requiring a slow and patient recovery process.
- **Selling the Old House:** Preparing our previous home for sale involved a considerable amount of decluttering, repairs, and staging – a true test of endurance.
- **Daughter’s High School Graduation:** Celebrating my daughter’s high school graduation was a joyous milestone, yet planning the festivities and navigating college preparations brought its own unique brand of stress.
- **A Special Trip:** To commemorate her graduation, I took my daughter on a memorable trip, just the two of us. We explored the beautiful islands of San Juan and other Caribbean destinations, creating irreplaceable memories.
- **Work Demands:** Returning from vacation, I dove straight into the busiest season at the library where I work, requiring immediate focus and a demanding schedule.
- **College Preparations:** Getting my daughter fully enrolled and ready for college was another major undertaking, filled with paperwork, logistics, and emotional goodbyes as she embarked on her next chapter.
- **Website Redesign:** In the midst of all this, I discovered my website wasn’t rendering optimally across different web browsers. This led to a complete redesign project, focusing on improving functionality, user experience, and overall aesthetics.
Just as I felt like I was finally regaining control, seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and making significant progress on the website redesign, another unexpected setback occurred: I dislocated my ankle. This injury has undoubtedly been the most challenging item on the list, promising a slow and arduous recovery process.
So, as you can see, it’s been quite a year – a true test of resilience and adaptability. But through it all, the joy of baking and sharing delicious food has remained a constant source of comfort and inspiration. And now, I’m absolutely thrilled to be back in the kitchen, starting with these incredible Strawberry Lemon Scones!
The Magic of Strawberry Lemon: A Perfect Pairing
Few flavors evoke the feeling of summer quite like fresh strawberries. In my household, we have an almost obsessive love for strawberry lemonade, consuming gallons throughout the warmer months. So, when I found myself with a handful of leftover strawberries after making a fruit salad for a work gathering, the idea of pairing them with lemon for a baked good was an immediate winner. The combination of sweet, slightly tart strawberries with the bright, zesty kick of lemon is simply irresistible. It’s a flavor profile that is both refreshing and comforting, making it ideal for a light pastry.
Scones, being my absolute favorite thing to bake, were the natural choice for this delightful duo. Strawberries are particularly well-suited for scones for several excellent reasons. Their firm flesh means they hold their shape beautifully during the mixing and baking process, unlike softer berries like raspberries or blackberries, which can easily get mashed and break down into a mushy consistency within the dough. This ensures lovely, distinct pockets of fruit in every bite, adding both flavor and visual appeal to the finished scone.
However, one characteristic of strawberries that needs a bit of attention is their juiciness. Depending on the ripeness and variety, strawberries can sometimes introduce extra moisture to the dough. If your chopped strawberries seem particularly ripe and wet, don’t hesitate to add an extra tablespoon or two of all-purpose flour to the dry mixture before incorporating the wet ingredients. This small adjustment can make all the difference in achieving that ideal light, tender, and perfectly crumbly scone texture, preventing the dough from becoming too sticky or wet. The bright tang of lemon zest, derived from the fruit’s aromatic peel, perfectly complements the sweetness of the strawberries, creating a balanced and refreshing flavor profile that’s truly irresistible and truly captures the essence of summer.
My Secret to Tall, Fluffy Scones: The “Grow Up, Not Spread Out” Method
Over the years, I’ve developed a unique approach to scone baking that consistently yields tall, beautifully risen, and wonderfully fluffy scones rather than thin, crispy ones. Many traditional scone recipes suggest spacing the cut dough pieces far apart on the baking sheet to allow for maximum spread. My method, however, is quite different, and I encourage you to give it a try!
When it’s time to shape the dough, I don’t use individual cookie cutters. Instead, I transfer the entire scone dough directly onto the prepared baking sheet and, with lightly floured hands, gently pat it out into a single 9-inch round. Once the round is formed, I use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut it into 8 equal wedges, much like slicing a pizza. The key difference from other methods is that I only *slightly* separate these wedges, leaving just about a centimeter (or roughly half an inch) of space between each piece.
This proximity is intentional. By keeping the scones relatively close together, they encourage each other to rise upwards rather than spreading outwards. Think of it like a gentle nudge from their neighbors, urging them to grow tall and develop a beautiful, high profile with a delightfully tender interior. If you’re accustomed to giving your scones plenty of room to expand, I highly recommend experimenting with this “grow up, not spread out” technique when you bake these Strawberry Lemon Scones. I believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the remarkable difference in texture and rise, resulting in a perfectly plush scone every time.
Tips for Scone Perfection
Achieving perfect, tender scones is simpler than you might think, especially when you keep a few key techniques in mind:
- **Keep Ingredients Cold:** This is arguably the most crucial tip for flaky scones. Cold butter, milk, and even the egg prevent the butter from melting too quickly into the dough. Instead, the small pieces of cold butter create steam pockets during baking, which are responsible for that wonderfully flaky, tender texture we all crave in a scone. If your kitchen is particularly warm, consider chilling your flour and mixing bowl for 15-20 minutes before you start.
- **Don’t Overmix the Dough:** Overmixing is the enemy of tender scones. Excessive handling develops the gluten in the flour, which leads to a tough, dry scone. Mix just until the ingredients are barely combined and the dough comes together into a loose, somewhat shaggy mass. A few streaks of flour are perfectly fine.
- **Measure Flour Correctly:** Too much flour can make your scones dry and dense. To ensure accuracy, use a spoon to lightly scoop flour into your measuring cup, then level it off with the straight edge of a knife. Avoid packing the flour down.
- **Adjust for Juicy Fruit:** As mentioned earlier, strawberries can vary in moisture content. If your chopped strawberries appear particularly juicy, add an extra tablespoon or two of all-purpose flour to your dry ingredients before mixing in the wet components. This small adjustment will help maintain the ideal dough consistency.
- **Zest Generously for Flavor:** Lemon zest contains essential oils that provide a bright, concentrated lemon flavor without adding any excess liquid. Don’t skimp on zesting a full lemon; it truly enhances the overall flavor profile of these scones.
- **Fresh Lemon Juice for the Glaze:** While bottled lemon juice can be used in a pinch, fresh lemon juice for the glaze makes a noticeable and superior difference in flavor. It provides a crisp, tangy counterpoint to the sweet scone, elevating the entire experience.
Serving Suggestions for Your Strawberry Lemon Scones
These Strawberry Lemon Scones are divine on their own, especially when enjoyed fresh from the oven, but they also pair beautifully with a variety of accompaniments to elevate your culinary experience. Consider serving them with:
- **Clotted Cream or Whipped Cream:** For a truly classic British tea experience, a generous dollop of clotted cream or freshly whipped cream is an absolute must.
- **Extra Strawberry Jam or Lemon Curd:** To enhance the fruit and citrus notes, serve them alongside your favorite homemade or store-bought strawberry jam or a tangy lemon curd.
- **Hot Beverages:** A hot cup of tea (Earl Grey, English Breakfast, or a fruity herbal tea would be lovely) or freshly brewed coffee makes for a delightful breakfast, brunch, or afternoon treat.
- **Iced Tea or Strawberry Lemonade:** For a truly summery pairing, especially on a warm day, a tall glass of iced tea or, staying true to my household’s obsession, homemade strawberry lemonade would be the perfect complement.
Creative Variations to Try
This Strawberry Lemon Scone recipe provides a versatile base that encourages experimentation. Feel free to get creative with these delicious variations:
- **Mixed Berry Scones:** Substitute part of the strawberries with other berries like fresh blueberries or blackberries. Remember to be mindful of their juiciness and adjust flour slightly if needed.
- **Orange Zest Delight:** Swap the lemon zest for fresh orange zest for a sweeter, less tart citrus note that offers a different, yet equally delightful, flavor profile.
- **White Chocolate Infusion:** A handful of white chocolate chips (about half a cup) folded into the dough would complement the sweet strawberries and bright lemon beautifully.
- **Alternative Glazes:** While the lemon glaze is perfection, a simple vanilla bean glaze or even a delicate strawberry puree glaze could be delicious alternatives to explore.
Storage Tips for Freshness
These Strawberry Lemon Scones are truly at their absolute best the day they are baked, when their texture is most tender and their flavors are at their peak. If you happen to have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days to maintain as much freshness as possible. For a wonderfully warm and refreshing taste, you can gently reheat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes or in the microwave for a few seconds before serving. This will help bring back some of their freshly baked aroma and tenderness.
Strawberry Lemon Scones
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Ingredients
For the Scones
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (approx one lemon zested)
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons cold butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with either a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper. This will prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients together thoroughly to ensure they are well distributed. Cut the cold butter into small pieces (about ½-inch cubes) and add them to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. The goal is small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the flour.
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Gently stir the chopped strawberries and lemon zest into the flour and butter mixture. In a separate small bowl, beat together the egg and milk until combined. Pour this wet mixture over the flour and fruit, then stir with a wooden spoon or spatula just until the ingredients are combined and the dough comes together into a loose, somewhat sticky mass. Be careful not to overmix; a slightly shaggy dough is perfect.
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Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. With lightly floured hands, gently pat the dough into a 9-inch round, about 1-inch thick. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the round into 8 equal wedges, like slicing a pizza. Carefully separate the wedges slightly, leaving about 1 centimeter (½ inch) of space between each piece. This encourages them to rise upwards.
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Bake for 23-27 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown on top and cooked through. The exact baking time may vary depending on your oven. Once baked, remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.
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While the scones are cooling, prepare the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice until the glaze is completely smooth and free of any lumps. If the glaze is too thick, add a tiny bit more lemon juice; if too thin, add a small amount of powdered sugar.
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Once the scones have cooled, generously drizzle the tangy lemon glaze over them. Serve immediately and enjoy your homemade Strawberry Lemon Scones!
Notes
Nutrition
Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion, hosting a brunch, or simply craving a taste of sunshine, these Strawberry Lemon Scones are sure to impress. Their perfect balance of sweet and tart, combined with a light, fluffy texture, makes them an unforgettable treat. Give this recipe a try and rediscover the joy of homemade baking. Happy baking, and welcome back to the kitchen!
