Lemon-Filled Scones

Hello ADK Baker followers!  Please forgive me ~ it's been almost a week since I've posted, which is attributed to the busiest week of the year at work in an Admissions office.  We still notify applicants the old-fashioned way, so yesterday we mailed over 6000 letters, which was very exciting, but also meant that the weeks leading up to such an important day were incredibly full with lots of activity.  But, the letters are on their way, and I am back in the baking/blogging saddle, once again.

Which brings me to scones...(can anyone ever get tired of scones?).  In my quest to develop new and interesting flavors for scones and muffins, I've begun "filling" my trusty scone dough with jams and jellies.  I was looking in the fridge at the collection of jams -- strawberry, raspberry, raspberry red currant, apricot --and realized I had one of the best candidates, staring me right in the face!  Lemon curd!  That beautiful, rich, thick essence of lemon is a perfect compliment to the buttery, flaky scone, so I gave it a try, and the results are outstanding!  The brand I have on  hand is Dickinson's, and the jar is beautiful (which is probably why I bought it!) but what's inside has a charm all its own.

Here's the recipe for a new and delicious scone!

LEMON-FILLED SCONES
400-degrees Farenheit
Makes 1 dozen large scones (or 2 dozen mini)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons very cold butter, grated
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar, combined, let sit for 5 minutes)
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
4 tablespoons lemon curd

Directions:
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Grate very cold (ice cold - frozen is fine) butter into the same bowl, tossing grated butter with the flour mixture as you go (so it doesn't all stick together).  Put bowl in freezer for 10 minutes to make sure the butter stays cold and intact.   You don't want it to blend with the flour - the separate, cold butter pieces insure a flaky scone.

In separate bowl, combine beaten egg with buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon extracts.  Make a well in the flour mixture and pour egg/milk mixture into center.  With fork, toss the dry into the wet until it is all combined but not overly mixed.  Just make sure you have grabbed all the dry mixture and incorporated it into the wet.  Put the bowl back in the freezer for 10 minutes.

On well-floured surface, divide dough into 2 equal portions.  Knead each round about 6-8 times, to create multiple layers of dough, adding more flour as needed to keep it from sticking.  Form each portion into a round about 1/2-inch thick.  Spread each round with about 2 tablespoons lemon curd.  Gently roll each round into a log, jelly-roll style.  Tuck ends under and pat each round into a 6-inch circle.  Place rounds on parchment-lined cookie sheet and return to freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove from freezer and cut each round into 6 wedges.  I use a fluted vegetable cutter, but a sharp knife is fine.  Separate wedges on cookie sheet and brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water).

Bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for about 20 minutes OR until the tops have begun to take on a golden brown color.

Remove from oven and drizzle with lemon glaze.

Lemon glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
drops of water, a little at a time

With a fork, mix confectioners sugar, extract, and water, a little at a time, until the consistency of white glue.  You don't want it watery but you don't want it so thick it won't drizzle.  You need a nice, opaque consistency that flows slowly off a fork. Be very careful adding water.  Even the tiniest too much, and your glaze turns to soup!

So that's the latest scone recipe.

Thought you might like to see some recent photos of life in Middle Grove, New York, especially after this past summer-like first week of spring!

First Week of Spring in Middle Grove, New York
(click to enlarge)