mess to success.

sour lemon scones. these almost made it to the messes section but quickly became a success.

what a hit! these went over so well - and especially with the one who hates everything - she asked for more and for them to be made again.

and they were surprisingly quite easy. they do require some planning in the ingredient department but once that is all tackled it comes together nicely.


scones have always been hard for me - i never could seem to get them. it's the butter the size of peas and don't overwork the dough. what type of peas are they referring to? should there still be crumbly bits? here is where i have to use my judgement as i am fully self (and a little mom) taught.

maybe they were not all the same size but they held together, got cut, put on the tray and topped.

you could smell them instantly. sweet lemon wafting through the air. my mouth was watering and i was already reaching for my plate, knife and jam. you are supposed to rotate the tray halfway marker so at that point i opened the oven door and - oh no!! they were swimming in butter!! there was nothing in the guidelines about this happening! my heart sank. my stomach rumbled. i yelled to the husband, showed him and pouted. i decided to soldier on and maybe at the 30 minute mark i would be able to salvage something and create a new dish from the mess. i rotated, shut the oven and walked away defeated.

the buzzer rang and i returned expecting to find a complete mess on my hands when low and behold - they were gorgeous! they must have sucked all the buttery lemony goodness backup into themselves. beautifully browned on top and bursting with the aroma of lemon.

saturday morning breakfast at it's finest.

sour lemon scones from baked: new frontiers in baking.
yields: 12 scones
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cubed and cold
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons raw sugar - this can be organic sugar cane or a larger grain sugar.

preheat oven to 350 degrees f. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and salt. whish until combined.

add the butter. use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized.

in a seperate bowl, whisk together the egg, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk, and the lemon zest. slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then gently knead the dough with your hands until the dough starts to come together. move the dough to a lightly floured surface. use your hands to shape the dough into two disks (about 1 1/2 inches in height). do not overwork the dough.

cut each disk into 6 wedges. place wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. brush each scone with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with the raw sugar (i had some of both of these left over). bake in the center of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time) or until the scones are golden brown.

transfer the scones to a cooling rack; they can be served slightly warm or completely cooled.

scones can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (our were fine for 4 days then they were gone - poof!)