Scones are one of those coffeeshop items that I love to order but often find disappointing. Either they’re too cakey or over-the-top heavy. My ideal scone is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, slightly sweet but able to withhold a generous amount of jam/curd/clotted cream. After yet another recent disappointing scone purchase, I decided it was time to scour the interwebs and find a go-to scone recipe for myself.

It’s not too often I succeed on the very first try, but, boy, were these good scones. I based them off the very well-reviewed Royal Wedding Scones on Food52. Lemon and raspberry is a favorite combination in this household, but you could easily change up the fruit and spices based on season and preference.

Scones are definitely best the day you make them (preferably while still a little warm from the oven), but you can freeze these unbaked and bake straight from frozen (you may need to add a few minutes of baking time). I’ve also had success freezing baked scones and reheating them in a 350F oven for 12-15 minutes or so.

Meyer Lemon and Raspberry Scones

Adapted from Food 52 | Makes 8

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups / 313g AP flour (I’ve successfully replaced about 1/3 of this with spelt flour)
• 1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons / 86g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
• Zest of 1 meyer lemon
• 1/2 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing on tops of scones
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Method:

1. Line a 6-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
2. Put sugar and lemon zest in the bottom of a large bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils.
3. Add the remaining dry ingredients to the sugar-zest mixture and whisk to combine.
4. Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in using a pastry cutter or your fingers. You should have varying sizes of butter pieces, ranging from pea to nickel shaped.
5. Gently fold in the frozen raspberries.
6. Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, gently folding in with a fork. Do not overmix.
7. When a shaggy dough begins to form, dump the contents onto a lightly floured surface. Gently fold the dough onto itself just enough so it becomes a cohesive mass. Transfer to the prepared cake pan, cover, and freeze for about 30 minutes or until slightly hardened.
8. While scones are chilling, preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. When scones are chilled, invert round onto a lightly floured surface and cut like a pie into eight wedges. Transfer to prepared sheet pan. Lightly brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Scones are done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.