lemon ginger scones

It’s the 4th of July on Wednesday and I’m pretty sure no one in the world is googling “scone recipes” this time of year but here we are anyways.

These lemon ginger scones are one of the best things to come out of my kitchen this summer and I first made them for a “royal wedding brunch” in May when I had some friends over for a lot of food and a lot of feelings.  The feelings were mostly coming from me since I have absolutely zero chill when it comes to Meghan and Harry.  It’s not cool to admit that but there’s nothing cool about this food blog to begin with so no harm, no foul.What is better than cool are these scones.  Scones have a bad reputation for being dry and stale tasting.   I once heard someone refer to them as a “grandmother throw away breakfast”, which feels equally rude to scones and grandmothers.

These scones are not that.  The buttermilk keeps them tender and chewy bites of crystalized ginger and a generous pour of lemon doesn’t hurt either. Ever since I made these, that same group of friends asks about them whenever we hang out and I’m thinking maybe I should be offended they are only interested in me for my scones and then I think – I’m 100% ok with being wanted for my scones.

Everyone has to add value in their own ways. If for some wild reason people aren’t thinking to request scones at their barbecue this week – please show them the way.  I actually think it’s a real missed opportunity if you don’t make these, split them in half, and top with fresh berries like an amped of version of strawberry shortcake.Moral of the story is, scones are cool.

lemon ginger scones

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz butter, cubed and chilled

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup candied ginger, diced

1 tsp ground ginger

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking pan.  In a small bowl, work the lemon zest into your sugar with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant.  Then combine the flour, lemony sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or regular mixing bowl.  Next mix in the cold butter until pea sized crumbles appear.  Add in the buttermilk until just incorporated. There will be some dry spots so add in your diced candied ginger and  do the final mixing of the dough by hand on a floured surface to get it all properly combined.

Shape into a circle about 1.5 inches tall.  I usually just guess at this part but keep in mind the scones will puff up while baking.  Cut the scones into 8 wedges before baking, which will make it easy to pull apart once done.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning the temperature down to 350 half way through the baking time.

Once the scones have cooled, whisk together your lemon juice and powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want.  Pour over each scone and let the icing set.

Enjoy!