Homemade Lemon Poppyseed Scones with a tangy lemon glaze are tender and flaky, made with fresh lemon juice and zest, and filled with plenty of poppyseeds.
Lemon Poppyseed Scones
Lemon and poppyseed is one of my all time favorite flavor combinations. It’s a perfect pairing of tanginess, sweetness, and a hint of nuttiness from the poppyseeds.
The flavors pair perfectly in baked goods like muffins, cakes, and in the case of today’s recipe, scones. I’ve loved scones since I was little, and they’re one of my favorite go-to recipes for breakfast, brunch, and holidays.
While lemon and poppyseed can be eaten all year long, I love these flavors during the spring and summer months. The brightness of the lemon flavor is the epitome of warm, sunshine days and is the perfect flavor for Easter and Mother’s Day brunches.
If you’re looking for a last minute Mother’s Day brunch recipe, these easy Lemon Poppyseed Scones are sure to be a hit! They’re so incredibly tender and flaky (think a flaky biscuit meets a tender muffin), and these lemon glazed lemon scones with poppyseeds are so easy to make.
What Makes These Lemon Poppyseed Scones The Best?
- Texture: These Lemon Poppyseed Scones are flaky and moist. Scones are notoriously dry and crumbly, but these scones are perfectly moist with a soft, tender texture.
- Flavor: Lemon and poppyseed pair so well together. Poppyseeds are subtle in flavor, but they have a slight nuttiness and sweetness, which enhances the brightness and tanginess of the lemon.
- Simple: Scones are incredibly easy to make, and it’s difficult to mess them up! That’s why they’re my go to for a brunch party or hoiday gathering.
These lemon glazed scones with poppyseeds are just what your next coffee date or brunch gathering needs!
Lemon Glazed Poppyseed Scone Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar
- Lemon Zest: To make these poppyseed lemon scones lemony you need a lot of zest. It imparts so much flavor without altering the texture. About 2 Tbsp are needed. If you skimp, it won’t be as lemony.
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Poppyseeds
- Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter so you can control the overall salt content.
- Egg
- Heavy Whipping Cream: You need heavy whipping cream because it’s very rich and thick. Milk or half & half cannot be subtituted.
- Lemon Juice
- Almond Extract: Almond extract is an optional ingredient, but it adds a little something something to the overall flavor.
- Powdered Sugar
How To Make These Lemon Poppyseed Scones From Scratch:
- Sugar: Mix granulated sugar and lemon zest together. This is a very important step because rubbing the sugar and zest together releases the oils in the lemon zest, which adds more flavor.
- Dough: Add flour, baking powder, salt, and poppyseeds to the sugar mixture.
- Butter: Next, add the butter into the mixture, cutting it in with your standing mixer, a fork, or a pastry cutter. Once it resembles coarse crumbs and the butter is the size of peas, it’s ready.
- Liquid: Whisk the lemon juice, heavy cream, egg, and almond extract together. Drizzle the liquid into the scone mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pat: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a circle, about 1/2” thick. Cut into 8 triangles. (See troubleshooting tips down below if the the dough is too wet/too dry.)
- Bake: Brush the scones with heavy cream and bake on a parchment lined tray until lightly golden brown.
- Glaze: Whisk powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest together. Drizzle over the tops of the scones.
Can I Freeze These Lemon Poppyseed Scones?
Yes, you can freeze these scones. I suggest freezing them unbaked, and then baking them when you’re ready for them.
To freeze these before baking, make the scone dough, cut the dough into triangles, and flash freeze on a baking tray for 1 hour. Then, store the scones in an airtight container until ready to bake.
You can bake the scones frozen, but you will need to add a few minutes to the overall bake time.
Storage Tips:
Store these in an airtight container. You can store them at room temperature for a couple of days, or you can store them in the fridge.
If you want to freeze these lemon poppyseed scones after baking, you can, but I suggest freezing them unglazed and then glazing them after you reheat them. Once baked, let them cool completely. Flash freeze, then freeze in an airtight container. To serve, you can warm them in the oven or in the microwave.
If you love these scones, here are some other recipes to try:
- Lemon Rosemary Scones
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Orange Cream Scones
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Scones
- Cranberry Orange Scones
Here are some other Mother’s Day Recipes too:
Homemade Scones Troubleshooting Tips:
- Too Wet: If you feel like the scone dough is too wet (i.e., it’s sticking to your hands), add a little bit more flour until the dough can be patted into a circle. This can happen for varying reasons (the butter got too soft, the egg was really big, etc.).
- Too Dry: If the scone dough is too dry and doesn’t want to stick together, then add a little bit more heavy cream, about 1 Tbsp at a time. Like pie dough, sometimes the dough just needs a pinch more liquid to come together.
- Scones Spread While Baking: If you’re scones spread while they were baking, chances are the butter in the dough got a little bit too soft while you were making the dough. This can easily be remedied by putting the dough in the fridge or freezer for a bit.
- Pro Tip: I like to cut the dough into triangles, put them on my parchment lined baking tray, and then pop them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Then I pull them out, brush with cream, and bake.
Happy baking, friends!
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest*
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp poppyseeds
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream,* plus extra for brushing
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or coat the pan with baking spray).
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer), rub the lemon zest into the sugar. This releases the oils in the lemon zest.
- Add the flour, baking powder, poppyseeds, and salt to the sugar mixture. Mix until combined.
- Using a fork or a pastry cutter (or your standing mixer), work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (and the butter is about the size of peas).
- Whisk together the heavy cream, lemon juice, egg, and almond extract. Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, mixing until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form the dough into a flat circle, about 1/2” to 3/4” thick. Cut the dough into 8 equal triangles.
- Place the scones on the baking tray, and brush the tops with a bit of heavy cream.
- Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice together. If the glaze is too thick, add the remaining Tbsp of lemon juice. If it’s too thin, add in a bit more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle over the tops of each scone.
- Let the glaze set before serving.
*Don’t skimp on the lemon zest. While 2 Tbsp seems like a lot, it’s important to really enhance the lemon flavor. You will need about 3-4 large lemons for the zest.
**If the scone dough is too wet, add a bit more flour until the dough is manageable. If the dough is too dry, add in a little bit more heavy whipping cream until the dough comes together. Read the troubleshooting tips for more info.
Here are some other recipes to try next:
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