Sour Lemon Scones

I recently picked up Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. It didn't take me long to decide that I needed to make pretty much every recipe in this book. Today I decided to make the very first recipe; sour lemon scones. These were magnificent!

They were quite easy to make although I must admit I always have problems with kneading scone dough to start with. And today I also had the added disadvantage of my two year old insisting on helping with everything, down to zesting lemons and kneading the dough - all with a runny nose.

Ingredients:
4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 C. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
1 large egg
1 C. buttermilk
1/4 C. grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
1/2 C. diced candied lemon peel (optional)
2 Tbsp raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

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

Add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea sized.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, 3/4 C. 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. If using, add the candied lemon peel and knead to incorporate. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into two discs (about 1 1/2 in. in height). Do not overwork the dough.

Cut each disk into 6 wedges. Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush each scone with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for about 25-30 min (rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time) or until the scones are golden brown.

Transfer the scones to a cooling rack. You can serve slightly warm or completely cooled.

I made the straight recipe without adding in diced candied lemon peel. They had a wonderful rich texture to them and the raw sugar on top added a little bit of sweetness to the scones. Definitely a keeper!