Lemon-Poppyseed Scones

Mrs. Rabe of Creekside Cottage asked if I'd share my recipe for the scones. I got it from a freezer email list I used to be on but I think it originally came from Bon Appetit. I apologize in advance for the spacing-I really did space it nicely but blogger seems to like it run together better.

If you know me, you know that I sometimes (ok, maybe almost always) do a little "tweaking" and I've been trying that with this recipe. I love it just as written but that is a LOT of butter. I replaced just a bit of the butter with nonfat yogurt and couldn't tell a difference. Of course, this always leads to further experimentation-how low can the butter content go before ruining the end result? I don't know that answer yet.

Instead of making eight large wedge-shaped scones yesterday, I used a slightly mounded cookie scoopful of dough and dropped it on a sheet pan like a biscuit. I think they took about 15 minutes to bake. It yielded about 30 scones prepared that way.

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

3 cups flour, all-purpose
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sugar (turns out to be optional-see original poster's note at bottom)
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (I use one lemon's worth of zest instead of measuring)
1 teaspoon salt (I leave this out completely but I'm pretty anti-salt)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces (I used 8 T. butter, 2 T. yogurt)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup whole milk (or more) (I use skim)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Position rack in top third of oven.

Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk egg and lemon juice in medium bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form. Add 1/3 cup milk. Using on/off turns, process just until dough comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry. (I don't think I've ever had to use more.)

Using floured hands, gather dough into ball. Flatten into 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to large baking sheet; brush with milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until scones are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Makes 8 scones.

I didn't brush them with milk or sugar -- instead, while they were baking, I mixed a very small bit of lemon juice and powdered sugar to make a frosting, which I then coated the cooled-as-far-as-my-patience-would-allow scones very slightly with.

Enjoy!