Lemon Buttermilk Scones with Lemon Glaze
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These Lemon Buttermilk Scones are light and fluffy are bursting with lemon flavor, then drizzled with the most incredible tangy lemon glaze.
Scones are one of my favorite things to bake because they’re so fast and easy and the end result is always amazing. I love having a good scone with my coffee in the morning, it’s just the perfect way to start the day. These scones are perfect for any of my fellow citrus lovers out there, especially topped with my drool worthy lemon glaze and topped with perfectly sugared lemons.
These scones are heavenly, buttery fluffy scones. However, there’s not a lot of butter in them, but the buttermilk makes them so perfectly crumbly and light. When you make scones you want to make sure you don’t over knead the dough, all you need to do is knead it 4 or 5 times, a gentle touch is all they need.
Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Don’t be scared of scones, making them or eating them. This easy recipe includes lots of fresh bright lemon and a bit of buttermilk to ensure they’re perfectly cooked and delectably tender. They’re such a filling little breakfast that won’t leave you feeling sugar buzzed or carb sluggish for the rest of the day. This hand held treat is so loaded with flavor and wonderful texture that I’m sure you’ll be craving this recipe for years to come.
Why Buttermilk?
Let’s talk about the buttermilk in these scones because the buttermilk plays a very important role here. First of all, the buttermilk will add complexity and depth to your scones. It’s what makes them super soft and light and what keeps them from browning too quickly so that you end up with scones that are baked perfectly, inside and out!
Ingredients In Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Scones
- Flour – Regular all purpose works just fine for this recipe.
- Sugar – We want just plain white granulated to achieve our crisp, clean sweet flavor.
- Salt – It’s super important to ensure all of our baking is properly seasoned.
- Lemon – We want the zest from approximately 2 lemons.
- Egg – 1 yolk is all that we need.
- Buttermilk – This will ensure our scones are super tender and have great volume.
- Vanilla – Vanilla extract will really set this whole recipe off, it’s like a secret weapon flavor enhancer.
- Butter – Unsalted as we want to control the sodium content of our dish.
Lemon glaze
- Icing sugar – This finely ground sugar dissolves easily and is perfect for icing and glazes. Don’t be tempted by the granulated used earlier, it will give your glaze a gritty texture.
- Lemon juice – Just a bit more of the fresh stuff for us lemon fiends.
- Salt – We’ll want to season our glaze ever so slightly.
- Milk – Used sparingly to thin out the glaze if need be.
- Corn syrup – This ingredient will add some syrupy sweetness and great consistency.
How To Make Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page
- Preheat the oven: To 400 F degrees.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients, separately: In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Whisk to combine everything. In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla extract together.
- Form the dough: Add the butter to the flour bowl, and using a pastry blender, cut in the butter to make small pea sized pieces. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the dough pulls together. Lightly flour a work surface and dust your hands with flour.
- Prepare scones for the oven: Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead it gently about 5 time. Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk that’s about 3/4 of an inch thick and about 8 inches in diameter. Cut the disk into 8 wedges of equal size. Place the wedges onto a baking sheet.
- Bake the scones: Bake them for about 20 minutes or until golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
- Make the lemon glaze: To make the lemon glaze, add the confectioners’ sugar to a bowl. Add the corn syrup, milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt and start whisking until smooth. Add more milk until the glaze is runny but still thick.
- Finish the scones: While the scones are cooling drizzle them generously with the glaze then garnish with more lemon zest.
Want To Make Sugared Lemon Slices?
It’s easy and I highly recommend them! Take your scone, rip a piece off, drizzle some more glaze over them, put a sugared lemon slice over the scone piece then pop it in your mouth. I’m just saying, it’s heavenly!!
- Cut 2 lemons into thin slices. Mix 1 cup of sugar with 1 3/4 cups water in a large skillet over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Place the lemon slices in the skillet in a single layer, and simmer very gently, not letting the mixture come to a boil. Turn the lemon slices occasionally and cook for about 30-45 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and lay the lemon slices on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow them to cool for 1-2 hours.
How To Zest A Lemon
Lemon peel contains even more nutrients than the fruit of this fruit, offering numerous benefits to the body so let’s figure out how to incorporate them into this dish!
Prepare the lemon: If you’re not using organic lemons, I recommend washing them in warm water using a clean sponge. Warm water melts the wax layer that protects the fruit and dissolves any chemicals with which it has been sprinkled.
Grate the lemon: Wipe the lemons well after they have been washed and grate them on the smallest holes of your grater. You must be careful that the white and bitter part of the shell is not grated so change where you are zesting often. If you look at the lemon and see you have hit any white parts you’ve zested too far.
Tips For Making The Best Scones
- The key to flaky scones is cold butter. Try placing the butter into the freezer for 5 minutes before cubing. And be sure not to over mix with your hands otherwise it will melt too much.
- To ensure you’re using a good lightened amount of flour without sifting, scoop up a cup full of flour and gently shake it back out into your bag. Then gently re-scoop the air sifted flour and level gently with your finger. You’ll find it makes quite a difference!
- If regular milk is all you have on hand keep in mind that you can make your own quasi buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice per cup of milk.
Storing Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Since these scones contain dairy, store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. These can also be easily frozen! Freeze for up to 3 months. Wrap them in plastic wrap individually then place them in a ziploc bag. The spread will not freeze well but it will last in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
Storing Lemon Glaze
The glaze can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
More Delicious Breakfast Treats To Try:
- Banana Buzz Scones
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Classic Pancakes
- Easy Waffles
- Banana Fritters
- Pancake Muffins
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Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Serves: 8
These Lemon Buttermilk Scones are light and fluffy are bursting with lemon flavor, then drizzled with the most incredible tangy lemon glaze.
Ingredients
For Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar granulated
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp lemon zest from about 2 lemons
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
For Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar same as icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp corn syrup light
- 1 tbsp milk plus more as needed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Whisk to combine everything.
- In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla extract together.
- Add the butter to the flour bowl, and using a pastry blender, cut in the butter to make small pea sized pieces.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the dough pulls together. Lightly flour a work surface and dust your hands with flour.
- Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead it gently about 5 time. Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk that's about 3/4 of an inch thick and about 8 inches in diameter.
- Cut the disk into 8 wedges of equal size. Place the wedges onto a baking sheet.
- Bake them for about 20 minutes or until golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
- To make the lemon glaze, add the confectioners' sugar to a bowl. Add the corn syrup, milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt and start whisking until smooth. Add more milk until the glaze is runny but still thick.
- While the scones are cooling drizzle them generously with the glaze then garnish with more lemon zest.
Recipe Notes
- To make the sugared lemon slices that you see in the photos:
- Cut 2 lemons into thin slices. Mix 1 cup of sugar with 1 3/4 cups water in a large skillet over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Place the lemon slices in the skillet in a single layer, and simmer very gently, not letting the mixture come to a boil. Turn the lemon slices occasionally and cook for about 30-45 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and lay the lemon slices on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow them to cool for 1-2 hours.
- Since these scones contain dairy, store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. These can also be easily frozen! Freeze for up to 3 months. Wrap them in plastic wrap individually then place them in a ziploc bag. The spread will not freeze well but it will last in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 311kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 60g (20%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 6g (9%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Cholesterol: 39mg (13%)Sodium: 220mg (10%)Potassium: 225mg (6%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 34g (38%)Vitamin A: 215IU (4%)Vitamin C: 4mg (5%)Calcium: 113mg (11%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Kris says
These look amazing. I’m just curious about why you went with baking powder instead of baking soda with a recipe that’s so acidic?
Jo Cooks Team says
Baking powder does actually react with acid! It contains baking soda and a 2nd dry acid such as cream of tartar. Using just baking soda in this recipe where it calls for a lot of leavener, 1 tbsp, you can end up with an unpleasant aftertaste.
GillyMomo says
This recipe is fantastic! Even though I am self isolating at home, I had all the ingredients.
Nicole says
These scones turned out perfectly and were possibly the best I’ve ever had! The glaze is a must, don’t skip…. it adds a perfect blanket of perfection. Warning: you can’t eat just one. Very difficult to share!
Patti says
Best scone recipe I have ever made! Delicious, quick and easy.
Joanna Cismaru says
Yes!
susan says
I made them, didn’t eat 6 cause my kids ate most of them before I had a chance. Next time I’m going to add white chocolate chunks, dried cranberries and this sliced almonds. The consistency was nice, resisted the urge to over kneed.
Grace says
I just made this recipe and it is easy and delicious. I did add extra flour to my work surface.
Joanna Cismaru says
Glad you liked them!
Phyllis James says
I made your recipe today … did not have Meyer lemons to use and probably makes all the difference. They are good but a little bitey. Glaze did not seem sweet enough so I sprinkled some course natural sugar on top of the glaze,.. I am always trying to make a scone as good a Madison, WI bakery makes them..Lazy Jane’s are to die for. Thanks for the recipe.
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure!
Susan says
I tried this recipe to use up the liquid left after straining homemade yogurt. My dough was pretty wet also, but I added only a little extra flour while kneading, since you said not to work the dough too much. (I found that coating the knife with flour helped me to cut and move the pieces more easily.) We thought they were wonderful! The texture was just right, and the lemon glaze was delicious! I will definitely make them again.
Lisa Law says
These look and sound delicious. Going to make these tomorrow as a treat for my company’s move into a new space, along with some lemon curd. I would like to try the lemon slices but I don’t see a link for them. Do you have the recipe posted somewhere? Thanks!
Joanna Cismaru says
No recipe for them we basically took Meyer lemon slices dredged them through some sugar and then we froze them for about hour.
Sue says
I also found the batter very wet even though I followed the directions carefully. They’re baking now and smell wonderful, however.
Fenne Kieken says
We love these scones, well we love anything lemon actually but these scones are a favorite and hope they are one of yours now that you made them….
Carrie says
Mine was a little wet, but the flour on the counter helped to hold it together. Very good….light and crumbly. Perfect!
Rebecca says
If i wanted to make an orange cranberry scone so that you can taste noth flavors. Would i use dryed of chopped fresh cranberries. Thank you
Joanna Cismaru says
Oh, I would go with fresh cranberries, they’re juicier. 🙂
T Marie says
Hey there! They sure smell good.. but my dough was awfully wet, too. I probably could have added an extra cup of flour (like reviewer above), but I tried to add as little as possible.. likely ended up with 3/4 c extra though. I followed the recipe exactly, and am an experienced home baker. In the future, I would add the buttermilk mixture slowly *just* until the dough pulls together, and no more! Use discretion with the rest, as the dough may not need the full amount of liquid. I think I was able to salvage these, and I’m sure they will taste just as they smell (divine!) but I am confident the texture of mine is compromised. Oh well, I shall just have to try another batch! 😉 (twist my arm hehe)
Joanna Cismaru says
Interesting, not sure how this is happening, as you can see in the video the dough is not too wet at all. I agree with you with adding the buttermilk mixture slowly, give that a try. 🙂
lori says
found this batter very wet-had to add about a cup of flour to get it to form at all-about to bake-hoping for the best……
Fenne Kieken says
Sorry to hear that – dough has worked for this recipe and hopefully you measured everything carefully and followed the instructions as it should be okay. Hope your first try result was okay and certainly give them a try again as these scones are lovely and let us know how it goes
LaVerne says
Made the Lemon Buttermilk Scones this weekend for a brunch. My 6 year old grandson ate 2 of them before anyone else had a chance to dish up – he says they are the “best”. Thanks for all your recipes.
Fenne Kieken says
One of my favorite recipes and usually eat a few while making these.
sherry klusman says
I have never made scones but have eaten hundreds! Are your recipes the traditional scones or are they more muffin like?
Fenne Kieken says
These are traditional scones and not like muffins
La Verne says
I left out the zest and glaze as I wanted a scone to go with potato soup. These were amazing. My little grandson loves lemon and this weekend I will make them as the recipe states. Thanks for all the awesome recipes you post Jo. I use many of them.
Fenne Kieken says
Thank you so much and glad you tried them. Thanks for posting and look forward to hearing how you like them with the zest and glaze when you make them.
Donna says
How much butter?
Joanna Cismaru says
3 tbsp…thanks for catching that. 🙂