Melanie W.'s Sour Lemon Scones

I know this recipe is from a long time ago, but I finally made them last week and I thought they were so good, so I wanted to write about them!

They turned out perfect for me- not too dry and just the right amount of lemon flavor. I used all the butter it called for, though like Danielle had said it's gross how much butter is required! When I formed the dough I thought it was super sticky and I thought about adding more flour, but I resisted and glad I did or else they would have ended up too dry. I made the candied lemon peal and I think it really added to the lemon flavor. It wasn't hard to make, just more tedious than anything. The lemon syrup was more watery than I liked, so I added a little powdered sugar to thicken it up some, then it turned into more of a glaze.

I ate mine with some strawberry preserves which complemented the lemon flavor really well! They were also a huge hit with my current houseguests and they wanted the recipe. I'd love to make these again sometime!

Cami's Lemon Scones

This was a really easy and tasty recipe. I have only made scones once before and am still surprised how easy they are. It is probably the easiest Baked recipe we've tried so far.

I feel like these could use a little more lemon flavor. I even used about 1/2 cup of zest. I agree with LuAnn that a lemon glaze would be nice. I've been eating mine with raspberry jam since they turned out ever so slightly dry. They would be fine alone, but hey, why not heap on a few more calories to make them exceptional. I am curious how the candied lemons would taste. It looked like a lot of work and I only had 4 lemons.

During baking some of my scones expanded and needed to be cut apart. It didn't really bother me but if I were serving them at a fancy brunch I would use two pans instead of one to make sure they stay independent. All in all, I will make these again.

Danielle's Sour Lemon Scones

Yum! I really like how these came out!

At first I was kind of grossed out that it calls for three sticks of butter (for only 12 - 18 scones!). I try to minimize my butter usage whenever possible, and I figured I'd could probably just use less. I asked LuAnn if she thought I could get away with using less and she said they'd likely be too crumbly (she said they were pretty crumbly as it was).

Based on that, I decided to try to substitute sour cream for some of the butter. And it worked out great! I cut out one of the sticks of butter and put in about 1/4 cup of light sour cream. The scones weren't really very crumbly at all, although they still maintained a scone-like texture. I think they came out perfect.

Also, LuAnn and Cami both recommended I try making the candied lemon peels to add more lemon flavor. I almost didn't because it looked like too much work, but I decided to go ahead so at least one of us could give an opinion about it. I like having the candied lemon peel in the scones, but it really was kind of a pain. I'm not sure if it was worth it. But if I do make the candied peels again, I think I'll cut the water and sugar in half (way too much syrup) and I won't boil it so many times (four times seems pretty excessive). I feel like it boiled too much of the zippy lemon flavor out.

Overall, I really liked these, and I would definitely make them again. It's kind of funny that my two most successful recipes out of this book have been lemony goodies.

Sour Lemon Scones

Yum. I like scones. But this was the first time I had ever made them. I do wish they were more lemony. I like that they aren't too sweet because breakfast items often tend to be too sweet for me. However, when you sprinkle sugar on top before you bake them I would really pile it on because I think it adds just enough sweetness. I didn't do the optional candied lemon peel because I was working from a photo copy and I didn't have the instructions for it. I encourage someone to try it. It might make them sweeter. Also...just in case you don't have buttermilk you can put a tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and make your own. That's what I did...it's all the same.

Changes I'll make next time...try to get more lemon flavor in there and I'd like to try a sugary lemon glaze on top.


Baking background: I baked bread and cookies with my mom as a kid. But she didn't do anything fancy and was always trying to make things healthy...but she was a high school Home Economics teacher before I was born. I've often felt like I didn't know how to cook, but I'm realizing that I have a decent knowledge base. And really...with google...anyone can do anything anymore.

Kitchen tool: My favorite kitchen tool was my Cuisinart mini food processor, but now it is the Magic Bullet (which I am borrowing from my mom until I'm done making baby food). Aside from making baby food I use this several times per week.

Spices...uh I don't really know one spice from another honestly. I've heard of these tests you can take to see if you are a super taster and I know I am not one of them. Although I know when I use fresh Italian spices rather than dried everything tastes better.

My favorite cook book is my 3 ring binder that has all the recipes I collect from friends and family.

If I could travel anywhere it would be to Europe...haven't been anywhere in Europe.

If I had to change my name?? Ha ha...this is a funny question because I didn't like my name growing up...I wanted to be Jennifer or Rachel or something. But LuAnn is me and me is LuAnn and I've never been able to pick another that would fit me. I mean really...how can you go from being LuAnn to anything else? I like my name now.

I currently live in Chicago and am remembering why I love it now that it is warming up.