These lemon poppy seed scones are fluffy, cakey, a little flaky, and moist - with bakery style crunchy tops. They are tangy from the lemon juice and Greek yogurt, and filled with lots of lemon zest for extra zestiness. The poppy seeds add a delightful texture and flavor to the scones. Top with a tangy lemon glaze and serve with butter, clotted cream, or your favorite scone toppings.
I've retested and updated this scone recipe for super moist and soft scones. I tested it so many times and share all the tips and tricks for a flaky, tall scone that isn't dry! You're going to be so happy with these.
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🍋 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Lemon poppy seed: zesty tender scones with crunchy poppy seeds. Such a classic and delicious flavor combination.
- Moist & fluffy: I tested these scones SO many times to get the perfect fluffy, moist texture. It's the perfect balance between a flaky and cakey scone.
- Tangy lemon glaze: The glaze adds lots of sweet, lemony tang.
- Crunchy top: Coarse sugar sprinkled all over the top add so much crunch - like those bakery scones.
📝 Key Ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
Lemon: You'll need the zest of two lemons, and some of the juice for the scone dough. You can use the rest of the juice from the two lemons in the glaze.
Poppy seeds: These add a delightful crunch and flavor to the scones. Just check that the poppy seeds haven't gone rancid before using them. If you also love poppy seeds, you should try my Ukrainian poppy seed roll. It's packed full of poppy seeds flavor!
Plain Greek yogurt: I tested this recipe with sour cream and Greek yogurt, and Greek yogurt was the clean winner! It gave the flavor more of a tang that balanced the richness of the scones a bit better. You can use sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt, I tested it and it works great as well. Don't use regular yogurt - it's not as thick as Greek yogurt and the dough will be too wet!
All purpose flour: Make sure you weigh your flour before using it for most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, you can measure it properly with a measuring cup: fluff up the flour with a spoon before spooning it into your measuring cup. Scrape the excess flour off without packing it in.
Baking powder: Not to be confused with baking soda, this is essential to get light and fluffy scones. To check if it's expired, pour a bit of boiling water over about half a teaspoon of baking powder. If it bubbles and foams, it's still active and good to use!
Toppings: Serve these scones with good quality butter, clotted cream, jam, or my favorite - fruit curd! Choose from my zesty lemon curd, tangy raspberry curd, sweet blueberry curd, or bright strawberry curd.
Butter: Since these are butter scones, a good quality butter (preferably European) is key to the best flavor. If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe so that the scones aren't too salty.
👩🍳 How to make lemon poppy seed scones
Step 1: Cut the butter into small cubes, place on a plate, and freeze for 5 minutes.
While it freezes: In a large bowl, combine sugar, poppy seeds, and grated lemon zest. Rub the mixture together with your fingers until fragrant and moistened.
Step 2: Add flour, baking powder, and salt into the sugar mixture. Stir to combine.
Using a food processor, pastry cutter, or a knife, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles crumbs with larger pea sized pieces. You can also use your finger tips to work in the butter, working quickly.
Step 3: Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the Greek yogurt, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Stir with a spoon until it starts clumping and forming a dough. You want some dry bits to still be there.
Step 4: Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and gather it into a ball. Flatten the ball and fold. Repeat the flattening and folding two times. Work very quickly to not melt the butter.
Form the dough into a circle about 20 cm (8”) in diameter. Place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes to chill.
Pro scone tip: Don't sprinkle extra flour on your scones because that can add too much flour and create a dry scone. Instead, lightly moisten your fingers with water and work quickly with the dough. It'll be sticky and that's ok!
Step 5: While the dough chills in the freezer, preheat the oven to 420°F (215°C). Whisk together the egg and milk for the egg wash. Alternatively, you can use heavy cream to brush on top of the scones.
Step 6: Cut the dough into 8 equal wedges (Cut into quarters, and each of the quarter in half). Lift and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with at least 2 inches (5 cm) of space in between.
Step 7: Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar for a crunchy topping. Try not to get any egg wash on the sides of the scones.
Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes - until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are crunchy. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean with a few crumbs attached.
Step 8: Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add more lemon juice as needed to get desired thickness. I had my glaze quite thick so that it does not all drip completely off the scones.
Dip the tops of the scones into the glaze or drizzle on top. Let the glaze firm up for five minutes on a parchment lined baking tray or on a wire rack.
✔️ Top scone tips for success
- Weigh out your flour. The success of your scone recipe relies quite a bit on the proper measurement of flour. If you add too much - they'll be too dry! Using a scale to weigh your flour will give you the most accurate results.
- Freeze the butter in little cubes before working it into the flour. This will help ensure that the butter stays as cold as possible.
- Keep the butter and dough as cold as possible throughout the process. You want to handle it as little as possible so that it doesn't melt into the dough. The little pockets of cold butter will create layers and flakiness in the scones. And freezing the dough helps make it easier to work with!
- Don't flour your work surface: This can make your scones dry because you're adding in more flour. Work quickly and moisten your fingers with a bit of water to help prevent it from sticking too much. It will still stick and that's ok!
- Don't get any egg wash on the sides: This can prevent the scones from rising as high as possible in the oven, since the egg wash will set before the scone has a chance to rise fully in the oven.
- Don't overbake your scones: The more you bake them the more they will dry out in the oven! For super moist scones, take them out as soon as they're slightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
The baked scones are best eaten the day they're baked since that is when they'll be the moist-est. You can store the leftovers in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you store them in the fridge, I recommend reheating them before eating so that they soften up again.
You can freeze the unbaked scone pieces - place the cut pieces without egg wash on a baking sheet in a single layer to freeze completely before transferring into a freezer safe bag or container to freeze for up to 3 months. Brush the scones with egg wash and bake them from frozen according to the baking instructions. You may need to add a minute or two to the baking time. This allows you to have a fresh scone or two whenever you like, without having to make them from scratch that day.
Baked lemon poppy seed scones can also be frozen without the lemon glaze in an airtight bag or container for up to 2 months.
🥐 The best scone texture
After loads of testing this recipe and feedback from you, I learned that adding eggs into scone dough actually results in dryer scones. That's because when that egg cooks and sets in the oven, it just doesn't add as much moisture into the scone. Eggless scones have the perfect, moist, cakey scones that break apart in half easily. They aren't quite as flaky, but they're also much more moist and enjoyable.
💧 Easy two ingredient lemon glaze
You can top or drizzle the lemon poppy seed scones with an optional two ingredient tangy lemon glaze. The glaze works perfectly with the scone as it is perfectly sweet and tart. It's made using only powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
My hubby prefers the scones with glaze, but I prefer them without since I love the extra crunchy bakery style topping. Make a mix of glazed and unglazed scones and decide what you like yourself!
You can drizzle the scones with the glaze using a fork dipped in the glaze, or dip the tops of the scones right in (what I did).
☕ Serving Suggestions
The most popular ways to serve the scones is with a generous smear of clotted cream and jam. If you can’t find any clotted cream, I love to serve mine with a generous pat of good quality butter. Oh, and a good cup of tea on the side! These lemon poppy seed scones make the perfect addition to your breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea, or dessert table.
If you’re feeling a little more fancy, you can serve the scones with a lemon curd or fruit curd: try my popular luscious homemade raspberry curd, sweet blueberry curd, or tangy strawberry curd.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Just cold, refrigerated butter melts too quickly when working it into the scone dough. Frozen butter stays cold for longer, giving you enough time to work with the dough without it softening.
I freeze my butter by cutting it into small cubes, laying them out on a plate, and freezing for about 10 minutes. They need to be in small pieces because it's much easier to incorporate the butter into the flour that way. Also, it freezes faster!
It is important not to get any egg wash onto the sides of the scones because that will prevent the scones from rising as much as possible as they bake in the oven. Only brush the tops for a crunchy, golden top.
My standard egg wash recipe consists of 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of whole or 2% milk, whisked together until smooth. I've used non dairy milk and it works great substituted for whole milk.
You can also brush the tops with heavy cream.
The coarse sugar on top of the egg wash is important for that signature bakery style crunch.
The key to a bakery style scone with a crunchy top is an egg wash and a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking. I like to use a sparkly coarse sugar for cake decorating that you can find in the cake aisle of the grocery store.
Serve with clotted cream, butter, and jam. If you’re feeling fancy, serve with a little bit of lemon curd or fruit curd. These scones make the perfect addition to your breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea, or dessert table.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Equipment
Ingredients
Scone Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 lemons zested
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (270g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup greek yogurt or sour cream, cold
- ½ cup milk cold
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed (reserve the rest for the glaze)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Egg Wash (alternatively, use heavy cream)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
Lemon Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or more, as needed
Instructions
Scone Dough
- Cut the butter into small cubes, place on a plate, and freeze for 5 minutes. While it freezes, get started on the sugar and zest in the next step.½ cup unsalted butter
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, poppy seeds, and grated lemon zest. Rub the mixture together with your fingers until fragrant and moistened.½ cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons poppy seeds, 2 lemons
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt into the sugar mixture. Stir to combine.2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Using a food processor, pastry cutter, or a knife, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles crumbs with larger pea sized pieces. You can also use your finger tips to work in the butter, working quickly.
- Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the Greek yogurt, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Stir with a spoon until it starts clumping and forming a dough. You want some dry bits to still be there.½ cup greek yogurt, ½ cup milk, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and gather it into a ball. Flatten the ball and fold. Repeat two times. Work very quickly to not melt the butter.
- Form the dough into a circle about 20 cm (8”) in diameter. Place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 420°F (215°C). Whisk together the egg and milk for the eggwash. Alternatively, you can use heavy cream to brush on top of the scones.1 large egg, 1 tablespoon milk
- Cut the dough into 8 equal wedges (Cut into quarters, and each of the quarter in half). Lift and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with at least 2 inches (5 cm) of space in between.
- Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar for a crunchy topping. Try not to get any egg wash on the sides of the scones.2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes - until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are crunchy. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean with a few crumbs attached.
Lemon Glaze (optional)
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add more lemon juice as needed to get desired thickness. I had my glaze very thick so that it does not all drip off the scones.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Dip the tops of the scones into the glaze or drizzle on top. Let the glaze firm up for five minutes on a parchment lined baking tray or on a wire rack.
- Serve with clotted cream, jam, and lemon curd - and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Weigh flour with a scale
- Use frozen butter (cut in small 1 cm cubes)
- Do not overwork the dough and handle it as little as possible
- Fold and chill the dough before baking
- Careful to not get any egg wash on the sides of the scones
- Don't overbake the scones or they will be too dry!
- Brush the tops with heavy cream - this is a great egg free alternative
- The coarse sugar on top of the egg wash is required if you want that signature bakery style crunch. I use coarse sparkling sugar. You can also use turbinado cane sugar.
Jenna
Love that the recipe lists the ingredients in the steps too! Such a great recipe and I’ve never made scones before but everyone (including me) LOVED them!
Emily
Very easy to make! I think I needed to add a little more lemon juice but that was my only error/ addition. Everyone that tried them, has loved them! Would definitely make again.