Meyer Lemon Scones

Le sigh… I was once a very proud guardian of a glorious Meyer Lemon tree that i grew from a wee gallon pot. After 4 years, many fruit and astounding growth – the department of mean in California confiscated it on our move from Texas. I still shed tears thinking about it… but for those of you who have access to these wonderful lemons – here is a most excellent recipe. I know – it’s not citrus season YET…. but you may have some juice leftover in the freezer and need to make some space for holiday cookies!

I adapted this recipe slightly from Baking Bites, my changes have been annotated. My scones got a bit dark on the bottom, resulting from cutting the scones about half as large as the original recipe called for and the addition of cornmeal and lack of parchment paper. The cornmeal is what makes these scones truly special, so try mixing some in with the rest of your flour: it gives excellent texture.

Meyer Scones

• 2 cups flour *I used 1.5 C bread flour as i was out of all purpose and .5 C cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• -1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup or one stick butter, chilled, quartered and diced into smallish chunks
• 8-10 T fresh meyer lemon juice (Juice from 1.5 of my lemons)
• 1-2 tsp meyer lemon zest (Zest from 2 lemons)
• Agave nectar and more lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Mix the dry ingredients, including sugar until well sifted.
3. Mix in the zest.
4. Add butter, toss to coat then work in with your fingers. You want a sandy consistency, but don’t melt the butter with your hands. A few chunks are okay, but try and get the dough a uniform texture.
5. Add about half the juice and mix with a spoon. Add the rest of the juice and mix until the dough forms a ball. I found i had to knead with my hands to get it good and mixed – could maybe have used more juice due to the cornmeal.
6. Divide in two and form two balls, flatten to about 1 inch thick, and quarter. I cut my dough balls into 8ths.
7. Separate scones slightly and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until golden. Mix up a splash agave nectar with a bit more juice and drizzle glaze on top of scones. Serve cooled or slightly warm.
8. Makes 8 – 16 depending how small you cut them.

These suckers are REALLY good. Lightly citrusy. Sweet but not TOO sweet. Really good. Especially with that drizzle on top.

Have you ever had a Meyer Lemon? What did you think?