These buttery lemon poppy seed scones with plump, tart raspberries are brushed with a delicate lemon glaze. An absolutely perfect recipe for a feminine high tea, bridal shower, or simply for breakfast!
The scones, themselves, are not very sweet, but the lemon glaze adds a perfect sweetness to the tart raspberries that makes my mouth water just writing about it!
I’ve been making these scones every weekend for the past few weeks so I can treat myself to a lovely breakfast each morning. The recipe is similar to my lavender lemon scones with a few adjustments, and obviously not as floral, but every bit as special. They’re flaky and light and smell as heavenly as you can imagine they would!
How to Make These Scones – Step by Step
1. Preheat oven to 400 F., line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and chop 1 cold stick (4 oz.) of unsalted butter into smaller pieces so it can warm slightly while you prepare your other ingredients.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2½ cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. kosher (or flake) salt, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 tsp. poppy seeds and zest from 1 lemon. Mix gently. Set aside.
3. In a separate small mixing bowl, combine 1 beaten egg, ⅓ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup heavy cream and 1 tsp. real vanilla extract. Set aside. (You’ll add these ingredients to your dough after you’ve mixed in the butter.)
4. Add your semi-softened butter to the large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix it into the flour until you have a crumbly mixture, allowing a few bits of butter to stay unmixed. This allows nice pockets of butter to form in your scones.
5. Add the contents of your small mixing bowl to the large one, and mix with a spoon until thoroughly combined into a sticky dough.
6. Get your hands nice and floury to make it easier to pick up and roll dough with your hands.
7. Pick up about 2 tbsp. of dough with your hands and roll it into a ball. Flatten it and add 2 frozen raspberries. Fold and roll it back up into a ball. Place it on parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough.
8. Bake scones for 15–20 minutes on the bottom rack.
9. While your scones bake, make your glaze. In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup confectioners sugar, ½ tsp. lemon zest and 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice.
10. After 15-20 minutes, remove your scones and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Then, use a pastry brush to coat them in the lemon glaze. Refrigerate them for about 5-10 minutes to help the glaze set, then serve.
Common Questions
This recipe calls for frozen raspberries because they’re easier to press into the dough and roll into a ball around them. But if you have very firm, fresh raspberries, they’ll be perfectly fine. Just avoid over-ripe, squishy ones.
You can, but they’ll be a little lackluster. If you don’t want to make a glaze, I highly suggest brushing the scones with a beaten egg and sprinkling them with a little sugar before baking.
They’ll stay perfectly tasty for at least a week. I suggest refrigerating them in a sealed container to keep the glaze from getting sticky, but you can also store them at room temperature.
A Few Tips
1. Use a quality, salted butter.
Even though these scones are flavored with fresh lemon juice, vanilla and raspberries, butter is really the star of the show. It’s what makes them magical, so make sure you use a quality organic butter or Kerry Gold. I have no affiliation with Kerry Gold, but I’ll sing its praises from the rooftops! I use it 100% of the time for baking. It really makes all the difference.
2. Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled.
Bottled lemon juice is filled with preservatives and won’t have a very nice flavor, compared to fresh lemon juice in this recipe. Make sure to squeeze your own.
3. These scones are best served toasty.
If you’re not serving them straight away, simply toast them in an oven at 350 F. for 5-7 minutes to toast them back up again.
A Little More Feminine Recipe Inspiration
- Beet Napoleon Appetizers with Prosciutto Roses
- The Pink Cherry Blossom Maraschino Liqueur Cocktail
- Beautiful Spring Canapés
- White Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse with Raspberry Compote
- Glazed Strawberry Rhubarb Scones
For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok, and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!
Glazed Raspberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Equipment
- sharp knife
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- mixing spoon
- large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat
- pastry brush
- lemon zester
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 1 egg – beaten
- 2½ cups flour – and 2 tbsp. for coating hands
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 4 oz. unsalted butter – softened
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. real vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. kosher salt – or flake salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. poppy seeds
- ⅓ cup lemon juice – about 3 lemons
- zest – from 1 lemon
- ½ cup raspberries – frozen
Lemon Glaze
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice – about ½ lemon
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F., line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and chop 1 cold stick (4 oz.) of butter into smaller pieces so it can warm slightly while you prepare your other ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2½ cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. kosher (or flake) salt, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 tsp. poppy seeds and zest from 1 lemon. Mix gently. Set aside.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, combine 1 beaten egg, ⅓ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup heavy cream and 1 tsp. real vanilla extract. Set aside. (You'll add these ingredients to your dough after you've mixed in the butter.)
- Add your semi-softened butter to the large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix it into the flour until you have a crumbly mixture, allowing a few bits of butter to stay unmixed. This allows nice pockets of butter to form in your scones.
- Add the contents of your small mixing bowl to the large one, and mix with a spoon until thoroughly combined into a sticky dough. Get your hands nice and floury to make it easier to pick up and roll dough with your hands.
- Pick up about 2 tbsp. of dough with your hands and roll it into a ball. Flatten it and add 2 frozen raspberries. Fold and roll it back up into a ball. Place it on parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake scones for 15-20 minutes on the bottom rack.
- While your scones bake, make your glaze. In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup confectioners sugar, ½ tsp. lemon zest and 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice.
- After 15-20 minutes, remove your scones and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Then, use a pastry brush to coat them in the lemon glaze. Refrigerate them for about 5-10 minutes to help the glaze set, then serve.
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