Sweet lavender scones

Bon Appétit is a magazine that I look forward to receiving every month. I love flipping through the magazine and drooling over the photos and recipes that the publication offers. This month's feature was on Paris, and I was slightly disappointed that there weren't many dessert recipes.

I did, however, see this one for lavender scones and already had all of the main ingredients in my kitchen. Luckily, I had bought dried lavender a while back at Penzey's and was looking for another recipe to use some more of it. This recipe came at the perfect time so I could satisfy both my desire to bake with lavender and my wish to make another Bon Appétit recipe.

I made some slight alterations to the recipe because I didn't have lemon, lemon curd or sanding sugar. I figured that they were embellishments anyway so I left them all out. The resulting scone is slightly crispy on the outside with a nice, soft chewy center. The aroma of the lavender provides a nice, fresh floral note without overpowering the scone. This scone would definitely taste lovely with the lemon curd that Bon Appétit recommended, but I didn't have any. Instead, my husband drizzled some honey on his and noted that he liked them better that way. I ate mine plain so I could take in all the aromatics and enjoyed it as-is. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I omitted)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sanding or granulated sugar (I did not use)
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought lemon curd (I did not use)

Directions

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk 3 cups flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter; rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk 1 cup buttermilk, zest, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until shaggy dough forms.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until dough forms, about 5 turns. Pat into a 10x6" rectangle. Halve dough lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 4 squares. Cut each square diagonally in half into 2 triangles. Divide between baking sheets. Brush with 2 Tbsp. buttermilk. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.(I apparently misread the recipe and added the 2 Tbsp buttermilk into my scone dough - it still turned out fine. I also omitted the sprinkling sugar.)

Bake until scones are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 13–15 minutes (mine baked for 13 minutes and were perfect). Transfer to wire racks; let cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon curd. (I did not add lemon zest or serve with lemon curd, but my husband enjoyed his with honey.)

Yield: 16 scones

Source: Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit magazine, May 2012 issue; online recipe can be found here.

Bon Appétit is a magazine that I look forward to receiving every month. I love flipping through the magazine and drooling over the photos and recipes that the publication offers. This month's feature was on Paris, and I was slightly disappointed that there weren't many dessert recipes.

I did, however, see this one for lavender scones and already had all of the main ingredients in my kitchen. Luckily, I had bought dried lavender a while back at Penzey's and was looking for another recipe to use some more of it. This recipe came at the perfect time so I could satisfy both my desire to bake with lavender and my wish to make another Bon Appétit recipe.

I made some slight alterations to the recipe because I didn't have lemon, lemon curd or sanding sugar. I figured that they were embellishments anyway so I left them all out. The resulting scone is slightly crispy on the outside with a nice, soft chewy center. The aroma of the lavender provides a nice, fresh floral note without overpowering the scone. This scone would definitely taste lovely with the lemon curd that Bon Appétit recommended, but I didn't have any. Instead, my husband drizzled some honey on his and noted that he liked them better that way. I ate mine plain so I could take in all the aromatics and enjoyed it as-is. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I omitted)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sanding or granulated sugar (I did not use)
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought lemon curd (I did not use)

Directions

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk 3 cups flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter; rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk 1 cup buttermilk, zest, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until shaggy dough forms.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until dough forms, about 5 turns. Pat into a 10x6" rectangle. Halve dough lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 4 squares. Cut each square diagonally in half into 2 triangles. Divide between baking sheets. Brush with 2 Tbsp. buttermilk. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.(I apparently misread the recipe and added the 2 Tbsp buttermilk into my scone dough - it still turned out fine. I also omitted the sprinkling sugar.)

Bake until scones are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 13–15 minutes (mine baked for 13 minutes and were perfect). Transfer to wire racks; let cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon curd. (I did not add lemon zest or serve with lemon curd, but my husband enjoyed his with honey.)

Yield: 16 scones

Source: Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit magazine, May 2012 issue; online recipe can be found here.