Mini Lemon and Thyme Scones

Posted by Jill on March 18, 2013 in Breakfast, Food, Muffins/Scones | 10 comments

I have a thing for scones. The best ones are dense but tender. They might fall apart slightly, but somehow they’re still moist. All that is probably thanks to the half and half and butter. Oh, yum.

My favorite place to go when I have some “me” time is Caribou Coffee. Being able to get out of the house, visiting with friends, reading a book in peace or just drinking coffee without someone talking to me is a really nice luxury when you are the mom to 4 little kids. So, I find myself at Caribou once or twice a week. My friend, The Inspired Cook, introduced me to their Lemon and Thyme Scones. At first, I was a little hesitant. Lemon and thyme? That seemed like a weird combination for a scone. I was wrong! These are so good.

The lemon and thyme combo is great. They play off of each other well. The flavors are subtle, which is really nice.

I made these using whole wheat pastry flour. I don’t think I’ll ever use all-purpose flour again. You can’t even tell these are made with whole wheat flour. Seriously. Whole wheat pastry flour is so fine and soft that it’s perfect for all your baking needs. Scones, muffins, cookies, bars, pancakes, whatever you want. Except bread. I would probably use regular whole wheat flour for bread.

That said. The whole wheat flour is the only healthy thing about these. There’s sugar, butter, half and half, and powdered sugar. So, we’ll eat these once in a while as a tasty treat.

Lemon and Thyme Scones

recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar (I think I’m going to try replacing this with honey next time)
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• For the glaze: 3 cups powdered sugar, 6 T half & half, and 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and thyme. Grate in your cold butter until your flour is a really fine, sand-like texture.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together, your half & half, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir this into your flour mixture. Roll it into a ball, and on a lightly floured surface, knead a few times until it all comes together. If the dough seems pretty dry, you can add a tablespoon at a time of half & half or milk until it comes together nicely.
4. Roll dough into a rectangle about a 1/2″ thick.
5. Cut rectangle into 6 rectangles, then cut each one in half. If you want them even smaller (mini), then cut them in half again.
6. Put scones on the lined baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes for the mini scones, and 8-10 for the larger ones. They’re done when they’re just starting to brown. Move scones to a wire rack.
7. While the scones are cooling, whisk together your glaze ingredients.
8. When scones are cool, dip each one in the glaze, and then put back on the wire rack for the glaze to harden.
9. Enjoy!

– Jill

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