If you saw my post for Lavender Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Lavender Icing or Gluten Free Lavender Cookies, you know that in my flower gardens, I often plant flowers for the color beside herbs for the smell. One of my favorite plants is French Lavender for both the flowers and the heavenly aroma. Sadly, I am not sure if I am growing culinary-grade lavender or crafting lavender which may be more pungent and bitter. Also, harvesting, drying, and sifting the flowers is a bit more work than I want to do. So I purchased culinary-grade lavender and made cookies. Those cookies were so wonderful (and popular!), that I decided to use some of that lavender in a scone. I am so glad I did! And I hope you will be, too.
The scones in this recipe are very typical of the way scones are made in Great Britain. Whereas scones in the United States tend to be more cakey (think: a famous coffee house’s scones), scones in Great Britain tend to be more like a buttermilk biscuit- an absolutely wonderful, delicious biscuit! Although these scones are wonderful as it, feel free to add a pat of butter or some jam and clotted cream. And just like British scones, these are best served warm. If these scones last more than a day, wrap them in plastic wrap. Feel free to freeze them. But before serving, thaw if frozen, (obviously), and warm them in a microwave for a few seconds. And then ENJOY!
The Inside Scoop
When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of all-purpose flour is 120 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.
Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, Lavender’s green.
Be sure to use culinary-grade lavender in this recipe. Lavender is typically divided into 2 categories: culinary and crafting. Culinary-grade lavender comes from lavender that is grown specifically for culinary uses (of course). It has a sweeter flavor, and has been sifted to remove leaves, bits of stems, and other debris.
While lavender can be used whole, crushing the lavender will allow more flavor to be released. The easiest way to crush lavender is in a thoroughly clean coffee grinder. However, it can also be crushed with a mortar and pestle, or by wrapping it in waxed paper and crushing it with a meat hammer, aka meat tenderizer.
One remaining issue with lavender: Too much lavender will give the scones a soapy taste. If your lavender is very fresh and has a very strong scent, use less. If your lavender has lost some of its strong scent, use more.
When making scones, U.S. recipe directions typically read to rub the butter into the flour mix until the butter is the size of small peas. In the U.S., this is important because the steam generated from the melting butter helps the scones to rise. In this recipe, either by hand or with a food processor, rub the butter into the flour until the flour and butter mix look grainy. The melting butter will still create steam, but the butter will be more evenly distributed, which makes for a more even bake.
Getting “Eggcited” about eggs? Be sure the egg is at room temperature. Warm eggs hold more air than cold eggs, are easier to whisk, blend into the scone batter better, and bake more evenly. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.
Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs.
Once all the scone ingredients are combined, place the dough on a very lightly floured surface- you don’t want a lot of dry flour in your scone! Fold (kneed) together 4-5 times; this will help create layers and make a slightly flakey scone. Then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a 1″ thickness. Use a 2 ¾” round biscuit cutter to cut out scones. Scones should weigh 4 ounces. For smaller scones, roll out to only ¾” thick and use a smaller round biscuit cutter.
Scones are baked in a hot, 400 degree oven so that the butter melts quickly, creating steam, and the scones rise. However, a 400 degree oven can cause the scones to brown excessively on the bottom. If possible, double up your baking sheets so that the bottom of the scones bake more slowly. And be sure to line the top baking sheet with parchment paper for even coloring on the bottom of the scones and an even easier release from the baking sheet.
These scones are wonderful right out of the oven, but for even more lavender flavor, add a thin lavender glaze. Once the scones are on the cooling rack, place the parchment paper from the baking sheet under the cooling rack. This will make clean-up easier.
Lavender extract is very strong. Use only a tiny 1/8 teaspoon in the icing. More than that can create a soapy flavor. Mix the icing ingredients until smooth, then pipe or spoon the icing onto the scones. The icing will spread out over the tops of the scones and drip down the sides. (Thus the need for parchment paper.) The result is a delicious scone that is lovely, too!
Of course, if you plan to share these scones (do I have to share?), place them on a pretty plate, and then get out of the way! Don’t be surprised when they all disappear within minutes!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line one large, heavy baking sheet with parchment paper. If baking sheets are lightweight, line one baking sheet with parchment paper and place a second baking sheet underneath to prevent excess browning on the bottom of the scones. Place the culinary lavender into the bowl of a coffee grinder. Pulse until the lavender looks like coarse flour; set aside. If a coffee grinder is not available, crush the lavender with a mortar and pestle or with a meat tenderizer. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and crushed lavender. Pulse for 1-2 seconds to combine. Add the grated butter; pulse until flour mix is grainy. Add the sugar; pulse to combine. Pour the flour mix into a medium/large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla; pour into the well in the flour mix. Fold wet and dry ingredients together. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and fold (kneed) together 4-5 times. With a rolling pin, roll out scone dough to a 1” thickness. Use a 2 ¾” round biscuit cutter to cut out scones. Scones should weigh 4 ounces. For smaller scones, roll out to only ¾” thick and use a smaller round biscuit cutter. Place scones onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 3” between scones. Bake at 400 degrees for 17-19 minutes, until a toothpick or metal cake tester, inserted into the middle of the scone, comes out clean, or an instant-read thermometer registers 210 degrees. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack. If icing is desired, place the parchment paper from the baking sheet under the cooling rack to catch icing drips. To Make the Icing: In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients. By hand or on the slowest speed of a mixer, mix until there is no dry powdered sugar. Increase the speed of the mixer and mix until icing is smooth. Spread approximately 1 ½ T. icing onto each scone, letting excess icing drip off the scone onto the parchment paper underneath the cooling rack. Enjoy!Lavender Scones
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