This time of year you see weird things in the store once we get close to the Holidays. One of those “weird” things is the candied fluorescent looking fruit intended for making fruitcake. Does anyone really make fruit cakes besides monks? Anyway…I actually like the candied lemon peel and candied orange peel because I love them both in scones or cakes and it saves a lot of time buying the peel vs. making your own. Mind you, it’s not as good as making your own but it does save time. I love the petite scones you see at Starbucks and I got inspired to come up with one of my own mini scones recipes. It helps when you are dieting but still want a scone. You just have to learn to cut yourself off- yeah, kind of like donut hole restraint the same exact thing. Hey…you gotta start somewhere.

Petite Lemon Scones

(yields about 16 scones)

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/4 Cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

zest of one lemon

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed; kept cold

3/4 Cup buttermilk; kept cold

1 large egg

1 tsp. lemon extract

1/4 Cup diced candied lemon peel (it normally comes already diced)

1/3 Cup pecans; toasted and chopped fine (optional)

heavy cream (for brushing tops of scones)

Lemon Glaze:

3/4 Cup Confectioners sugar

3 tsp. lemon juice

3  3/4 tsp. heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Prepare 2 sheet pans with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest; whisk to combine. Using a pastry cutter; cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

3. Whisk the buttermilk, egg and lemon extract. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture and using a fork combine the ingredients. Mix in the candied lemon peel and nuts (optional).

4. Turn out the dough (it will be very wet) onto a floured board and pat the dough into about 1 inch thick. Cut the scones into 1- 1/2 inch round or square scones.

5. Place the mini scones on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment or Silpat and brush with the cream. Keep the other sheet in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees for ~ 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet placed on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then let cool on a wire rack until completely cool.

6. Make the glaze; whisk together the sugar, lemon juice and heavy cream until smooth. Spoon about 1 tsp. of the glaze onto the scones and place over a wire rack with paper or a tray underneath to catch any drips.  Let the glaze sit until firm. Enjoy.

Printable Recipe:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EHAx14Hpom6nXxmJdll62iYmh3QhciebH7q7tcKzQeY/edit?hl=en_US

Happy Baking,

Suzie