These citrus-rosemary scones have a perfectly balanced flavor profile of fresh and sweet. Soft & moist on the inside with a sugary exterior that’s topped with a smooth vanilla bean glaze, these scones are irresistible!
Current mood: loving this springy weather in Birmingham! Spring doesn’t typically last long here- we usually go from cold winter to hot summer in a flash. But spring seems to be lingering a bit, & I’m totally here for it. So in the spirit of spring, I invited some friends & their babies over for a lunchtime picnic in the backyard, and it was just the most delightful thing. Sure, the babies loved being outside & all, but I think us mommies enjoyed it even more. Lots of sunshine, good conversation, good food, and a step outside the normal weekday routine.
We had a whole host of picnic-worthy munchies: fruits, veggies, cheese, crackers, the whole lot. But my favorite part of the menu was these citrus-rosemary scones with a vanilla bean glaze. I wanted to contribute something sweet (duh), but also wanted to channel some serious spring vibes into whatever I baked. And what’s more springy than fresh rosemary & citrus? To some this may seem like an odd flavor combo, but let me tell you it’s just so delightful. Fresh, sweet but not too sweet, light & delicate. Just yum.
There’s nothing worse, in my humble opinion, than a dry scone. Why eat a pastry if it’s chalky & crumbly? Not worth it. Scones should have a soft, moist, buttery, tender crumb- and that’s exactly what you’ll find with these. Surrounded by a sweet & sugary exterior crust that’s topped with a smooth vanilla-bean glaze- these are near perfection.
As simple as scones are, there are a few key components to making them absolutely perfect. You’ll find some good tips in my notes, but here are a few of the most important bits. Be sure to keep your ingredients cold to get fluffier scones with a good rise, & handle the dough gently to avoid overdeveloping the gluten, which leads to a dense texture. This recipe calls for cake flour, which I think you’ll find is a game-changer in the scone department, making the interior extra soft & light.
Hope you’re enjoying spring as much as we are here in Birmingham! Be sure to bake something sweet & share it with some friends- it does the soul some good.
What you’ll need to make these scones:
Butter: Butter adds flavor & flakiness. Because the butter is cold when it hits the oven, this helps the scones rise, giving them a light & fluffy texture.
Heavy Cream: Adds moisture & richness.
Egg: For binding & structure.
Orange & vanilla extract: For flavor.
Orange zest, lemon zest, & rosemary: For even more flavor.
Cake flour: The cake flour in this recipe makes all the difference! Because it has a lower protein content than other flours, cake flour helps create an exceptionally light & fluffy texture to these scones.
Sugar & brown sugar: I use a combination of granulated & brown sugar in my scones to give a boost of sweetness. The granulated sugar also helps form a sweet and crisp exterior, while the brown sugar adds extra moisture to the scones.
Baking powder: For leavening.
Kosher salt: To balance out all the sweetness.
Powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and heavy cream/ milk for the vanilla bean glaze.
FAQs:
What is the dough supposed to feel/ look like? Scone dough is kind of a Goldilocks situation- you don’t want it too dry, & you don’t want it to be wet either. The dough should be a bit crumbly, and just moistened enough that when you press it together with your fingers the dough will stick together. If you’ve made my jam-filled blueberry scones, you’ll notice that dough was a bit more crumbly than the dough for these scones in order to compensate for the extra moisture from the jam. The dough for these scones has a bit more liquid incorporated into it, which makes it a bit less crumbly.
Can I use milk instead of heavy cream? I don’t recommend it. Milk is thinner than heavy cream, which can cause your scones to spread too much in the oven. If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, you can try whole buttermilk instead.
Do I have to chill the dough? Yes. Keeping the dough cold is crucial to baking up scones that are light & fluffy. When the cold ingredients (particularly the butter) hit the hot oven, steam is created, which helps the scones rise. If your ingredients are at room temperature, the butter will simply melt, causing your scones to spread and become flat & dense.
A few notes before you bake:
When it comes to making scones, keep things cold! Like I mentioned previously, cold ingredients are crucial to getting a light & fluffy scone. Room temperature ingredients cause your scones to spread in the oven, causing them to become flat & dense. Here are some tips on how to keep things cold:
- Leave ingredients in the fridge until you need them (i.e. cubed butter & combined wet ingredients)
- Cut your butter into small pieces. This reduces the amount of time you spend cutting the butter into the flour mixture, therefore keeping it from getting too warm.
- Chill the dough in the freezer after cutting into rounds.
Don’t overwork your dough. Be careful not to overmix or overwork. Overworked dough= tough scones.
When I retested these, I added a tad more heavy cream and butter to the mix to see if I could get them to be a bit more moist. That being said, they did spread a little bit more because of the additional liquid. So don’t be surprised if your scones spread a bit more than the ones you see in the pictures!
If glaze isn’t your thing, try a sprinkling of turbinado sugar after brushing with heavy cream!
PrintCitrus-Rosemary Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 30-minute chill time)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 9 scones 1x
- Category: Breakfast/ Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Breakfast, Snack
Description
These citrus-rosemary scones have a perfectly balanced flavor profile of fresh and sweet. Soft & moist on the inside with a sugary exterior that’s topped with a smooth vanilla bean glaze, these scones are irresistible!
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 98 gm (7 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 160 gm (2/3 cup) cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
- 1 large egg, cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 packed tablespoon orange zest (about 2 oranges)
- 1 packed teaspoon lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 281 gm (2 1/4 cups, spoon & leveled) cake flour
- 50 gm (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 25 gm (2 tablespoons) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the vanilla bean glaze:
- 120 gm (1 cup) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
To make the scones:
- Place butter in a small bowl and leave in refrigerator until needed. In another small bowl, combine heavy cream, egg, vanilla, orange extract, orange zest, lemon zest, and chopped rosemary and place in refrigerator until needed.
- In a large bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 sharp knives, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly pour in cold heavy cream mixture while simultaneously stirring flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Gently mix until all the flour mixture is moistened & ingredients are mostly incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface & gently knead together a few times, pressing dough together to form a rough ball. Gently press dough into a flat disc, about 1″ thick. Using a 2″ round cutter, cut the dough into circles, occasionally dusting the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Reroll scraps and continue to cut into rounds until all dough has been used. (Note: Be sure to use a straight up-and-down motion when cutting the dough, rather than twisting the cutter, as this allows for a better rise). Place scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2″ apart. Place scones in the freezer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Remove scones from the freezer and lightly brush the tops with heavy cream.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until tops and edges are beginning to turn golden brown & a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. While the scones are cooling, prepare your glaze (instructions below). Once scones have cooled, glaze as desired.
To make the glaze:
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk/ heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add more milk/ heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until the mixture reaches a honey-like consistency. Glaze cooled scones as desired.
Notes
Storage: These are best enjoyed fresh from the oven or the same day they are baked. However, they will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If eating them leftover, I like to pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them a bit.
Keywords: scone, citrus, rosemary, lemon, orange, vanilla bean, glaze, breakfast, brunch, snack
