My boyfriend brought home a container of those super soft and tiny two-bite scones from the grocery store the other day (yeah, he’s an enabler) and as I was enjoying one I noted just how similar the texture was to my new favorite 5-ingredient freezer biscuits. They’re soft, deliciously light, and almost melt in your mouth. I knew instantly that I had to try to make those little two-bite scones myself.
To make them a bit sweeter than the regular biscuits I added some powdered sugar, which also helped give them that melt-in-your mouth texture. For the lemon flavor, I stuck to a hefty dose of fresh lemon zest, which gives a beautifully fresh lemon flavor without making them sour. I used the juice to make a simple lemon glaze, whose sweet-tart flavor provided a wonderful contrast to the rich scones.
And I’ve made two batches of these scones in the past week, so yeah, they’re dangerous!!
Yes, You MUST Use Heavy Cream.
And one more note. As with the 5-ingredient biscuits, you must use heavy cream for these. You absolutely need the high fat content (35-38%) of heavy cream to get the correct texture. So, no trying to substitute half-and-half, almond milk, or anything like that. Heavy cream or no go. (And if you need more information about the difference between half-and-half, light cream, and heavy cream, check out this article.)
Lemon Poppy Seed Two-Bite Scones
Servings 18 piecesIngredients
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.30)
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour ($0.13)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided ($0.15)
- 2 tsp baking powder ($0.08)
- 2 tsp poppy seeds ($0.20)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream ($1.83)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Use a small-holed cheese grater or a zester to remove the zest from the lemon, then squeeze the juice into a separate bowl. You'll need about 1 tsp of zest and 1 Tbsp juice.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, baking powder, poppy seeds, and 1 tsp lemon zest. Make sure these ingredients are well combined.
- Stir the cream into the dry ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough forms. The dough will be fairly sticky. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, divide it into three pieces, and shape each piece into a disc (about 3 inches diameter). Cut each disc into six triangles.
- Arrange the cut scones on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, or until they just begin to barely turn golden brown on top.
- While the scones are baking, place the remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Stir in about 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or just enough to form a thick glaze.
- When the scones have baked, remove them from the oven, let them cool, then drizzle with the prepared lemon glaze.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Scones – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Zest and juice a lemon. In a large bowl stir together 1.25 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp of the lemon zest, and 2 tsp poppy seeds. Stir the dry ingredients together very well.
Add one cup of heavy cream.
Stir them together until it forms a sticky biscuit-like dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, divide it into three pieces, and form each piece into a 3-inch diameter disc. Cut each disc into six pieces (I tried four at first, but they were too big). I used a bench scraper to cut them, but a large chef’s knife would also work.
Place the cut scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for about 15 minutes, or just until they barely start to turn golden on top.
While the scones are baking, prepare the lemon glaze. Place the remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl and add about 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice, or just enough to form a thick glaze.
A couple of mine got a little TOO brown, but they were still fantastic. The second batch was all more like the scone on the bottom left. They’re moister when they’re less brown.
Wait for the scones to cool, then drizzle the glaze over top. Enjoy! They’re REALLY good with coffee, BTW. ☕️
Will they freeze well?
They should freeze well!
These are very nice. They have the texture of a fluffy American biscuit. One tip: flour your knife when you cut them! Because they have no cold butter in them like a typical scone, you don’t have to do the fold over technique on a floured board to get the pockets of fat like in a typical scone. The dough forms a ball very quickly. So it appears that they will cut easily too. They don’t. Flour your knife between every cut or you’ll be washing a sticky mess off your knife multiple times.
Thank you Beth for such Wonderful Recipes! These Scones were SO moist, melted in your mouth delicious and the lemon topping just made them very special! No changes were needed as the recipe was so simple, with very clear directions and literally took only 25 minutes to make!!! For sure, I will be repeating this one quite a bit!! Whenever I want some quick scones to give to friends or to just go with my morning coffee or afternoon tea, this is the one I will turn to!!!
Tasty! I brushed them with heavy cream before baking, and once they were out of the oven I dipped the tops of the scones in the lemon icing. Turned out beautifully soft and tasty.
Is buttermilk beneficial to use?
In this recipe you need the high-fat content of the cream. Buttermilk would not be a great substitute. XOXO -Monti
No idea if you’ll see this before I make them and find out, but do you think using double cream (UK, more like 46% fat) will screw it up too much? I recently moved countries and it was the closest I could find at the grocery store 😭
It’s tough to say without trying it, but since it’s 10% higher fat than the heavy cream I used, it may just skew the moisture ratio of the dough slightly. So you may find that you need to add a bit more than what the recipe calls for to properly hydrate the flour. :)
Thank you!! I ended up having to add a surprising amount extra and the scones went everywhere (Rose and spread)…but my ‘I don’t like lemons’ boyfriend keeps sneaking them and could eat the whole batch himself! I also managed to find some regular heavy whipping cream, phew.
For anyone cooking in a fan oven in the UK who happens to come across this oddly specific recommendation, we cooked them for about 10 minutes around 185C/200C but I would check them a bit sooner just in case.
This is an amazing recipe. Can I add some blueberries and exclude the glaze ?
Sounds like something I would try!
It would be a public disservice to not make this recipe every time you want scones. Just the perfect amount of sourness. I added a little bit extra salt, and the salt balances with the lemon flavor so beautifully. I made this recipe to be a little treat for my coworkers, but I don’t think they’re gonna make it out my front door lol.
I had left over cream so I gave these a try. They weren’t exactly what I was hoping for. They tasted too much like biscuits and not enough like scones. It wasn’t for me. But if you want a sweet biscuit, this recipe is super simple and easy to make. They should be renamed Lemon Poppy Seed Biscuits.
Wowza, these are amazing! So light and fluffy and easy to pull together. I used a little more cream just to make sure all the dough came together and they are gorgeous. Probably baked them for 18-20 minutes altogether. Also, didn’t have enough powdered sugar, so I just made a lemon simple syrup with regular sugar and lemon juice and brushed it over the top of the hot scones. YUM!
I have been making these for years now, they’re my favorite dessert to share!
I’d love to double the recipe and freeze half of the dough—it works well with cookie dough but not sure about this dough. Any tips/has anyone tried making the scones from frozen dough?
I haven’t made them from frozen dough, but I did make a BUNCH last year for thanksgiving morning. I made them ahead of time, froze them, then just pulled them out to defrost. They were still wonderful!
Any chance you can sub whole milk for heavy whipping cream?
Yes that would be fine!
Wondering how I can make these apple pie flavored like in your other recipe: https://www.budgetbytes.com/apple-pie-scones/
Hi Lena! Have you not tried the other recipe yet? You could just make the other recipe but cut them smaller.
I made the dough for these a couple days ago when I got too overwhelmed with cooking and baking a few other things. I pulled the dough out of my refrigerator this afternoon, portioned it, and the scones baked just fine! They were easy to make, and the texture inside was a little fluffy, which is nice in a sweet and small scone. I needed a bit more than 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to make the glaze, but didn’t have any on hand, so it was a little bit of a chore to add it onto the scones. I think this is such a good scone on its own, but I’m tempted to add some lavender or mint in the future!
My husband said these are one of the best things I’ve ever made. I made them savoury with rosemary and lemons and they were a huge hit !
Loved the simplicity of the recipe
My children ADORE these! I usually am not a fan of scones but these are do wonderful!
Do these need to be refrigerated after baking because of the cream?
No :)
Scones should not be this easy to make. These are super delicious, and just as tasty as their butter counter-parts. Big hit as dessert after dinner with friends, served with strawberries, and the rest of the cream from the bottle in this recipe to make whipped cream. Thanks for sharing!
I love these scones so much! I have made them many times for others and for my family! Easy to make and very tasty!
made this for my roommates — they were gone within 5 minutes! everyone loved them, and they were super easy to make :)
I have made these twice now, and they are so easy, impressive, and inexpensive! A+
One of my favorites!! SO easy, unlike many scones which call for cutting in butter. the heavy cream does amazingly instead!!! I’ve done different flavors, too. my partner’s favorite is blueberry (easy to just sub berries for lemon and poppyseed), and I recently made pumpkin spice (add ~.5c pumpkin puree and ~.25c flour to account for the moistness of the pumpkin, plus pumpkin spices- cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger). so easy to vary to any delicious flavor! thanks, Beth!
Wait a minute… how much is 1.25 cups of flour!
1 1/4 Cup. Think of the .25 like a quarter. 4 quarters make a dollar/cup. .25 = 1/4; .50 = 1/2; .75 = 3/4
:)
Fantastic recipe! I only had half and half (a sin LOL I know!) so I used a bit less and then added some cold chopped butter and worked it in. Still turned out epic. Thanks for the recipe!
Use what you have on hand! That’s great Becca!
These scones are AMAZING! I have to limit how often I make this recipe because I have a tendency to pop them in my mouth constantly when they’re around 😂.
So tender! And I used my baking mix of about 2/3 unbleached to 1/3 white whole wheat flour. 3″ diameter discs seem so small to me, though. In the future, it would be so helpful if you would include something in the picture to show the scale. I tried the suggestion in the comments to pat out a 9″x12″ rectangle and cut 24 triangles, but they were much too thin at 9″x9″, baked in just 10 minutes. Oh, well, I’ll just have to bake another batch and adjust the size. :)
Really yummy! Just made these. Mine didn’t fluff as well as pictured but they are so soft and delicious that I don’t really mind. I put a little extra lemon zest in my icing and only added as much lemon juice as was needed to liquify my powdered sugar. Came out so well! I will definitely be making this again!
I just made 2 batches today…..1 exactly as the recipe said. I loved the texture but didn’t taste much lemon in the scone & weren’t quite as sweet as we like, so….for the 2nd batch I used 1 tsp of pure lemon extract rather than lemon zest, doubled the sugar & divide the dough into 4 rather than 3 portions. Once they were cut I sprinkled on a bit of sugar on top prior to baking. They came out great!!! I love the glaze & love the scones! If I can make these anyone can as I am not a baker…lol. Thanks for the recipe!!
These are literally TOO easy. Mix dry, add heavy cream, divide, and bake! I make these every time I find heavy cream on sale.
As I am sitting here with my tea (sore throat) I am actually taking a bite of the store bought scones😊!!!!!! My husband told me how much he liked the scones. I got my tablet out and was looking upmlemon poppyseed scone recipies and voila found your blog. 😊 Thank you for testing and providing this great recipie.
Hello, can I make these the night before and then bake them in the morning or make them and then freeze them and then bake them another day?
Thanks so much!
Made this today. It was really good. Instead of the icing sugar in the batter I put in instant lemon pudding powder instead. And while I don’t know how it’d compare with how it’d have turned out had I used the icing sugar instead of the pudding powder, mine was very soft, moist, lemony, and not very sweet (which is important because we have a diabetic in house. A third of our batch went without icing also for this reason which makes up most of its sweetness the way I made it). The instant pudding powder I use often in baking as it’s supposed to make things softer and moister and I often use it in place of sugar.
This has now become my staple Scone Recipe. So far this has always turned out for me. However, I don’t shape it into 3 circles. I make mine into a rectangle shape roughly 9″ x 12″ (maybe a bit smaller). Then I use my knife and cut it into 12 equal squares. Then those squares I cut diagonally so I have a total of 24 small scones. Perfect in size and always delicious. In fact I have even changed up the flavors at times. Sometimes using Blueberries, Raspberries, Apples, Raisins, Cranberries, Candied Pineapple or even Chocolate Chips.
I just always make sure I use either dried fruits or Fresh Frozen. (I prefer dried.)
Some of the spices are fun to change up too. Such as Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Pumpkin Pie Spice and my favorite… Cardamom.
Oh, and don’t forget to try making different flavored glazes by using milk instead of lemon juice and your favorite extract. Orange Glaze over Chocolate Chip Scones are my kids favorite. Have Fun and thank you for sharing this 5⭐ Recipe!
Quick, easy, and most definitely delicious!!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe. 😁
These came out perfectly! I did a double batch. However, I taste the baking powder. My husband doesn’t, we he doesn’t think he does. Is it just me? Like how people think cilantro tastes like soap? This has always happened to me with muffins… Am I alone? Please someone tell me you taste baking powder in muffins too…
I taste the baking powder too and was thinking about adjusting the amount to 1 1/2 tsp instead of 2 after reading a different recipe a friend used for maple pecan scones. Didn’t taste the baking powder in those and they were so good!
I wanted to try this today and realized I used up my last lemon :( Next week then!
Could do a cinnamon scone version of this, please? Those are my favorites but I’ve never tried making them, and store-bought ones are usually so dry. Thanks!!
Great idea!
Ok. So I nearly nearly never comment on recipes. I don’t know why. HOWEVER I must. Fantastic recipe. Seriously. Simple. Straightforward. Delicious. Goodbye dry “scone”recipes. Helllllloooooo scrumptious fluffy foolproof scones.
These are AMAZING AND SO SIMPLE! I made them for a bridal shower and the bride mentioned in her thank you note that she actually dreamt about them! I added some of the lemon zest to the glaze – so good!
Oh. My. God. These are stupidly simple, and beyond amazing.
My son & I made these for a mother’s day brunch for tomorrow. We are already whipping up our 2nd batch because we are eating too many today! Thanks for the easy, delicious recipe. I have always been intimidated by trying to bake them myself!
This was so easy to make and it turned out exactly like the photo.
Beth, have you made this type of scone into a savory version? Like ham & cheddar?
Nope, but now I want to! :)
These are so easy to make and so delicious! Perfect with a cup of tea!
Love these mini scones! I’ve made them twice now and both times I’ve added a touch (1/8 cup?) more flour – it may be because I’m baking at a higher altitude. Pro-tip, add half to a full teaspoon of freshly grated ginger to the glaze for a nice zesty kick!
Such an easy recipe that you can whip up really quickly – but super delicious! This is now my favorite thing to throw together when company is coming over to have sitting on the counter to munch on.
I made this and the bisquits vegan by using rich thick coconut cream from full fat canned coconut milk. It worked wonderfully. Great to try if you just can’t use milk products.
Thank you for the input! I was going to give this a try with coconut milk as well!!
These look good! However, I had a question. Can this truly be called a scone since it has no butter? I have never seen any scone recipe without butter and know scones are known for the melted pockets of butter in them. I actually make scones frequently and was just puzzled by the name “scone” when it looks like a sweet biscuit. But, I don’t presume to be the expert so thought I’d ask.
These are meant to replicate those “two-bite scones” that you can purchase in the grocery store (places like Whole Foods, Winn Dixie, etc.). Using cream instead of butter in scones is quite common, especially in other parts of the world. “Scone” is like “biscuit” or “dumpling” in that it can take very different forms from one place to another. :)
Not to mention that if you beat that cream long enough, it will separate, creating butter
I love lemony things, right down to my water. These were delicious. However, they were very soft, more like a biscuit. How could I adjust the recipe to make them a little firmer, and more scone-like without being hard and dry like store-bought scones?
Thanks for ALL of your recipes, your website and cookbook are faves!!
No problem. These were meant to be like those little tiny fluffy two-bite “scones” that you can sometimes find at a grocery store. For a more crumbly scone I would use a butter-milk combo instead of heavy cream. I would try my Lemon Blueberry Scones recipe, but without the blueberries (and add some poppy seeds).
These are so good! I have made two batches since the recipe was posted. For my second time around, I wanted them to be a little sweeter and a little more lemony, so I added another half 1/4 c. of powdered sugar, made the tsp. of lemon zest a hearty, rounded tsp., and added 1/2 tsp. of lemon extract. Instead of icing, before baking I brushed with milk and sprinkled raw sugar crystals on top. :-) Next time, I may up the sugar still and go for 1 tsp. lemon extract, but that’s just my taste!
Just made these and took my first bite. Fluffy and delicious. If I had known how easy and yummy these are, I would have made them sooner. Thank you for another great recipe!
I’m definitely going to have to try this recipe! I’ve never seen one for scones this easy. I think I might try some basil in mine :-)
Tried these yesterday–love that it’s a small batch, perfect for my currently 2 person family, although had grandson been here after school, they would have disappeared in a flash. I plan to try them soon in other flavors–maybe cranberry walnut with chopped craisins and walnuts
Awesome recipe, if you’re like me and don’t have heavy cream in your fridge I used 3/4 a cup of milk with 1/3 cup butter, mixing in a mason jar until there’s a 1″ or less layer of soft butter. Wasn’t sure if that was how you make the substitution but they came out great, the texture was like irish soda bread. Gonna try again with orange
These are SO GOOD. I just made a batch using a blood orange instead of a lemon, and without poppyseeds, and I am nearly burning myself eating a tester, but it’s worth it. I haven’t added the glaze yet because they’re still hot, but I’m sure it will take things to yet another level of excellence. I will also probably be making another batch this week…despite the fact that I live alone. :P
I made these this morning as part of my snow day. They are SO good. I’ve pretty much eaten them all. Next time I will have to double the recipe! Thank you again!
How should these be stored, and how long are they good for?
Once they’re cooled to room temperature I just put them in an air-tight container. They’ll stay good as long as any baked good, so probably a few days before getting stale. You can also freeze them if you want to keep them for longer.
The scone itself was delicious! Do you know what the shelf life happens to be on these, or are they safe in the freezer?
I didn’t like the icing as much. For some reason, mine tasted almost soapy…?
Yes, you can definitely freeze these if you want to keep them for an extended period. :) They’ll stay good at room temperature, providing they are completely cooled and then stored in an air-tight container, probably 3-4 days. I’m not sure what that soapy flavor could have been… maybe there was some sort of coating on your lemon that the juice picked up as you squeezed it?
Where did the lemon juice come from? The fruit or from a bottle? I’ve made this icing before with both real lemon juice and the kind from the bottle and I’ve noticed that when I make it with the bottled lemon juice it tastes soapy. Perhaps that’s what the problem was.
I just made one batch tonight. I had wanted to since yesterday, so all day long I was dreaming of my scones. Finally with the kids to bed, i baked them in no time at all, and boy is it ever good! It’s fluffy and moist and everything you’ll ever want in a scone! I’m gonna make an othe batch tomorrow, and join the gym I guess!!! Thanks a lot for this delicious recipe, as usual!
These are super cute and look delish!
Could these be made into almond poppyseed scones? Thanks.
Yes, just add a little almond extract and maybe some sliced almonds and you’re good to go! :)
OH MY. These look heavenly! Just divine. I want to try making these, but I’m thinking of substituting poppy seeds with chia seeds since they’re all I have in the pantry right now. Do you think adding an extra teaspoon or so of chia (or any at all) will affect the texture of the dough? Thanks a lot!
Hmm, it’s really hard to say. Chia create a gel when they come into contact with moisture, but I’m not sure if they’ll have time or enough moisture to do so in this dough. I’ve never baked with chia before. :P
I just made these tonight, they are scrumptious!! I tend to love all of your recipes!
Me too! And my husband, as well as my kids!
It’s fate. I only wanted to look for the 5 ingredient freezer biscuits and this is up. Lemon is my ALL TIME favorite; I’m going to have to make these scones in addition to the biscuits.
Made these this morning. They are delicious! Thanks for another great recipe.
For gluten-free, dairy-free folks, don’t worry! I made these scones with gluten-free flour + cornstarch and full-fat coconut milk and they were heavenly. I’m sure they are great as written, but I was so happy to adapt the recipe for our dietary needs. Delicious and easy to make!
Thank you for sharing that!!
Hi, could you please share the specs for your GF recipe?
Thank you!
These look fantastic! I love the simplicity and the fact that it is a true scone recipe- as you said, cream is a must for the right texture. I hate “scones” that are basically just made with muffin batter. These will be great for a special breakfast or brunch- thanks!
I want to make these so much! Now I’m hoping we get that March snowstorm so I get to stay home and bake!
I love your freezer biscuits recipe. They were a huge hit a Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to try these too!
These look seriously delicious!