Steph P's Ramblings: Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

So, when lived in Michigan, the Meijer in Ypsilanti had these delicious mini lemon poppy seed scones. They were in the bakery area and they were heavenly. Sadly, we do not have a Meijer in Terre Haute, and have been unable to find those scones anywhere in Indiana. I've even recruited some of our grad students to help me look. So, since I'm on a baking kick, I decided to make some. They turned out pretty decent, but not quite as good as the ones in Meijer. I think these need more lemon.

The ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel, 1 teaspoon salt, 10 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, 1 large egg, 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1/3 cup (or more) whole milk.

Because there were several multiple step processes, I did a lot of them ahead so that I just had to add stuff as I went.

I cut the butter up into tiny pieces and put them back in the refrigerator. The butter is supposed to be "chilled." And when making crusty things you want the butter as cold as possible.

I zested and juiced the lemon (I zested two lemons and juiced one)

And I measured out the baking powder and poppy seeds.

In your food processor, (I love my food processor, I use it all the time) add three cups of flour.

One cup of sugar

Three tablespoons of poppy seeds

One tablespoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pulse them all together to mix it up well

Cut the butter into the mix until it resembles a coarse meal.

Whisk egg and lemon juice in a medium bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture and process until moist clumps form.

Add 1/3 cup of milk. Pulse the processor just until dough comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry.

My dough was a bit more wet than I would have liked it.

Using floured hands, gather the dough into a ball. Flatten into 8-inch round.

Cut the round into 8 wedges and transfer them to a large baking sheet.

Brush with milk and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.

Place in a 375 degree oven with the rack positioned in the top third of the oven. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.