Muffins + Scones

Lemon White Chocolate Scones

Lemon White Chocolate Scone | Sarah Kieffer | The Vanilla Bean Blog

If you’ve followed along here long enough, you know I have a thing for scones.

I still have a bags of lemons and blood oranges in my refrigerator. Maybe it’s the Minnesota in me, but I never quite believe spring is really here until April is over and done.

After years filled with brief moments of blissful warm followed by weeks of dreary cold rain mixed with snow, I don’t trust this ‘second’ month of spring. So the citrus stays a little bit longer. And I make these scones and this meyer lemon cake once more. 

lemon with a juicer
Lemon White Chocolate Scones | Sarah Kieffer | The Vanilla Bean Blog

This white chocolate and lemon combination is inspired by Erin Alderson’s new book, The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen, and America’s Test Kitchen’s amazing scone folding technique.

The white chocolate can get a little burnt on the bottom of the scone, but it still tastes delicious.

I ended up deviating from Erin’s recipe quite a bit, only because I was baking three things at once, forgot what I was doing, and just used my memorized scone recipe.

Her scones contain poppy seeds, but lately I’ve been intrigued with white chocolate, and decided to see how it paired with lemon. The marriage has my blessing.

Lemon White Chocolate Scones | Sarah Kieffer | The Vanilla Bean Blog

More Scone Recipes:

white chocolate scones on a plate

Lemon White Chocolate Scones

Servings: 8 scones
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
These tender scones have delicious layers infused with fresh lemon juice and white chocolate. Finished with a lemon icing.
Sarah Kieffer
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces white chocolate chopped into small pieces

Lemon icing

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Position a rack in the center of the oven and the preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and white chocolate together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the wet mixture to the flour, and mix until combined. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough 6 to 8 times (add more flour if the dough is sticking too much).
  • Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough in thirds (a business letter fold). Lift the short ends of the dough and fold into thirds again, making a 4-inch square. Transfer dough to a baking sheet or plate dusted with flour, and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
  • Bring the chilled dough back to your floured surface, and roll into a 12-inch square again. Fold business letter style one more time, and then turn the dough over so it is seam side is down. Gently roll/pat the dough into a 12-by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into four equal rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally to form two triangles. Transfer the triangles to the baking sheet.
  • Brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let cool a bit. Top with lemon icing.

For the icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Add more lemon juice to taste. If the mixture is still too thick, add a little milk until the desired consistency is reached (if the mixture gets too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it back up).

  • Reply
    Marcia
    Friday, December 13, 2024 at 2:17 pm

    Can we freeze the scones before baking?

    • Reply
      Sarah Kieffer
      Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 9:48 am

      Yes! Freezing the scones works well. They can be held in the freezer for up to 1 week.

  • Reply
    Brandi Lee Hoffmann
    Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 7:00 am

    I’ve been reading through your scone recipes they sound lovely. Regarding the butter, have you tried grating frozen butter? Curious to know if you have and your opinion on the outcome of both methods. #Minnesotanative

  • Reply
    Annie
    Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 8:41 pm

    5 stars
    These were amazing! My husband, a white chocolate skeptic, called them “otherworldy”–pretty high praise! They were so tender, as all your scones are, and the lemon flavor was perfect with the white chocolate.

  • Reply
    Karen Stoeckle
    Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 8:53 am

    These are so delicious! You are definitely the scone Queen! I love your pumpkin ones too! I’m trying the creme fraiche ones next!!!!

  • Reply
    de_dietrich
    Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 7:24 am

    This scones looks delicious! I would love to try them some day:)

  • Reply
    Natalie | Paper & Birch
    Monday, May 4, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    Lemon and white chocolate? this sounds divine!

  • Reply
    Julie
    Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 1:17 am

    Oh, if only to have a memorized scone recipe 🙂 I also struggle to get white chocolate in baked goods at levels that ‘make sense’ and with other ingredients that are surprising and unique. Thanks for the tip!

  • Reply
    Nik@ABrownTable
    Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 12:35 am

    Sarah, these scones look lovely. Citrus is perhaps one of the best things about winter that I wish would continue throughout the year. Erin’s book looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to check it out!

  • Reply
    Naomi
    Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 9:16 am

    So gorgeous as usual. I love a good scone and these look delicious and perfectly textured!

  • Reply
    Amber Harding
    Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 5:56 am

    Wow, I was surprised to see how well lemon’s acidity combines with the softness and thickness of the chocolate. I love the end result in my oven!

  • Reply
    Meghan
    Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at 12:50 am

    I am the same exact way about spring. Today was the first day I actually felt any sort of notion of it. April air is far too heavy to be considered ‘spring’ in my book.

    And, these scones; they sound so lovely. Scones are the one thing I can’t seem to get down. They always end in a dry, crumbling mess. But maybe between you and Erin, this’ll be the recipe that comes out alright. (I have a hard time believing that lemon and white chocolate could go wrong.)

  • Reply
    Jessica @jessicatom.com
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    mmmm… bright and *soulful*. Love it, Sarah!

  • Reply
    Abby
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    Oh, how lovely, Sarah. Beautiful photos, and I adore the white chocolate + lemon combination. xx

  • Reply
    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    I love this flavour! So delicious looking!

  • Reply
    Kelsi | Savour the Sweet
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    I totally don’t blame you for being skeptical about the arrival of spring! I was too confident far too early. The past couple of days, in eastern Canada, we’ve been going through some extremely cold wet days, and it snowed all day yesterday.
    These scones sound beautiful – I’m not generally a white chocolate fan, but I think that the brightness of the lemon would really lighten them up!
    By the way, can I just say that your ability to slice, well, pretty much anything, is spot on? Random note, haha!

  • Reply
    Shelly @ Vegetarian 'Ventures
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    I feel that ‘thing’ you speak of for scones – perhaps it’s a Midwest thing. : )
    Also, loving Erin’s new book as well! I’ve made the fried rice but may have to move onto the scones recipe next!

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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