These Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones are perfect for a Springtime snack or breakfast.
I like scones. A lot. I have been known to make them for breakfast, brunch or snacks. I'm quite certain I've even eaten them for lunch before. My addiction started in University, when I got into the habit of picking up a giant blueberry scone from one of the campus coffee shops after my early morning Genetics lab once a week.
I've definitely made whole wheat scones before, but never with lemon and rosemary. Since we've finally gotten a couple of warm days, I really wanted to make something Springy. And by Springy I mean with fresh flavors of citrus and herbs. I won't be starting my outdoor herb garden for several more weeks, so the only fresh herb I have is my indoor rosemary plant - perfect with some lemon zest.
How to make Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones:
The process to make these Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones is the same as with most scones: first mix dry ingredients, then add the cubed butter and blend until it resembles sand. Then add the wet ingredients and mix until a dough is formed.
Then move the dough to a floured surface. You can either roll/pat it into a circle and cut it into wedges (like I did) or use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut it into circles.
I prefer wedges for scones because you don't have to worry about re-rolling the scraps.
Look how much they puffed up after baking! Let them cool for a bit while you make the glaze, which is just a mixture of lemon juice, milk, lemon zest, chopped rosemary, and powdered sugar.
If you glaze the scones while they are still too warm, the glaze will run off. However, you can scrape the leftover glaze back into the bowl, and re-glaze once they cool.
Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones Ingredients and Substitutions:
Since these scones don't use an oatmeal base like my Oatmeal Maple Scones, the ingredients are a bit different:
For the Scones
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour (if you want to make these scones white instead of whole wheat, simply replace the whole wheat flour with an equal amount of all-purpose flour)
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh rosemary
- Lemon zest
- Plain or vanilla kefir (or replace with buttermilk, or plain or vanilla yogurt, or a half-and-half mixture of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt and milk, or 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice added to milk)
- Egg
For the Glaze
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Fresh rosemary
- Milk or water
- Powdered sugar
These scones certainly do have the light, fresh, Springy taste I was going for. They would be perfect for a fancy Springtime affair - I'm thinking Easter breakfast or Mother's Day.
These scones also freeze well. Simply put them into a large freezer bag, and reheat for a few seconds in the microwave when you want to eat one.
Want more breakfast pastry recipes?
Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones Nutrition Notes:
Note that the nutrition information in the recipe below assumes that you use all of the glaze on the scones. If you use less, your scones will be slightly lower in sugar.
Whole Wheat Lemon and Rosemary Scones
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon cold unsalted butter cut into ¼" cubes
- 1 tablespoon finely minced rosemary
- Zest of one lemon
- ¾ cup plain or vanilla kefir see note
- 1 egg beaten lightly
For the Glaze
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely minced rosemary
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2-3 cups Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add flours, baking powder, sugar and salt to food processor and pulse until mixed. Or whisk by hand until combined.
- Spread butter over top the dry ingredients. Pulse until mixture resembles sand. Add rosemary and lemon zest and pulse until they are mixed in. Transfer to a large bowl. Or cut in butter with a pastry cutter, then stir in rosemary and lemon zest.
- Stir in kefir and egg with a rubber spatula until dough is formed. Pour onto floured countertop and form dough into a ball. Pat dough into a circle and cut into 8 equal wedges, or cut into circles with a cookie cutter. Place wedges on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake until tops are light brown, 12-15 minutes. Cool scones while preparing glaze.
For the Glaze
- Whisk together lemon juice and zest, rosemary and milk. Stir in icing sugar until desired consistency is reached 2-3 cups). Drizzle glaze over cooled scones.
Notes
Nutrition
Matt says
When younmention "equal parts yogurt and milk", do you mean 3/4 of each or enough of each that will equal 3/4? I did 3/4 or both and it came out really watery. I had to add in another cup of both whole wheat and APF to be able to roll out.
Carissa says
If you are using yogurt and milk, you would do enough to total 3/4 cup, so just under half a cup of each. I hope your scones turned out okay with having to add extra flour 🙂