Using my favorite scones recipe, you can make bakery-style lavender scones right at home. Dried culinary lavender adds a lovely aromatic flavor without tasting overpowering. I love adding buttermilk and fresh lemon zest for extra flavor, too. The scones are crumbly, yet moist and perfect for spring brunches, tea parties, bridal showers, & Mother’s Day.
Let’s make Buttermilk Lavender Scones! But first, a briefing.
I never enjoyed floral flavors in baked goods—I mean, everything ends up tasting like hand soap or a candle. Am I alone here?!
Those were my thoughts until last year when, by the inspiration of Tessa who wrote Icing on the Cake, I tried Blackberry Lavender Cake. That day I ate my words and a fat piece of the most incredible cake to ever grace my tastebuds. Lavender, when used correctly, is DEEEEEELICIOUS.
Today I’m sharing a scone variation. Using my perfected scones recipe, I added fresh lemon zest and cooking lavender, swapped heavy cream for tangy buttermilk, and topped the scones with lemon lavender icing. These better-than-the-bakery scones are flaky and moist in the centers with crisp crumbly edges. The fresh spring flavors are completely divine and, thankfully, there’s not a trace of hand soapy flavor detected. 😉
These Buttermilk Lavender Scones Are:
- Filled with bright lemon zest
- Lightly flavored with lavender
- Moist & soft inside
- Crumbly on the edges
- Buttery & flaky
- Not dry like most scones you’re used to
Use My Popular Scone Recipe
I have several scone recipes that begin with the same basic recipe. Have you ever tried my blueberry scones, apple cinnamon scones, or chocolate chip scones? Those are just a few reader favorites. You only need 10 ingredients for today’s lavender scones.
.. For these lavender scones, you’ll add lemon zest and lavender to the dry ingredients and swap heavy cream for buttermilk.
Frozen Grated Butter – The Secret in These Lavender Scones
Did you know that keeping scone dough as cold as possible prevents over-spreading? (Same thing with cookie dough!) When scones over-spread in the oven, they lose the flaky, moist, and deliciously crumbly texture. The easiest way to avoid disaster is to use cold ingredients like cold buttermilk, egg, and butter. Don’t waste your time and money by overlooking this!
However, frozen + grated butter is the secret to real scone success. Like we do when making pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients to create crumbs. The butter/flour crumbs melt as the lavender scones bake, releasing steam and creating air pockets. These pockets create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp. Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients.
Best Lavender to Use for Lavender Scones
There’s a fine line between eating a deliciously flavored lavender treat and eating potpourri. And up until recently, I was totally new to cooking with lavender. You might be too, so let me help you determine the best lavender to use here. This multi-use dried culinary lavender is perfectly edible and a wonderful addition to food, drinks, essential oils, and more. It’s exactly what I use when I make lavender scones.
Baker’s Tip: When transferring the sticky shaped scones from your work surface to the lined baking sheet, use a thin spatula. This is where the scones can fall apart, but a thin spatula helps seamlessly transfer the dough around.
Lavender Scones Icing
Since the lavender flavor is so light in the scones themselves, using lavender again in the icing makes sense. The best way to make lavender icing is to infuse the liquid ingredient (milk) with plenty of lavender flavor. Bring milk to a simmer, then let it steep with 1 teaspoon of dried cooking lavender. Strain the lavender through a fine mesh strainer, then whisk the infused milk with a little lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar. The icing is way easier than it sounds!
If you don’t have a fine mesh strainer (affiliate link to my favorite set), pick one up. You’ll use it a lot in your baking, especially when a recipe calls for a sifted ingredient.
I know you’ll love these!
Buttermilk Lavender Scones Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, lavender, lemon zest, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs.. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup buttermilk, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1 more Tablespoon buttermilk. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. For smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 wedges. To make 10-12 drop scones: Keep mixing dough in the bowl until it comes together. Drop scones, about 1/4 cup of dough each, 3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
- Brush scones with remaining buttermilk and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini or drop scones, use 2 baking sheets. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 18-26 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Larger scones take closer to 25 minutes. (Tip: I like to start the icing while the scones cook so the milk has a chance to steep.) Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before icing.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from heat and immediately add the lavender. Set aside to steep for 15 minutes. Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, then discard the lavender. Cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar. Feel free to add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken, if desired. Drizzle over warm scones. Icing can be made 1-2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
- Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
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