Lavender Almond Scones

Clearly, I like scones.  There are about a million scone recipes on this site (give or take a few), so this recipe should come as no surprise.  But I’m going to tell you a little secret: the rest of those scone recipes can’t hold a candle to this one.  I’m sorry for making the other scone recipes weep in the corner at their inferiority, but the truth must be told.  Sure the basic recipe is the same, but the flavor of lavender infused throughout the scone turns this scone into something worth going to work for in the morning (unless you’re one of those people who love their job…in which case I guess you enjoy going to work…freak).

I picked up some culinary lavender from Welsh Gardens, a vendor at the new FreshFarm Market, By the White House (yes, that is it’s official name) on opening day but wasn’t sure what to do with it.  The lavender smelled amazing but looked a bit like rat droppings (you’re welcome for that lovely mental image).  And with those thoughts in my head, you can understand why cooking inspiration wasn’t happening.  The fact that I repeated this observation to several other people just shows my lack of tact…and my need to drag others down with me.

After mulling over my options, I decided to try putting the lavender in my tried and true scone recipe.  Still worried about it’s appearance though, I was concerned the finished scones would look as if I’d baked droppings right into them (I bet my repeated mention of rat droppings is just making you oh so hungry, isn’t it?).  I solved this by grinding the lavender into the sugar with the back of a spoon.  It didn’t completely break down the lavender, but it reshaped it just enough to look edible.  An added bonus?  By infusing the sugar with the lavender, I was able to get a full lavender taste in every bite of the scone.  The almonds were just an afterthought but ended up working very well with the lavender.  The result was a scone I could easily trade for foreign government secrets (don’t try to do that and then blame me…I’m too cute for waterboarding).

Lavender Almond Scones

3 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½  cup sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons culinary lavender
½ cup walnuts (optional)

For the egg wash:

1 egg whisked with a tablespoon of water

Preheat oven to 400

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, sprinkle the lavender over the sugar.  Using a fork or the back of a spoon, grind the lavender into the sugar firmly.  Add the sugar and salt to the flour mixture.  Using either a bench knife or your hands, cut the butter cubes into the flour mixture until a crumbly meal is formed.  Once all of the butter is incorporated into the flour, add the walnuts.  Pour in the buttermilk and with a fork, stir it in until a dense dough is formed.  Take a ball of the dough (amount of dough depends on how big you want your scones) and form it into a triangular shape.  Place the scone on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat the same steps until all the dough has been used.  Brush each scone with the egg wash and bake them for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Tagged as: Breakfast, breakfast recipe, Brunch, Brunch Recipes, Food, recipes, Scone Recipe, Scones