The perfect way to start a morning is with a cup of tea and a scone! At least for me, it’s a wonderful wake-up. The warmth of a good tea and a little bit of caffeine matched with a delicious baked good full of flavor is irresistible. And here, I present to you: the Almond Poppyseed Scone. Rich in flavor, yet mild, it just hits the spot every time!
As much as I’ve enjoyed other scones I’ve made (like the Cranberry White-Chocolate Scones), I daresay this has been my absolute favorite. The marriage of almond and poppyseed could not have been a better match in heaven! Okay, I may have a soft spot for these flavors, but I was so happy with the results of this scone. If you go looking for a scone with poppyseeds, more like than not, you’ll find a lemon flavored one. And don’t get me wrong, lemon-poppyseed is a great flavor combo, but I find that almond-poppyseed is even more incredible (and then sprinkle a little lemon zest for even more pizzazz).
Whereas scones get a bad rap for being dry, tough, or hard, these scones are the contrary. I believe that scones made right are the perfect combination of fluffy, flaky, soft, and moist. Otherwise they’re only a means of transportation for butter and jam. Great scones can be eaten alone without the need to dress it up. So I’ll let you in on a little secret: yogurt is key to keeping a scone moist and using cold butter to keep them flaky.
Almond Poppyseed Scones
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp poppyseed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup almonds, sliced and crushed (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, poppyseed, salt, baking powder) in a large bowl.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture. Using your hands, pinch the butter pieces and mix it into the flour until a flaky mixture results. Alternatively, use a pastry cutter.
- In small bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, almond extract and zest.
- Make a well within the flour mixture and in small batches, add the yogurt mixture, making sure that the batter is thoroughly mixed before adding more yogurt mixture. It will get sticky, but be patient to let everything combine well.
- Reshape the dough into a rough circle, fairly thick, about 1.5-2 inches high. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 min.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the scone dough into 6 slices and place onto a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle crushed almonds on top.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, or until barely golden.
Notes
- Almond meal can be substituted equally with almond flour - almond meal just gives a nice color and texture
- Yogurt can be substituted with sour cream, whatever you have on hand
- Almond slices optional, but if you choose to use it to decorate, hand crushing almond slices gives a nice look
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