Drink & Dish: Lemon Almond Meal Scones {with video}

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So, today is the first day of Passover (it started last night, because we’re weird, and have to start holidays at sundown), and I should be here with a recipe for matzo ball soup, or macaroons, but instead I’m bringing you totally leavened Easter brunch scones. I’m sorry mom and dad.

To be fair, I did  eat my fair share of those things last night, and agreed to go over the story of Passover by watching the Rugrats Passover. I much prefer it to the 8 hours Seders we used to have where we never got to eat dinner until, like, 10 p,m. You know me, I get grumpy if you hold out on the food. 😉

Anyway, I’ve been reallllly wanting to make scones, and I’ve had almond meal scones on my recipe ideas list for quite a while now (I keep a running list in the note app on my iPhone–it’s awesome!), and when Nicole and I were deciding what to make for our Easter brunch Drink & Dish, I knew scones were the way to go.

Okay, that’s a lie. I wanted to make bagels from scratch with flavored cream cheese. I was so sure this would be brilliant. Then Nicole reminded me that perhaps trying to cram the entire bagel making process into a 5 minute video was not the best idea. This is why I’m glad I don’t do this alone. Oh, and the drinks. The drinks also make me glad to have the world’s most perfect partner in crime.

PS, did you see that Drink & Dish has its own YouTube channel now? Nicole and I figured rather than both of us sharing it on our channels, it would be easiest if you could get everything in one place, so if you haven’t yet, please take a second and head over to subscribe.

I absolutely LOVED making these scones! In fact, I made them a few times. The first time they came out far too thin and crunchy to be considered a scone. However, my friends loved those crunchy ones! The texture is easy to play with here–they don’t rise very much, so if you want closer to a cookie/biscotti, them leave them thin and let them get nice and browned. However, for scones, I wanted thick and fluffy. Well, the second time was the charm–all I had to do was keep the dough nice and thick, and they baked up perfectly soft, tender and thick. These perfectly tender scones are topped with my favorite part–the sweet, drippy, lemony frosting with tons of vanilla bean specs. They are so pretty!

These scones only require 1 mixing bowl, and they are done start to finish in about 20 minutes. Perfect for a hectic morning brunch! You can make them the night before, or whip them up quickly in the morning. They work for almost all food allergies, and are a nice healthy treat to balance out all of those chocolate eggs.

Don’t forget to watch the video for step-by-step instructions, and some friendly banter. 🙂

Check out Nicole’s delicious sangria recipe!

And for an added bonus, we uploaded one of our sound checks. We always sing when we work together, and have started singing a lot of our sound checks because…ummm I don’t know. We’re weird. But we found this one especially humorous, so we thought we’d share it for your enjoyment.

Lemond Almond Meal Scones

adapted from Elena’s Pantry

yield 8 servings

For the scones:

• 2 cups almond meal
  
• dash salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp honey or agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)

For the glaze:

• Heaping 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 medium lemon)

Directions:

1. To make the scones, preheat oven to 350. Line a medium baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, salt, baking soda, corn starch, and lemon zest. Add almond milk and liquid sweetened. Mix until combined.
3. Roll dough into a large ball and press down into a 1-1 1/2″ thick disk. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Do not separate. Bake as if for 9-11 minutes until golden and set. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
4. To make the glaze, place powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Add vanilla bean paste. Slowly squeeze in lemon juice mixing constantly until you have reached your desired consistency. Again, make sure to only add a small amount of juice at a time–a little bit goes a long way.
   
5. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush glaze over cooled scones. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.