These Lemon Rhubarb Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze are a springtime pastry perfection! This easy scones recipe is perfect for using up fresh lemons and rhubarb.
My Family Loves Baking Desserts With Fresh Rhubarb
Rhubarb season is starting to wane here in the Midwest and I’m grabbing every opportunity I can find to celebrate it, in all its tart glory. This past weekend, when my sister’s family stayed with us, I mixed up rhubarb mojitos for us to sip alongside the fire in the back yard. Those ice cold bevvies were a hit with us adults, for sure. And watching the kids’ water gun war, full of sneaky tactic and laughter, was the finest summer entertainment.
We’re also loving the baking that goes along with the rhubarb of springtime. I still have on my agenda, when I can get my hands on some fresh local strawberries, to bake a strawberry rhubarb crisp. When served warm, with scoops of cold vanilla ice cream, it’s extremely hard to resist. Just like these beautiful Lemon Rhubarb Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze. Until the rhubarb runs out, we can’t stop. We won’t stop! [rss-cut]
My Lemon Rhubarb Scones Recipe Won A Scones Contest
This lemon rhubarb scones concept has been on my mind for a few months, a baking project for the blog. But my idea was brought out of the closet when I entered it in a scones design contest while visiting The Pioneer Woman‘s ranch with Land O’Lakes last month. And my scones idea was chosen by Ree as one of the scones that will be featured at The Building‘s coffee shop. Coolio, huh? I am truly honored. And I canNOT wait to visit Ree’s mercantile store and enjoy a cup of coffee and a scone!
Many of you have asked for this recipe. So I’ve been workin’ on it, still determined to fulfill my recipe to-do list. You’ll find it below. And if you want to learn more about the time we spent at The Ranch, just go here and here.
Of course, my scones recipe has Land O’Lakes butter at its heart. Cold butter is cut into the dry ingredients, lending pockets of delicious, buttery flakiness when the heat hits it in the oven.
How To Make A Perfectly Shaped Scone
There are many ways to shape a scone. But the method I return to most often is the pie-shaped one. I simply pat out the finished dough into a smallish-sized circle, cut it into wedges, and transfer the triangular shapes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once the lemon rhubarb scones have cooled a bit, I whisk up a simple vanilla bean glaze and drizzle it over the top of each piece of pastry.
Are Lemon Rhubarb Scones Moist?
These scones are moist on the inside, with a delicate, crispy exterior. No dry, hockey puck scones are allowed out of our kitchen!
Bright with lemon and tart with bits of ruby rhubarb, the scones are sweetened with the loveliest vanilla glaze. If there’s ever a way to punch up the flavor and beauty of vanilla’s subtlety, scraping some fresh vanilla beans into the recipe is a sure bet.
Quick, before rhubarb season departs, make these scones. I’d love to know what you think of them!
Lemon Rhubarb Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze
These Lemon Rhubarb Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze are a springtime pastry perfection! This easy scones recipe is perfect for using up fresh lemons and rhubarb.
Yield: 8 scones
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes
Ingredients
For the lemon rhubarb scones:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. sugar
zest from 2 large lemons
1/2 c. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. buttermilk (do not substitute)
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 scant c. small chopped rhubarb (about 1/4" size)
For the vanilla bean glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. half and half
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
vanilla beans scraped from half of a vanilla bean
Instructions
For the lemon rhubarb scones:
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest, breaking up any clumps of lemon zest. With a rigid pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center, and then add buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Stir just until combined, taking care to not over mix. Gently fold in rhubarb, just until barely combined.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently knead 2 or 3 times to bring it all together. Pat dough into a 7'' diameter circle and cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet. Bake until scones are puffed and golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let scones sit on baking sheet for a couple minutes before removing to a wire rack.
For the vanilla bean glaze:
While scones are still slightly warm, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients until smooth. If the glaze is a bit stiff, add another teaspoon of vanilla extract or half and half. Drizzle the vanilla bean glaze over the scones using a spoon. Allow icing to set completely, then serve.
Scones are best eaten on the day they are baked. To revive leftover scones' flaky texture the following day, preheat a cooking stone to 300° in the oven. Place any number of scones on the stone and warm for 5 minutes.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
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These are delicious … I’ve made 3 batches in the last 3 days. I used Julie’s brilliant suggestion to bake them from frozen and it worked very well. However, I found the dough to be VERY sticky and hard to work with. For my second and third batches, I put the flattened circle of dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and then cut it. Worked quite well. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
I made this with some changes. They are light and fluffy. I used sprouted wheat flour and Sugar in the Raw sprinkle on top. They are fantastic!! I also used a food processor. The dough was so light and had wonderful feel that to me means they will be good. This one of the few recipes that uses less sugar. Has anyone used maple syrup?
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! i made 3 batches of these this weekend with regular flour, and 1 batch with gluten free flour. They were amazing!!! Rave reviews from everyone. Everyone asked for the recipe. We love rhubarb and finding great recipes is always rewarding. I added white chocolate chips to the recipe, however. Since there is not a lot of sugar in the recipe, the chips added a touch of sweetness with the rhubarb. it was approximately 1/2 cup per recipe. Thank you again!!
Here in Minnesota the rhubarb is still available in some gardens, including my friend’s. I won’t need much for a double batch of your lovely scones. I bake every Monday for a meeting I attend….been doing it for 8 or 9 years now. I’m always looking for something different from the usual pies, cakes and bars. Never thought of scones. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful photos.
I made these Saturday for Father’s Day breakfast, but since it’s just the two of us anymore, I made them and immediately stuck them in the freezer before baking them (this was Saturday). On Sunday, I pulled two of them out, plopped them on parchment paper on a baking sheet and baked them. Perfect. My daughter, who blogs at Stephie Cooks, and I have done this before, and it works great. Thanks for the recipe. We loved it! (And we get to have a few more breakfasts with the leftover scones. I’m pretty sure we win!).
These scones look and sound delicious! I love Rhubarb! I love it so much I eat it right off the plant. Growing up I can still remember mom yelling out the window “don’t eat the leaves, they’ll kill you”, so I did the same to my kids. I never thought of making scones with the rhubarb, Going to have to make these now. Congratulations on winning the contest and for them being feature at Ree’s Building in the coffee shop! I would give my right arm to be able to there at the building to sip on coffee and eat one of your scones! lol!
These are delicious!! I will definitely make this recipe again
These are delicious … I’ve made 3 batches in the last 3 days. I used Julie’s brilliant suggestion to bake them from frozen and it worked very well. However, I found the dough to be VERY sticky and hard to work with. For my second and third batches, I put the flattened circle of dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and then cut it. Worked quite well. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
I love to hear this Lisa – thank you for coming back to let me know!
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I made this with some changes. They are light and fluffy. I used sprouted wheat flour and Sugar in the Raw sprinkle on top. They are fantastic!! I also used a food processor. The dough was so light and had wonderful feel that to me means they will be good. This one of the few recipes that uses less sugar. Has anyone used maple syrup?
Wonderful!! So glad you liked these scones!
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This recipe is amazing! The scones came out so light and tender….great flavor! Thanks for sharing your recipe :-)
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! i made 3 batches of these this weekend with regular flour, and 1 batch with gluten free flour. They were amazing!!! Rave reviews from everyone. Everyone asked for the recipe. We love rhubarb and finding great recipes is always rewarding. I added white chocolate chips to the recipe, however. Since there is not a lot of sugar in the recipe, the chips added a touch of sweetness with the rhubarb. it was approximately 1/2 cup per recipe. Thank you again!!
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I made these last night and they were great!!! I so loved having a new recipe to use with rhubarb. Thanks!
So happy to know you liked these, Jessica. Thank you!
Here in Minnesota the rhubarb is still available in some gardens, including my friend’s. I won’t need much for a double batch of your lovely scones. I bake every Monday for a meeting I attend….been doing it for 8 or 9 years now. I’m always looking for something different from the usual pies, cakes and bars. Never thought of scones. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful photos.
Thank you so much. I hope you liked these!
I made these Saturday for Father’s Day breakfast, but since it’s just the two of us anymore, I made them and immediately stuck them in the freezer before baking them (this was Saturday). On Sunday, I pulled two of them out, plopped them on parchment paper on a baking sheet and baked them. Perfect. My daughter, who blogs at Stephie Cooks, and I have done this before, and it works great. Thanks for the recipe. We loved it! (And we get to have a few more breakfasts with the leftover scones. I’m pretty sure we win!).
Excellent! So glad you liked these!
Yum! Love these!!!
These scones look and sound delicious! I love Rhubarb! I love it so much I eat it right off the plant. Growing up I can still remember mom yelling out the window “don’t eat the leaves, they’ll kill you”, so I did the same to my kids. I never thought of making scones with the rhubarb, Going to have to make these now.
Congratulations on winning the contest and for them being feature at Ree’s Building in the coffee shop! I would give my right arm to be able to there at the building to sip on coffee and eat one of your scones! lol!
Great story, Donna! :) Thanks for sharing and for the congrats. I hope you make yourself some rhubarb scones soon!
These scones look just perfect! I love the rhubarb – I think I need more rhubarb in my life!
Oh Brenda, these look amazing! Pinning to my breakfast board… I love a good scone.