I've been in a baking mood lately... perhaps because it's a relaxing activity for me and there's nothing like the sweet smells of a kitchen with something baking in the oven. Today, I wasn't sure what to bake up but I did have some strawberries and plain yogurt to work with. I came across this recipe for Strawberry Yogurt Scones and decided to put my own twist on them by adding some notes of lemon. What I ended up with after some tweaking were these deliciously moist and sweet Strawberry Lemon Scones...

I'm really anxious for strawberry season to start, especially with a local strawberry farm nearby. With strawberry season around the corner, I've been looking for recipes using strawberries so that I can use what I've picked. One recipe I came across was for strawberry yogurt scones. They looked delicious but I've always been a fan of strawberries and lemon flavors together. As a result, I added some lemon juice and freshly grated lemon rind to the original recipe so that the bright notes of lemon could stand out. It was a great addition and I imagine using lime juice and freshly grated lime rind would work just as well too!



2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Rind of 1 freshly grated lemon
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
3/4 cup plain yogurt

Frosting:
1 tablespoon half and half
1 tablespoon lemon juice
confectioner's sugar


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stir together dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in strawberries and lemon rind. Stir in enough yogurt to be able to form dough into a ball (up to 3/4 cup).

Turn dough onto floured surface and with floured hands, knead a few times. Press dough into a rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Fold rectangle into thirds, like a letter. Press dough into 9-inch round. Cut into 8 equal triangles.

Place scones into scone pan or on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

Whisk confectioner's sugar into the lemon juice and half and half, adding more sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frost scones while warm.

Makes 8 scones.