Brighten Up Your Day with These Lemony Scones

Lemon and poppy seeds are a classic flavor combination, found in everything from cakes to salad dressings to muffins. On this week's episode of Mad Genius, the duo shines in Double-Lemon Scones, which not only have lemon and poppy seeds in the dough, but in the shiny finishing glaze as well.

"Today, we are going retro," Justin says. "We are making some easy and delicious Double-Lemon Scones, and we are packing in tons of nostalgic flavor with some poppy seeds."

As Justin says, the scones are pretty simple to make—you can make the dough with a food processor, then just roll it out and cut it into portions, and bake. With a swath of glaze on top, they're ready in just over an hour and a half.

Read on for Justin's method and follow along with the video above.

Form Your Dough

To start, you'll need to zest some lemons (about four or five, Justin says). Add the zest to a food processor along with all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder (which will help give the scones a fluffy texture), kosher salt, and of course, the poppy seeds. Make sure your poppy seeds are as fresh as possible; they tend to go rancid quickly, he notes. Pulse the mixture together.

Next, add the cubed chilled unsalted butter to the food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Finally, pour in the heavy cream and pulse until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.

Roll, Cut, and Bake

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it until it just comes together. Then, grab a rolling pin, lightly flour it, and roll the dough out into a nine-by-six-inch rectangle. Make sure the butter in the dough stays cold—that's key to achieving the right texture in your scones.

Using a large knife, cut the dough into eight scones and transfer them to a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush them with a little bit of heavy cream—this not only gives them a bit of shine, but also helps them get nice color in the oven—and bake them in a 375°F oven for about 25 minutes. They should emerge firm and lightly golden.

Glaze and Enjoy

While the scones cool, whisk together a quick glaze made with fresh lemon juice, confectioners' sugar, and poppy seeds. Brush it on the cooled scones, and then let them sit for 15 minutes so that the glaze can set. Once they've had time to rest, you're all set to eat—all that's left to do is grab a cup of tea for a tasty afternoon treat.

"It's so pucker-y and lemony," Justin says after taking a bite. "It's double lemony."