Apricot and Lavender Scones

June 20, 2023marissamakes
apricot and lavender scones, covered in icing and edible flowers, styled with apricots and peonies on a stone surface

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 7-8 scones

apricot and lavender scones, covered in icing and edible flowers, styled with apricots and peonies on a stone surface

Apricots are one of my favorite stone fruits to bake with, and I just love combining fruits with floral flavors like lavender. These apricot and lavender scones come together super easily with no special equipment. Scones tend to get a bit of a bad rep for being dry and bland, but these are perfectly tender, and full of flavor. They’re perfect for breakfast with tea or coffee, or as a light dessert!

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Stone fruit season

The scones highlight one of my favorite early summer fruits: apricots! I love baking with apricots because they hold their shape well when used in larger pieces, but get so deliciously jammy and soft when diced. This recipe uses diced apricots, so that they melt into the scones a bit more for a little bit of fruit in every bite.

If you can’t access fresh apricots, you can also used dried ones. I recommend chopping them a bit more finely to ensure that they soften up properly in the oven. This is also a great way to make these scones when the short (but so sweet) apricot season is over.

Baking with lavender

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you probably already know that I’m a BIG herbal and floral flavor girl. While I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I really think that baking with floral and herbal flavors really helps to add a wonderful complexity to the overall flavor profile.

If you’ve never used lavender in baking or cooking before, you can use it it in a couple of forms. The most common way, and easiest form to get culinary lavender in, is dried. If you are unsure if your lavender is safe to eat, PLEASE be sure to ask. Lavender that is not meant to be eaten can be sprayed with chemicals, or grown alongside busy roads, so it’s really important that what you buy is culinary grade. A safe bet is to buy your culinary lavender from a spice shop. I love to get mine from Oaktown Spice Shop!

If you grow your own lavender, you can also use the buds fresh from the plant.

This recipe also calls for the tiniest bit of lavender oil in the icing. Again, make sure it is CULINARY GRADE oil, and not just regular essential oil. You can also make lavender simple syrup instead of the oil. Check out my instructions for making flavored syrups here:

Basic Infused Simple Syrup

How to make these scones

Making these scones is super quick and simple. First, you whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Then in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Add the sugar, and whisk until the sugar is evenly dispersed in the liquid and no longer clumpy.

To release some of the flavor, I suggest pounding the dried culinary lavender in a mortar and pestle until the buds are slightly broken down. You can also do this by blitzing once or twice in a spice grinder or food processor, or you can simply put the buds in whole. Then, add the lavender to the wet mixture.

Next, we’ll cut in the butter by hand. You can also use a pastry cutter or two knives if you prefer for this step. Rub the butter pieces between your fingers into the flour mixture until they are coated with flour and begin to break into smaller pieces. Continue to cut in the butter by hand until you have a texture that resembles wet, coarse sand. It’s ok if there are some larger chunks of butter that remain.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, as well as the chopped apricots. Fold everything together until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough seems very wet and sticky, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is manageable to work with. This dough is meant to be SOFT, so don’t add too much flour! Just enough so that it doesn’t stick to your hands. It’s important for this dough to stay pretty soft so that the scones don’t wind up too dry, so add flour as sparingly as you can.

Decorating, serving, and storing these scones

Once the scones are baked, top them with the lavender icing, and decorate them with edible flowers for an extra seasonal touch! I like to use pansies and violas, but you can use any edible flower that is pesticide free. You can often find edible flowers at farmer’s markets, from companies like Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, or you can easily grow your own in pots!

These scones will keep for up to 7 days, stored in the fridge. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving.

I hope you give these Apricot and Lavender Scones a try! Be sure to tag me on instagram so I can see your bakes, and leave me a comment below! Your feedback helps other bakers who are giving this recipe a try, and I love hearing about your bakes!

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Apricot and lavender scones

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Serves: 7-8 scones

These apricot and lavender scones come together super easily, and they’re perfect for breakfast with tea or coffee, or as a light dessert!

Ingredients

For the scones

  • 400 g all purpose flour, (~3 1/4 cups), plus more as needed and for dusting
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 113 g unsalted butter, (1 stick, 1/2 cup), cold and cut into cubes
  • 100 g granulated white sugar, (1/2 cup)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 125 ml milk, (1/2 cup) or dairy milk substitute of choice (I make these with oat milk)
  • 2 tbsp dried culinary lavender
  • 255 g fresh apricots, (about 6) halved and then quartered

For the Icing

  • 250 g powdered sugar, (2 cups)
  • 2 tbsp water , plus more as needed to thin
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 drops food grade lavender extract/oil, or 1-2 tbsp lavender simple syrup
  • food coloring, optional

To decorate

  • 2 tbsp milk, for brushing
  • coarse sugar, for sprinkling
  • edible flowers, optional

Method

Make the scones

  • 1)

    Preheat the oven to 425°F. Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.

  • 2)

    In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Add the sugar, and whisk until the sugar is evenly dispersed and no longer clumpy.

  • 3)

    Pound the dried culinary lavender in a mortar and pestle until the buds are slightly broken down to release the flavor. You can also do this by blitzing once or twice in a spice grinder or food processor, or you can simply put the buds in whole. Add the lavender to the wet mixture.

  • 4)

    In the dry flour mixture, add the cubed butter and rub the pieces between your fingers until they are coated with flour and begin to break into smaller pieces. Continue to cut in the butter by hand until you have a texture that resembles wet, coarse sand. It’s ok if there are some larger chunks of butter that remain.

  • 5)

    Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, as well as the chopped apricots. Fold everything together until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough seems very wet, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is manageable to work with. This dough is meant to be SOFT, so don’t add too much flour! Just enough so that it doesn’t stick.

  • 6)

    Turn the dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and gently pat it into about a 1″ thick disk. Using a bench knife or sharp knife coated in a little bit of flour, slice the disk into 7 or 8 large triangles. Gently separate the scones by pulling them outward to create a bit of space between them on the baking sheet.

  • 7)

    Brush the scones with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake the scones for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and lightly crisped on top. If your scones are on the larger side, they will need closer to 25 minutes.

Make the icing

  • 1)

    Combine all of the icing ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. If it is too thick, add a little more water, a teaspoon at a time, until your desired consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Decorate the scones

  • 1)

    Allow the scones to cool fully before icing. Decorate with edible flowers, as desired. Store these scones in the fridge for up to 1 week, and allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.

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