from bon appetit, march 2002

More time-consuming than other scones I've made, just because I did them by hand and actually cut the butter in with my fingers. Doable, but (a) don't wear black clothing and do this on your lap, and (b) use a food processor if you have one. Much faster and worth the extra bit of clean-up. Delicious.

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup (or more) whole milk

Preheat oven to 375°F. Position rack in top third of oven. (Don't ignore this; I didn't read it until after I made them, and I had to shift my rack up when the scones started to burn on the bottom -- and my heating element is on the top!)

Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk egg and lemon juice in medium bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form. Add 1/3 cup milk. Using on/off turns, process just until dough comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry.

Using floured hands, gather dough into ball. Flatten into 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to large baking sheet; brush with milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until scones are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Makes 8 scones.

I didn't brush them with milk or sugar -- instead, while they were baking, I mixed a very small bit of lemon juice and powdered sugar to make a frosting, which I then coated the cooled-as-far-as-my-patience-would-allow scones very slightly with.