Ingredients
- 225g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 55g cold butter
- 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
- 1 large lemon - zest and 2 tbsp juice
- 40g shelled pistachio nuts
- 115ml milk (plus a little extra for brushing)
Directions
- Heat the oven to 210 C/190 Fan/Gas 7.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl
- Grate in the cold butter. Using your fingertips, lightly rub the butter into the flour.
- Chop the pistachio nuts roughly into quarters. Grate the lemon.
- Stir the chopped pistachios, lemon rind, plus the caster sugar into the mixture.
- In a small jug, mix together the milk and 2tbsp of lemon juice.
- As you gradually pour the contents of the jug into the bowl, bring the mixture together to form a dough. This is easiest done with a blunt knife or your hands.
- Tip the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll to approximately 1 inch thickness.
- Use a 6cm cutter to cut out rounds, placing each one on a lightly greased baking tray.
- Bring the remaining dough together, re-roll and cut again until you have 10 scones.
- Lightly brush the top of each scone with milk. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes - until the scones are well risen and golden brown.
- Serve the Lemon & Pistachio Scones with butter, clotted cream, jam and/or lemon curd.
Notes:
The secret to successful scones is a light touch. Don't be tempted to over mix, or push down too hard when you're rolling out the dough.
I find grating the cold butter makes it easier to rub it into the flour, alternatively, you can cut it into small pieces.
Tip: Flouring your cutter will help prevent the dough from sticking when cutting out the scones.