Honey Cardamom Caramel

It has been the
battle of the two lemon and ginger scones around here the past couple of
days.  The first batch (first recipe) came out of the oven yesterday, just
before my boys got home from school (Preston wouldn't eat one because he
thought the ginger looked like cooked apples, apparently he doesn't liked cooked
apples).  The second batch (second recipe) was pulled from the oven this
morning, just in time for breakfast.  The decision was not
unanimous.  While both scones were delicious, Noah preferred the first
batch and Todd and I thought the second batch came in first by just a
smidge.  (Stella liked whichever one she was eating at the moment and
Preston still seemed uninterested in eating scones with cooked
apples/ginger.)  While the flavors were the same in both scones, it was
the texture of the second scone (or second recipe) that sealed the deal for me.

Meyer Lemon and
Ginger Scones







2 cups all-purpose
flour



2 teaspoon baking
powder



1/2 teaspoon salt



4 tablespoons
butter, cold and cut into cubes



3 tablespoons
granulated sugar



1/4 cup diced
crystallized ginger



2 teaspoons Meyer
lemon zest (or regular lemon)



1 egg



1/2 cup
half-and-half



Cream (to brush
the tops of scones with before baking)







Preheat oven to
425 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.







In a large bowl,
whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cut the butter into
small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two
knives.  The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.  Stir in the
diced crystallized ginger, sugar and lemon zest.  In a small bowl, mix the
egg and half-and-half.  Add the half-and-half/egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until
the dough comes together.  Do not over mix the dough.







Turn the dough out
onto a clean surface and knead dough gently four or five times.  As soon
as the dough holds together, pat the dough into a round about 1 inch
thick.  Cut the dough into 8 wedges.  Place the scones on the baking
sheet.  Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream.



Bake for 10-14
minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 
When scones have cooled, drizzle with lemon glaze. (I like to drizzle my scones
while they are still warm.  The glaze doesn't set up as nicely, but I love
how it melts into the scones.)







Meyer Lemon
Glaze





1 cup powdered
sugar, sifted



2 tablespoons
Meyer lemon juice







Combine the lemon
juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl.  Mix until smooth.  Drizzle
over scones.







*I used Meyer
lemons (it's what I had), but the original recipe calls for regular
lemons. 

*If you're afraid
you might not like the crystallized ginger (don't be), but if you're not a
ginger fan, leave it out.







Recipe barely
adapted from A
Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg







The recipe for the
first batch of scones (Noah's favorite) was given to me by my cute neighbor and
friend and can be found here.