Lemon rhubarb scones with streusel topping

 

It's still peak rhubarb season here, so I thought I'd try yet another new rhubarb scone recipe to enjoy the largesse. And then I'll go back to my favorite rhubarb scones.

Lemon rhubarb streusel scones

Adapted from Anna at hiddenponies.com via tastykitchen.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, melted

¼ cup quick cooking oats

½ cup brown sugar, divided

1½ cup flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided

½ cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cold butter

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 cup chopped rhubarb (about 3 goodish-size stalks)

1 whole egg yolk, beaten

1 cup sour cream

½ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

2 teaspoons milk or cream

Method

Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a smallish microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir in oats, ¼ cup of packed brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour. Mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 1½ cup flour, whole wheat flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add rhubarb and lemon zest and toss to coat. Stir together egg yolk and sour cream. Mix into dry ingredients.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently about a dozen times. Pat dough into a 9-inch circle in the middle of the parchment-lined sheet. Sprinkle with reserved streusel mixture. Cut dough into 8 to 12 wedges. (I opted for 8 because I thought my odds of successfully cutting them into 8 were better, since the dough is a tad tacky.) Don’t separate the wedges.

 

Bake 18 to 24 minutes until light brown and cooked through. Reslice into wedges along the cut marks. Let cool slightly before drizzling with a glaze made of the powdered sugar, extract and milk.

Rating: By the time these came out of the oven, I'd developed a bad attitude about this recipe. While not difficult, the recipe is a little more time-consuming and dishes-producing than your standard scones, entering into the this-better-be-worth-it category. And I thought so even after being able to cheat by already having some leftover almond-flavored glaze so I didn't have to whip that up too. Plus, they looked like they'd taste like hockey puck scones -- something about the oats and that touch of whole wheat. But they weren't bad at all. They're very moist inside, more cake-like than scone-like since they're highly leavened and lack that scone crumb. The lemon flavor doesn't really stand out much, but as I say, they're not bad. 

But these are still far and away a better rhubarb scone.