Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

My husband and I will be celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary in June, and while I'm happy to say that we're still going strong, the appliances that we acquired upon the start of our married life together are not. About a year ago, everything we received from our registry started going south -- chipped plates, broken blender, dysfunctional food processor. {Meanwhile, my mother-in-law is still using things she received for her bridal shower over 40 years ago.}

We sailed past the fabled "Seven Year Itch", but instead encountered a "Seven Year Glitch."  Little by little, our kitchen tools have begun to turn on us, leaving me in a bit of a bind.

I really dislike the process of researching all the newest gizmos and doo-dads on the market, especially because it seems like every month there's one that's bigger, better and more efficient than the last. Who has time to keep up with all that? So you can imagine the intense joy I felt when I received an email asking me if I'd like to try out the Nutri Ninja® Auto-iQ™ Pro Compact System, which is basically {not basic at all} an all-in-one blender and food processor that will pulverize just about anything to smithereens in seconds. {These gadget guardian angels are also sending me a state of the art coffee system, too, which works out perfectly as mine is on its last leg. But more on that in another post!}

Anyway, that big, beautiful box arrived {the same day I also received my new spiralizer}, and it was all-out culinary Christmas up in my kitchen. Naturally, I wanted to try everything all at once. It reminded me of shopping with my mom as a kid; as soon as we'd get home I'd want to wear my new purchases immediately. ALL OF THEM. Not much has changed.

While most peoples' minds immediately think "smoothie" or "soup" when they see a food processor, mine did not. Once I found out that this new contraption had a dough blade, I knew that baked goods would be the very first thing that my Ninja would help me make. {You can at least pretend to be surprised.}

Yes, this thing has all the bells and whistles you need if you're trying to extract the nutrients from just about any fruit or veggie, but I wanted to see how it handled sticky situations -- namely doughy ones. So, scones.

If you've ever made scones, biscuits or pie dough, you know the importance of "cutting in" cold cubed butter to get flaky results. {Cold butter cut into flour  melts in the oven and creates steam pockets and layers that give you those tender results!} The process is easy enough, but it also happens to be one of those things I have no patience for. Before I had the NutriNinja, I'd throw everything into my blender and get the job done that way, leaving me with a dough-covered sharp blade that was hard to clean without slicing off a digit. Luckily, the NutriNinja makes it SO much easier. Just pulse, pulse, pulse and then easily wipe the blade without any trips to the hospital.

I'm really excited to try out all the cool features this thing has... those shiny buttons are calling my name! But for now, I'll just be enjoying my Lemon Poppy Seed Scones and maybe a cup of tea with my pinkie up {and thankfully in tact!}. I have a feeling that this new kitchen tool and I have a long, happy relationship ahead!

What would be the first thing YOU'D make with this beauty?!


Disclosure: This appliance was sent to me in exchange for review. As always, all opinions here are my own! 

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Slightly adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

2 ½ cups flour, plus extra for rolling out
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup {1 stick} cold butter, diced
½ cup buttermilk {or ½ cup plain yogurt, or ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup milk}
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds

Optional: Sanding sugar for tops of scones

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking pan by lining with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add diced butter. Cover and pulse until the butter is chopped into the flour {the flour will resemble wet sand.}

3. In a measuring cup with a pouring spout, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, vanilla and poppy seeds.

4. Open the feed spout on the lid of the food processor and slowly pour in the liquids while pulsing. The dough will begin to come together and eventually form a ball. Do not over pulse.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, pressing it together to form a uniform piece of dough. Quickly flatten with your hands {or use a rolling pin... but that's one more thing to wash.}, and pat the dough into approximately an 8 inch square.

6. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into nine equal pieces, then cut each square in half diagonally. {You can also punch these out using a biscuit cutter.} Place each scone on the prepared baking sheet and brush with a little buttermilk {or yogurt/milk mixture}, then sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the scones are baked through and slightly golden.

Remove from oven and let cool on a baking rack.

Note: If you don't have this magical appliance, you can definitely still make these the old fashioned way using a pastry blender and incorporating the liquids by hand. But who wants to deal with that mess?! 😛