Triple Citrus Scones

Easter week. The deviled eggs were excellent. Even Ma said so, and she said it like it cost her something.

Holy Thursday I took the kids to the church for the washing of feet at St. Brigid's. Liam wanted to know why a man in a robe was washing feet. I said it's a sign of being a servant. He said does it mean we have to wash feet. I said no. He said good.

Good Friday I cooked nothing. We ate cereal for dinner. Nora thought this was the best day of her life.

Easter Sunday at Ma's. Lamb, mint sauce, the green beans Maureen does with the crispy garlic, my deviled eggs (paprika, a touch of dijon), Colleen's potatoes au gratin, Meghan brought a cheesecake from a bakery in Cambridge. Sean III ate three deviled eggs and refused everything else. Patrick said let him. Colleen said no. The eggs disappeared. Sean III cried. I gave him another one off the secret plate. Don't tell Colleen.

Aidan (5) gave Liam a chocolate bunny he had bitten the ears off of. Liam accepted it gravely. They are not quite friends — they are cousins, which is closer.

I missed Sean hard at Mass Sunday. The trumpet on the recessional, the resurrection hymn. He used to sing it loud and off-key and I would elbow him and he would sing louder. The pew was wider this year without him. It always is.

Group Tuesday. Bernadette had us write a letter to the empty chair. I wrote: Sean, the kids hunted eggs in the new yard. Liam found seven. Nora found four. They negotiated a fair split. You would have laughed.

Meghan called at 11 Sunday after the kids were down. She said how was Easter. I said hard, mostly good. She said yes. She said me too.

Saturday pancakes. Burned the first one. The kids ate twelve between them. Nora has started dipping hers in syrup like a chip in salsa.

Food of the week: Easter ham (the leftovers). Sandwiches all week. I am ham-tired.

The Saturday pancakes were fine—burned first one, twelve eaten, Nora treating hers like a chip in salsa—but I kept thinking about doing something a little more intentional the next weekend, something that smelled like spring and felt less like survival mode. These Triple Citrus Scones are what I landed on: lemon, orange, a little brightness that the week genuinely needed. They’re the kind of thing you can make while the kids are still in pajamas, and if you burn the first batch, that’s basically tradition at this point.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 18 minutes | Total Time: 33 minutes | Servings: 8 scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For the citrus glaze: 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add all three citrus zests and stir to combine.
Cut in butter. Add the cold cubed butter to the flour mixture. Use your fingertips or a pastry cutter to work the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Do not overwork—cold butter is what makes scones flaky.
Add wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Pour over the flour mixture and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Do not overmix.
Shape the dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat into a 3/4-inch thick circle about 7 inches across. Cut into 8 wedges.
Bake. Arrange wedges on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Brush tops lightly with heavy cream. Bake 16–18 minutes, until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes.
Make the glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice, and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over warm scones. Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Triple Citrus Scones — The Saturday Morning Ritual That Holds Us Together