“Secret” Meyer Lemon Scones for The Secret, Book & Scone Society

“If it wants a soul…every town needs a bookstore.”

And, they might also need a magical scone bakery as well…

 

Welcome to this round of Cook the Books with Ellery Adams’ The Secret, Book & Scone Society.    Simona (from briciole) is hosting.  You can read her announcement post here.  

I recently stated that I didn’t like mysteries, especially that sub-genre called cozies.  But, I have to say that Adams had me from the start and I could connect with the characters, the sisterhood they establish, the town of Miracle Springs, and the entrepreneurship of both Nora and Hester.

Nora is the newcomer to Miracle Springs.  Her past is a little sketchy and is only hinted at for the majority of the book.  She comes to town, buys a quaint tiny house and opens a book store.  Her passion is books and helping her customers find the perfect read to help them or get them excited about reading.  She has a knack.

Hester has another niche storefront.  Her specialty is creating “comfort scones.”  A customer enters her bakery; after a brief interview, Hester whips up a handmade and personalized scone.  The scone is meant to help the customer in self-reflection.

Hester and Nora have teamed up in an unofficial partnership, sending customers to each other when they need bibliotherapy or scone-therapy.

Obviously, the tale starts with a murder.  Then, there’s another.  A plot to change the landscape of Miracle Springs is also afoot.  Hester and Nora form the Secret, Book & Scone Society with Estella (the town’s wild child) and June (one who is escaping her own past, too).  These four women engage a hunky paramedic and a love-sick bartender to aid them in their sleuthing.

Oh, and there’s a corrupt sheriff in town as well.  And, everyone might not be as helpful as they seem.

I don’t want to get into the plot much more.  I did enjoy learning about everyone’s secrets and seeing the friendships form, maybe more than the mystery itself.  And, I loved Nora who judges food items on “Can I eat this without putting my book down?” (3).

Obviously, I was going to make a scone; however, there’s a huge amount of other food in the novel.  (See the end of this post for a comprehensive list.)  I’m also going to embark on a new theme at EE, recipes for two.  Here’s the first recipe in this new endeavor.

“Secret” Meyer Lemon Scones for Two

Based on a recipe from Dessert for Two

I added a twist to the glaze. Wait for it….

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 c. flour
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1/4 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 4 T. unsalted cold butter
  • 1/3 c. plus 3 T. heavy cream, divided
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 Meyer lemons, zested and juice reserved
  • 1/3 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 t. whiskey

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. In a food processer bowl, whir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
  3. Dice the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Quickly pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal.
  4. In a glass measuring cup, add 1/3 c. heavy cream, egg yolk and lemon zest and whisk together. Pour this on the flour mixture and pulse until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t overmix, but incorporate things well.
  5. Scoop the dough out, place it on the baking sheet, and use the warmth of your hands to form a ball.  Flatten into a circle.
  6. Slice the dough circle into 4 even pieces. Brush each piece with 2 T. heavy cream.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they lightly brown on the edges.
  8. While the scones bake, whisk together the glaze ingredients:  1 T. cream, 2 t. reserved lemon juice, 1 t. whiskey and powdered sugar.
  9. When scones are done, carefully place them on a cooling rack.  Immediately the glaze on the scones. Serve immediately.

 

Yield: 2-4 (For two if you eat two at a time.)

These were delicious and tender and not too sweet.  These scones definitely needed the glaze.   If I had this to do over again, I would split them and separate them.  The crunchy outer edges were the best part.  I’m keeping this recipe in my repertoire; however, I am positive that Hester’s scones were much more appealing.

We’ll see how far I get on this new “Recipes for Two” endeavor.  More about that later.  As you might surmise, The Secret, Book & Scone society, since it is set in Nora’s bookstore,  is also full of reading recommendations.  I listed a few at the bottom of the food list, books I want to read which Nora “suggested.”

There’s still time to pick up The Secret, Books & Scone Society and join up with Cook the Books!  You have until November 30.  Check out the Guidelines.

 

I’m linking up with Foodies Read as well.

The Secret, Book & Scone Society…the food:

  • Gingerbread House’s Comfort Scones (2)
  • Chocolate chip cookie scones (3)
  • Cinnamon twists (3)
  • Soy no-foam mochaccinos (5)
  • All the literary beverages (10)
  • Orange and cream scones (13)
  • Kale smoothie (20)
  • Whiskey and white lightening (21)
  • Peppermint-mocha scones with peppermint butter cream icing (24-25)
  • Raisin bread and bear claws (27)
  • “deep-fried or covered in brown gravy” (30)
  • beer (34)
  • roasted chicken (35)
  • cheese straws, peach pie bites, lemonade, and fresh blackberries (35)
  • cornbread and chili (48)
  • fried green tomatoes-grilled cheese sandwiches (58)
  • cheap red table wine (65)
  • snack mix and coconut shrimp (72)
  • mango and basil martini (72)
  • dill rolls, cornbread muffins, rosemary flatbread, pimento cheese biscuits, and roasted red pepper spread (73)
  • whiskey (74)
  • chicken fried steak (86)
  • Honeycrisp apples (93)
  • chicken & waffles & buttermilk biscuits (107)
  • “the best hush puppies, fried chicken, chess pie, hummingbird cake, cheese grits, and sausage gravy in the county” (108)
  • eggs, bacon, toast and iced tea (109)
  • cinnamon rolls (126)
  • Prosciutto & Gruyere croissants (138)
  • apple, maple and cinnamon scones (139)
  • raspberry and cream (147)
  • Gouda, fruit and wheat/rye bread (148)
  • chamomile tea (160)
  • egg salad sandwich (165)
  • cold fried chicken and green beans (169)
  • raspberry and blackberry picking (170)
  • vanilla yogurt topped with wild raspberries and blackberries (185)
  • cucumber salad and white chicken enchiladas (215)
  • peanut butter cup scones (217)
  • mojitos (227)
  • roasted pig (227)
  • spinach salad, corn, bac0n-wrapped tenderloin, watermelon (229)
  • gourmet s’mores in flavors like Grasshopper, dark chocolate and strawberries, Banana Split, Samoa(233)
  • stir-fried bok choy (249)
  • puff pastries (277)
  • “Bread and Jam” scone (282)
  • farmers bread (284)

Books I want to read (as recommended by Nora):

  • Kristen Hannah’s Night Road
  • Eric Ripert’s  32 Yolks
  • Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast
  • Muriel Barbery’s Gourmet Rhapsody
  • Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen

Could there be a future CTB selection in this list?

Deb (Kahakai Kitchen) hosts our next book with Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food from 31 Celebrated Writers edited by Natalie Eve Garrett (published October 2019) for the December/January round.   Intrigued?  Join us at CTB where we’ve also just announced the next four books.

13 comments to “Secret” Meyer Lemon Scones for The Secret, Book & Scone Society

  • My husband adores scones and he can eat scones for every single meal. Yours looks really great with that boozy lemony glaze.

  • I’m excited to see your recipes for 2. We have 3 now but I still way over cook all the time. I loved this novel as well and I think your scones are lovely.

    • Thanks for the compliment, Wendy. We will see how I do on this twofer thing. I did try to make a half batch of something for my Knives Out post (coming soon).

  • Mae

    Cooking for two is something I never even think about much, it’s just the way it is. Especially it’s the way it’s been since March when we stopped being able to have anything like a dinner party. We do eat leftovers, but we don’t even have much freezer space. I’ll look forward to new ideas in your future blog posts.

    About that book list: I read & liked Hemingway’s Moveable Feast, Barbery’s Gourmet Rhapsody, and (sort of) liked Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen. But I don’t much like cozy mysteries of the recent sort. Way too many of them involve a newcomer who starts a bookstore, a candy store, or a bakery. I think they copy each other and also copy some popular movies with the same plot.

    be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    • I’ve been doing better with leftovers since we can almost immediately recycle them for lunch the next day. Did you review Kitchen on your site? I would be interested in your thoughts. I’m really bad about picking up cheap or free reads on my Kindle app without proper vetting. I just finished a book last night and thought, “Now that is really familiar.” It was by a previously read author and was almost the same exact plot. I’ve decided I’ve read enough of her.

  • That is certianly a long list of foods in that book. Lots of inspiration
    Personally I like mysteries but I do not like the cozy versions. Too tame.
    Not sure there would be enough food inspiration in the book Holding by Graham Norton but I just finished it and there was just enough mystery and dark humor that you may like it. I need to get that review up on Goodreads.

    We have lots of leftovers here! It’s sometimes even better the next day, things like soups or Bolognese sauce.

  • These look delicious and I bet the flavor with the Meyer lemons is awesome.

  • As one who makes scones on a regular basis, I’m definitely looking forward to trying these. And your tip about dividing them is good. I usually cut my round in 8 sections, placing each individually on a parchment lined tin. Of course, that’s for a 2 cup flour recipe. They re-heat so well, it’s good to have extras for a few days 🙂

  • I am glad you enjoyed the book, Debra. I like the idea of using Meyer lemons, which are my favorite citrus fruit. One day I’ll get myself a Meyer lemon tree. Thank you for your contribution to this edition of Cook the Books Club 🙂
    Oh, and I like the idea of recipes for two!