White Chocolate Apricot Scones

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F degrees if it is on regular or 375F if you are using a convection oven; Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cream, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest; Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Next, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, until evenly combined.
4. Add in your cubes of cold butter and lightly toss to coat each of the butter cubes with the flour mixture. Begin working the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers or with a pastry cutter until most of the butter chunks are the size of peas, with a few larger almond sized chunks.
5. Add the chopped white chocolate & chopped apricots and toss to combine.
6. Drizzle the cream & buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients and use a fork or spatula to gently fold the wet into the dry ingredients until a ragged dough forms and turn the ragged dough out onto a cool lightly flour work surface.
7. Gently fold the right half of the dough over onto the left half; repeat this process 3-4 times to create those flaky scone layers!
8. Now divide your dough into 2 parts. Dust the top of your dough with a bit more flour and gently roll each part into a 3/4-1 inch thick disk. Use a sharp knife to cut each disk into 6 equal parts, so you end up with 12 scones in total.
9. Place the 12 scones onto your prepared baking sheets; Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
10. Place one tray at a time into the center rack of your oven and bake for 18-23 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the tops spring back to your touch. Set the tray on a cooling rack to cool for about 5 minutes.
11. **Note – your scones will cook a bit faster if you are using a convection oven.