These scones are light and fluffy with a subtle touch of lavender. Grating the butter is genius, and chilling the scones before baking helps keep them from spreading too much.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lavender, lemon zest, and salt.
Grate the chilled butter with a box grater. (Using the paper wrapper to hold the stick of butter makes the job less messy.) Add butter to flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs.
In a small bowl, stir or whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and mix until fully moistened.
Place a silicone liner on a baking sheet. Lightly flour a large cutting board and your hands.
Use your hands to finish mixing in any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl. Divide the dough in half and place each ball on the floured work surface. If the dough feels too sticky, work in a little extra flour; if to dry, work in a little extra buttermilk. Press each ball into a 5-6-inch disc. Use a large knife to cut into eight wedges, cutting the disc first in half, the diagonally in quarters, and so on. Place scones on the lined baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart.
Brush scones with milk and if you'd like, top with coarse sparkling sugar. Refrigerate pan for 15 minutes; this helps prevent excess spreading.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees and start the icing. In a small saucepan, heat the milk or half and half over low, until it reaches a simmer. Remove from heat and add the crushed lavender. Allow to steep while the scones bake.
Bake scones 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and cool slightly while you finish the icing.
Use a mesh sieve to strain the lavender milk into a small bowl. Stir or whisk in the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar. If the icing is too thick, thin with dribbles of additional milk. Drizzle over warm scones and serve.
Store leftover scones in a well-sealed container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
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