The Recipe Doctor: Fat cut in half in lightened lemon scones

Dear Recipe Doctor: A bakery near my house makes scrumptious lemon scones, and I would really appreciate if you could create a light lemon scone that I can make at home.

A: I love lemon anything, and lemon scones certainly would make my top 5 favorite lemon foods. The trick to a light lemon scone is using a little less fatty ingredient and substituting in something that will help maintain the scone texture (light cream cheese). I also reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup; used 1 cup of fat-free sour cream instead of regular, and whole-wheat flour was substituted for half of the flour.

This recipe works out well with 2 lemons because after you’ve zested the lemon peel away for the scone batter, you can use the juice to make the lemon glaze (2 tablespoons are needed). The original recipe contains 465 calories, 20 grams of fat (12 grams saturated fat), 67 milligrams cholesterol, and no fiber per scone.

Light Lemon Scones

1 cup fat free sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 cups unbleached white flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup less fat margarine (with around 8 grams fat per tablespoon)

1/4 cup light cream cheese

1 egg (higher omega-3 egg if available)

Lemon peel from 2 lemons, finely chopped

Lemon glaze:

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice (add a teaspoon more, if needed)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.

In large mixing bowl, add flours, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on low to blend dry ingredients. Add margarine and light cream cheese. to dry ingredients in mixing bowl and beat on low until incorporated into flour mixture (about 20 seconds).

Add sour cream mixture, egg, and lemon peel into the flour mixture and beat on low just until moistened.

Set dough onto a lightly floured sheet of wax paper and knead it a few times. Pat dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut with serrated knife into 12 wedges. Place the scones onto a nonstick baking sheet or jellyroll pan about an inch or two apart.

Bake about 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Stir glaze ingredients together with whisk or beaters until smooth. Spoon generously over the top of cooled scones.

Yield: 12 scones

Approximate nutrition per serving: 360 calories, 9.5 grams fat, (2.7 grams saturated, 22 percent fat calories), 8 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrate, 24 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 500 milligrams sodium.

Weight Watchers POINTS= 7