Learn to make excellent scones! My recipe is simple to customise along with your favourite add-ins, and it yields buttery, flaky, flavorful scones each time.
One of the best scones are buttery, flaky, and moist inside. They’re crisp and crumbly across the edges, excellent for pairing with a cup of espresso or tea.
Scones can get a nasty rap for being bland or dry (my husband Jack swore he didn’t like them for years), however once they’re ready nicely, they shouldn’t be both of these issues.
I’m sharing my favourite scone recipe under. It’s straightforward to make with 10 fundamental components, and you may customise it along with your favourite candy or savory mix-ins. Irrespective of which of them you decide, it yields tender, flavorful, bakery-worthy scones each time.
Should you’re on the fence about scones, I believe this recipe will win you over. Even Jack will inform you that it’s scrumptious for breakfast or brunch!
What are scones?
Just like biscuits, scones are evenly candy baked items enriched with butter and/or cream and leavened with baking powder. Right here within the US, we regularly load them up with glazes and mix-ins like fruit and chocolate chips. In Britain, scones are usually less complicated, usually made with out mix-ins and left unglazed. Famously served as a part of excessive tea, British scones are the proper automobile for toppings like jam and clotted cream.
This recipe is for American scones. Although you could possibly make it with out mix-ins for extra of a British vibe, I believe they’re half the enjoyable right here. I’m sharing a few of my favourite taste variations in a while on this submit!
Primary Scone Recipe Substances
This fundamental scones recipe begins with 10 easy components:
- Combine-ins of your selection – You’ll find a few of my favourite taste variations under. Choices embody lemon blueberry, cranberry orange, chocolate chip, and even cheddar herb!
- All-purpose flour – It creates the bottom of the dough. Spoon and stage it to keep away from packing an excessive amount of into your measuring cup.
- Cane sugar – It makes these scones evenly candy. I add sugar to the dough whether or not I’m making candy scones or savory ones. If I’m going the candy path, I additionally sprinkle coarse sugar on prime for sparkle and crunch.
- Baking powder – It helps the scones puff up as they bake.
- Unsalted butter – For richness and buttery taste. I freeze the butter for 1 hour, then grate it earlier than working it into the scone dough.
- Buttermilk – It provides extra richness and moisture to the dough. Should you don’t preserve buttermilk available, discover options within the callout under!
- An egg – It makes these scones tender and light-weight.
- Vanilla – After I make candy scones, I all the time add a splash of vanilla for heat depth of taste. After I make savory ones, I skip it.
- And sea salt – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements under.
Buttermilk Alternate options
I really like utilizing buttermilk in scones. It provides wealthy, tangy taste along with moisture, and its acidity helps the scones rise.
However in case you don’t preserve it available, that’s okay! Listed below are just a few options:
- Heavy cream
- Full-fat coconut milk
- A scant 1/2 cup milk combined with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice. Set the combination apart for five minutes to thicken earlier than including it to the dough.
Make Scones
Making scones from scratch may sound difficult, however I promise, this recipe is admittedly easy! Right here’s the way it goes:
Begin by making the scone dough. In a big bowl, whisk collectively the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Grate the frozen butter on the big holes of a field grater, then use your fingers to work the butter shreds into the flour till the combination resembles a rough meal.
Do I want to make use of frozen grated butter?
I like to recommend it! I just like the frozen grated butter technique for 2 causes:
- It ensures that the butter is chilly, which is important for making flaky scones! Baked items like scones, biscuits, and pie crust turn out to be flaky when small items of butter within the dough soften within the oven. They don’t end up as flaky if the butter melts earlier than that, once you’re dealing with the dough.
- It doesn’t require loads of dealing with. You need to depart some chunks of butter within the dough—these are what make the scones flaky! Grated butter items are already pretty small, so that you don’t want to interrupt them up a lot when you add them. You’ll be able to rapidly and simply work them into the flour.
That mentioned, in case you desire to not use this technique, you don’t should! It’s also possible to work cubed chilly butter into the flour combination utilizing your arms or a pastry cutter. An alternative choice is to chop the butter into the flour utilizing a meals processor.
After you add the butter, add your required mix-ins and toss to coat within the flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the remaining moist components. Pour them into the flour combination.
Combine with a spatula till a shaggy dough kinds. Then, change to your arms and knead to include any remaining dry flour. Watch out to not overwork the dough to keep away from melting the butter.
- Tip: The combo-ins you utilize and the humidity in your kitchen can have an effect on the feel of your scone dough. It ought to be smooth, however not sticky. Don’t hesitate to work in a bit of additional flour if it feels too sticky or so as to add extra liquid if it feels too dry.
Subsequent, form the scones. On a evenly floured floor, flatten the dough right into a 1-inch-thick disk. Slice it into 8 equal wedges.
To maintain the butter chilly, freeze the scones for quarter-hour when you preheat the oven to 400°F. Then, brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake till golden brown, 18 to 27 minutes. That’s it!
Scone Taste Variations
This scone recipe is a unbelievable template for almost any taste of scone! Have enjoyable experimenting with totally different add-ins.
Listed below are just a few of my favourite variations:
- Lemon blueberry – A zesty twist on my blueberry scones! Use 1 1/2 cups blueberries because the mix-ins. Whisk 1 tablespoon lemon zest into the moist components. Drizzle the cooled scones with my straightforward lemon glaze.
- Chocolate chip – Use 1/2 cup chocolate chips because the mix-ins. Add a pinch of nutmeg to the dry components.
- Currant or raisin – Use 1/2 cup dried raisins or currants because the mix-ins. Add a pinch of cinnamon to the dry components.
- Cranberry orange – Use 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries because the mix-ins. Whisk 1 tablespoon orange zest into the moist components.
- Cheddar herb – Omit the vanilla extract. Use 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup chopped recent chives because the mix-ins.
Let me know what variations you attempt!
Greatest Scone Recipe Ideas
- Regulate the liquid primarily based in your mix-ins. Juicy mix-ins like raspberries and diced strawberries will launch moisture into the scone dough. In that case, you’ll doubtless want much less buttermilk. Begin by including simply 1/3 cup (as a substitute of 1/2) and regularly add extra as wanted to assist the dough come collectively.
- You received’t use the identical quantity of each mix-in. An excellent rule of thumb is 1/2 cup for dried fruit and chocolate chips and 1 to 1 1/2 cups for recent fruit. And in case you’re making savory herb scones, you could possibly use as little as 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary, sage, or thyme!
Freeze Scones
As soon as baked, scones preserve nicely in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 2 days.
It’s also possible to freeze them. Seal baked scones in an hermetic container or bag, and retailer them within the freezer for as much as 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature, or rapidly defrost within the microwave.
An alternative choice is to freeze the scones earlier than baking. Freeze them for 1 hour on a plate or baking sheet. Then, retailer them in an hermetic container or bag within the freezer for as much as 3 months. Bake them straight from frozen, including a minute or two to the baking time if wanted.
With scone dough within the freezer, you possibly can deal with your self to a freshly baked scone anytime you want!
Simple Scones Recipe
Serves 8
We love these buttery, flaky scones for breakfast or brunch! This straightforward recipe works nicely with a wide range of add-ins like blueberries, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Discover a few of my favourite taste variations within the weblog submit above.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 stick, frozen for no less than 1 hour
- ½ to 1½ cups mix-ins*, corresponding to berries, dried fruit, or chocolate chips, elective
- ½ cup chilly buttermilk*, or heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
- 1 massive egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, elective
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
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Line a big baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a big bowl, whisk collectively the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
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On the big holes of a field grater, grate the frozen butter. Add to the flour combination and toss to coat. Use your arms to work the butter into the flour till the combination resembles a rough meal. Add desired mix-ins and toss to include.
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In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, if utilizing. Pour over the flour combination and use a spatula to combine till a shaggy dough kinds. Knead along with your arms to include any remaining dry flour. The dough ought to really feel smooth however not sticky. If it’s sticky, work in a bit extra flour. If it’s dry, drizzle in a bit of extra buttermilk. Type the dough right into a ball.
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Switch the dough ball to a evenly floured floor and type it right into a 7- to 8-inch disk about 1 inch thick. Slice into 8 equal wedges and switch to the ready baking sheet, leaving a bit of area round every scone.
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Freeze the scones for quarter-hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Take away the scones from the freezer and brush with buttermilk. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if utilizing. Bake for 18 to 27 minutes, or till golden brown on prime.
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Switch to a wire rack to chill.
*Be aware: Combine-ins corresponding to recent raspberries or diced recent strawberries will add moisture to the scone dough. If utilizing these, begin by including simply ⅓ cup buttermilk to the dough. Add extra as wanted, 1 tablespoon at a time, till the dough comes collectively. You’ll doubtless want lower than ½ cup whole as a result of additional moisture from the fruit.
