No, your scone is NOT supposed to be a sad dry heap of useless carbs! The best scones are crispy on the edges and tender in the middle. They are buttery, flaky, perfectly moist pieces of breakfast perfection that are surprisingly easy to make with a few tips. Don’t let the sad coffeehouse selections fool you into thinking you don’t like scones. You just haven’t tried this recipe yet! Originally posted February 13, 2012.
Table of Contents
- What is a scone?
- Scone ingredients
- How to make Scones
- Tips for making this Scone Recipe
- Mix-In ideas for this recipe for Scones
- Savory Scones recipe tip
- What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?
- How to store this Scones Recipe
- Do scones freeze well?
- Can this scone recipe be made ahead of time?
- What to put on a scone:
- More recipes you are going to love!
- Best Recipe for Scones (Sweet or Savory) Recipe
My best friend Sarah just texted me: “It’s 7:15am and both my dishwasher and washing machine are running, so I’m loving life right now. I’m just sitting on the couch listening to them and feeling so productive!”
You know how most people want quiet appliances? Like, the kind where you can’t even tell if the dishwasher is running? Not Sarah. She’s always talking about how when everything is running at once she feels like someone else is doing all the work for her. Like a regular old Rosey the Robot, from Jetsons. The future, guys: we have arrived.
Also, I just want to add a note that there has been literally no day of my life where both the washing machine and dishwasher were running by 7:15am. Most days I’m barely crawling out of bed by then. Things have not changed since we were roommates in college and she would have to shove my piling laundry back on my side of the room with a broom handle. Sarah and I: the odd couple indeed!
Sarah and her family are in the middle of a transcontinental move right now. They are heading back to the states after a 3 year stint in Japan with the military. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to be back in the same time zone as my best friend! Even after 3 years, I still call her half the time and then hang up frantically when I realize it’s 4am in Japan.
How is everyone holding up lately? I can’t believe July is over. Only one more month before school starts…except it’s not starting. Cue the tears.
Or how about we just bake away all our sorrows?? Scones for the win! If you are not feeling excited about the prospect of a freshly baked scone yet, it’s because you’ve never had a decent one. Curse you and your dried out baked goods, Starbucks! Ruining the reputation of classic British baked goods the world over!
I decided to make scones a few weeks ago when my friend Kim promised my 9-year-old daughter that she would throw an Anne of Green Gables watching party if Charlotte finished the book. Well she finished the book and all 72 sequels after that, so an Anne party we had! (We even dyed our hair green. Just kidding.) What food could be more early-century Canadian than scones??
What is a scone?
A scone is similar to a biscuit. It is a flaky dough made by cutting cold butter into flour, and uses baking powder to rise. They can be sweet or savory. English scones are a little bit different (they are made with softened butter rather than cold butter, changing the texture.) Usually they are shaped with round biscuit cutters instead of the triangle shape popular here in the US. Do I have any British readers who can tell us more about scones from the homeland? Teach me!!
A warm homemade scone spread with butter and jam is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but I didn’t always think so. Mostly because my mom never made scones growing up, so my only experience with them came from coffee shops. An already-bad scone that has been sitting in a glass display for 8 hours? I need a glass of milk just thinking about it.
The first time I had a truly amazing scone was when Eric and I went to High Tea at this fancy hotel in Victoria one time. They had the cucumber sandwiches and 3 tiered serving platter and everything. The scones were SO GOOD. Perfectly moist and tender on the inside, delightfully crispy on the edges, and full of buttery flavor. And topped with clotted cream and freshly made jam! Heaven!
Scone ingredients
Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need to make these scones. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for more details!
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- kosher salt
- baking powder
- butter
- egg
- vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
- sour cream
- cream cheese (optional)
- powdered sugar (for the glaze)
- milk (for the glaze)
How to make Scones
It’s true that scones are really easy to put together, but there are a few really important tips to follow if you want to avoid sad dry scones, or scones that end up cakey instead of flaky.
First put together all your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Then use a pastry cutter (or a cheese grater!) to cut the cold, cold butter into the flour.
Next pour in the wet ingredients: egg, vanilla, cream, sour cream. Stir it together into a shaggy dough and then switch to using your hands, making sure to coat them with flour first. Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself in layers until it comes together. Try to use as few strokes as possible.
Fold in mix-ins if you like (it’s not necessary), and pat into a circle.
This is a master scone dough recipe and you can add any type of mix-ins that you like. I made a few different versions: cream cheese, blueberry, and plain.
Here in California we don’t have clotted cream at the grocery store (I think they have it in Canada??), and it’s kind of a long process to make your own (I will post a recipe someday!) So my quick fix is adding chunks of cream cheese coated in sugar to my scones. It’s so good! You could even try doing half cream cheese, half blueberry scones. That would be delicious.
Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice your circle in half, then each half into 3 triangles.
Look at how thick it is! Can you see the layers? You get that by not over working your dough.
Freeze for 30 minutes. This freezing step is really, really important. Super cold butter going into a screaming hot oven is what makes your scone tender and flaky instead of tough and dry.
If you don’t have room in your freezer for the whole baking sheet, just put them on a plate in the freezer and transfer back to a baking sheet after 30 minutes.
Tips for making this Scone Recipe
Butter melts very quickly in the oven, and the little pockets of butter in your scone are no exception. If they start out ice cold, they are going to take longer to melt. This gives your scone a chance to rise higher in the oven, creating little pockets of air where the cold butter used to be. This is how you get a flaky scone texture!
You want to have pea-size pieces of butter. Don’t over mix it! You can use a food processor for this step if you like. Or a cheese grater as shown above. You can even use frozen butter. The colder the butter, the better!
Mix-In ideas for this recipe for Scones
The sky is the limit on what to fold into your scone recipe. You want to add about 3/4 to 1 cup of total mix-ins for this amount of dough. Here are some ideas for variations!
Sweet:
- Berries (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries even) with a tablespoon of lemon zest
- Chocolate chips and toasted pecans
- Dried tart cherries with almond extract (top with sliced almonds)
- Dried cranberries with orange or lemon zest
- Grated marzipan, chocolate chips, and orange zest
- Raspberry and white chocolate (frozen raspberries work great)
- Apple and cinnamon
- Dried apricots and coconut extract
- Sugar coated cream cheese scones; see recipe
Savory: you will want to reduce the sugar to about 1/4 cup if you are doing savory scones.
- Bacon and White Cheddar (like in this overnight recipe)
- Parmesan cheese and rosemary
- Sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and basil
- Apple, cheddar, and crumbled bacon
- Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta
- Mini pepperoni and chopped chunks of mozzarella. Dip in marinara.
Savory Scones recipe tip
If you plan to make savory scones, use 1/4 cup sugar or less! But don’t take it all out. A little sugar in your savory baked goods is often the secret to success. Also the sugar provides structure when baking.
(The brown crystallized sugar you see in this photo is from the sugar I coated my cream cheese chunks in. Normal scones won’t do that. But it sure is delicious. Who can say no to a bit of crystallized sugar??)
What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?
Visually, the biggest difference between a scone and a biscuit is the shape. Biscuits are almost always cut into circles, and scones are often cut into triangles. Traditional British scones are more dense and crispy, using heavy cream rather than butter as the fat. This recipe is not dense, and is only crispy on the edges. The inside is light and flaky and tender. We are using butter, cream, and sour cream to make sure it’s super moist. Biscuits are usually savory and more buttery. Here is my favorite Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe! It’s so good.
How to store this Scones Recipe
You can store these scones, covered, on the counter for 2-4 days. Day 1 is when they’ll still have crispy edges, after that they’ll start to get a little soggy. If you do the optional cream cheese mix-in, you’ll probably want to store them in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them, then heat one up in the microwave whenever you want a scone. No, it won’t have crispy edges, but it will still be totally delicious.
Do scones freeze well?
Yes! To store longer than a few days, wrap the baked scones so they are air-tight. Freeze up to 3 months. Rewarm in the microwave on a low setting and don’t overdo it. Don’t “cook” the scones in the microwave, just warm them. You can also slice in half and toast.
Can this scone recipe be made ahead of time?
Yes, I do this all the time!
To make the dough in advance, follow the recipe through cutting the dough into triangles. Put the triangles onto a pan or plate and freeze for 30 minutes. Then tightly seal the frozen sections of dough in a ziplock. You can have scones on any random day! Just take them out and pop them in the oven totally frozen. This is also a great recipe to make for overnight guests. Make the dough the night before, then toss them in the oven in the morning.
What to put on a scone:
For sweet scones, the toppings are where it’s at. Try these:
- The Best Lemon Curd << If you’ve only ever had store bought lemon curd, MAKE THIS. They are just not even in the same category.
- Cinnamon Honey Butter << So easy to make and to-die-for on fresh baked goods!
- 2 Minute Maple Butter << Easy and delicious!
- Easy Strawberry Jam from Dinner Then Dessert
- Grape Jelly from A Baker’s House
More recipes you are going to love!
Craving a sweet breakfast or an afternoon treat with your cup of tea? Here are some of my favorites.
The Best Chocolate Babka >> buttery brioche dough with tons of chocolate, yes please
Homemade Donuts >> time consuming and WORTH IT
Glazed Lemon Loaf >> just like Starbucks (except maybe even better)
Swedish Cinnamon Buns with Cardamom >> do you love cardamom as much as I do? so good
Easy Banana Bake with Cream Cheese Frosting >> banana bread’s cooler, more sophisticated cousin
Tea Sandwiches from Bounded by Buns
English Muffins from The View From Great Island
Perfect Petit Fours from Rose Bakes
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Best Recipe for Scones (Sweet or Savory)
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons baking powder, yes really
- 1/2 cup butter, (1 stick) COLD butter, frozen butter is great too
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/3 cup heavy cream*
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- more cream, for brushing
Optional add in
- 1 (8-oz) package COLD cream cheese, chopped
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, for coating cream cheese
For the glaze
- 2 tablespoons butter, very soft
- 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar**, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
- Wet ingredients: In another medium bowl, add 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla (omit for savory scones), 1/3 cup cream and 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk it together. Set aside.
- Cut in butter: Now back to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the COLD or frozen butter. You can also grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it in that way. Cut the butter in until it is incorporated and there are still pieces of butter about the size of a pea. Don’t overdo it! See photos.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough.
- Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it’s necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds. Do your best and remember that you will get better with practice!
- Mix-ins: At this point add in any mix ins you plan to use. (If you want to add cream cheese like you can see in the photos, chop an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/2 inch chunks. Coat with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, making sure all the cream cheese is coated. Carefully fold into the dough.)
- Prepare a work space with plenty of flour. I like to use a pastry cloth. Transfer the dough to the work place and use your hands to shape the dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle. I like really thick, tall scones. The thicker your circle of dough is, the taller your scones will be. If you added mix ins, your circle will be a bit larger.
- Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the circle in half. Cut each half into 3 equal triangles.
- Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the scones at least 3 inches apart from each other.
- Freeze for 30 minutes.*** If you don’t have room in your freezer, you can put them in the fridge for 45 minutes. If you don’t have room to chill a whole baking sheet, place the scones on a plate and then transfer to the baking sheet when they are frozen/cold.
- 15 minutes before the scones are done freezing, turn your oven on to 400 degrees F.
- Place the cold scones on a baking sheet if you haven’t done so yet.
- Brush the top of each scone with cream. This will make the scones get nice and brown. Top each scone with coarse sugar if you like, or a bit of salt if you are doing savory scones.
- Bake: Put the scones in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Turn the heat down to 375 without opening the oven.**** Bake for another 8-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE. This is where the magic happens, so stay nearby. If you over bake your scones, they will be dry even if you did everything else right. If you are not sure, use a spatula to lift up one of the scones. If they are a nice golden brown on the bottom, they are done.
- Remove from the oven and let set up on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk or use an electric beater to cream 2 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk together and add more milk until you have a consistency you like. Drizzle over the tops of the scones and let harden (it usually takes 20-30 minutes.)
- Top your scones with butter and jam! They are great reheated in the microwave.
- Store scones covered on the counter for 2-4 days. They are best eaten on day 1 so that you can get those crispy edges. After storing for a while it’s hard to avoid a bit of sogginess. (Starbucks solves this problem but leaving them out in the air, but then eventually the center gets dried out. So, pick your poison. Or just eat all 6 scones single handedly on day 1. No judgment here.)
Just wondering how you get your blueberries mixed into the dough without the dough turning blue or the blueberries breaking upÂ
Hi Kim! Fresh blueberries is the way to go. Frozen ones will bleed into the dough every time. (although they still taste delicious) Add the fresh berries to the mixture after you have added the liquid to the batter, it’s more about ‘folding in’ at this point. use your hands. try not to overwork the dough. Hope this is helpful!
Oh my goodness! I’m sitting on my front porch eating the best scone ever! Absolutely perfect. I’m the only one who eats scones so made 1/2 a batch. Still came out perfect. I added raspberries and they are delicious! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
If you want a better approximation of clotted cream (and you do) then you can make it yourself by microwaving high-fat UHT cream (30% min). The water boils off leaving the gloopy fat behind, which is basically what clotted cream is.
Andy I’m not even kidding, YOU JUST CHANGED MY LIFE. I’m off to the kitchen to try this right now!!! Also that video is hilarious. Thank you!!
This looks great, but being British I have no idea where you have got the notion that we use heavy cream instead of butter….. I’ve never heard this, we always use butter we are a nation of butter lovers. We also use self-raising flour, a bit more baking powder and we make them with milk or buttermilk as opposed to cream, sometimes an egg and sugar of course if making a sweet scones. We traditionally cut them in circles. I myself love Sultana scones.
There’s really no need to grate butter, just cube it and rub in with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. They are often best if you rest the scones in the fridge for 20 mins before cooking.
I will try this recipe though although not sure about putting the glaze on. I do hope I haven’t offended anyone, not my intention at all.
X
If you are feeling the dough how long does it take to cook from frozen please?
It should just take a couple minutes longer Sarah! Keep an eye on it and make sure it’s nice and golden on the bottom and top.
Hey Karen,
I tried your recipe and wow they came out superb. I am a big fan of scones and thank you for this wonderful recipe. They were amazing.Â
Thank you so, so much. 😀🙌
Love this recipe and it has become a hit with friends and family. Only issue I’ve had is storing more than a month in a chest freezer and they have had mold in the dough, not sure why, any suggestions or thoughts? One other thing is I have moved to a high elevation(6,000ft+). Is there any adjustments that I would need to make during prep or baking? Thank you in advance, leslie
Hi Leslie! So you froze unbaked scones in the freezer and they grew mold on them? I’ve never heard of such a thing! That is so strange, I don’t know how mold could grow in such a cold environment. I’m so sorry! As for the 6,000 feet, I would check out this High-Altitude Baking guide from King Arthur. That will give you a good place to start for how to adapt these scones. Good luck! I’m so glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for commenting 🖤
Yes, I have never seen it before either and that is what I thought too.  I’ve frozen all kinds of doughs and never before have I had that happen. I will have to try and freeze the baked scones and reheat. I have just never been a fan of freezing baked goods. Thank you for the link to high altitude baking, I will definitely give it a shot.
Thank you!
Hi,
I’m English (not British because Britain doesn’t exist!) First of all we NEVER put cream in scones. We ALWAYS use cold butter. The shape is interchangeable all over the UK(the correct term) you see triangles more often though in Scotland and Ireland. We do put cream on scones with jam, usually clotted cream or butter. We like our scones simple, so dried fruit eg raisins, cherries or plain. Sometimes cheese. That’s it. To raise your scone use buttermilk, acidulated milk and a raising agent. What you’ve made there are rock cakes or fat rascals. Not scones. FYI the collection of islands is known as Great Britain not Britain. We do not use the term because it does not include Northern Ireland. The correct term is the United Kingdom. You can and should refer to people by their country ie English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish. Calling us all British is exactly like calling Canadians American because they are on the same continent. Thank you. (Sorry to go on but you did ask!)
“Ruining the reputation of classic British baked goods the world over!”
This recipe is so far removed from a scone in the UK it can’t be called a scone. Rub cold butter into flour and baking powder, add sugar then gently mix in fresh milk. You can add sultanas or cheese (no sugar). We would usually have them in the afternoon, never for breakfast.
I am sure these are very tasty but they definitely are not a scone.
As accurate as your reply was, it was still snarky and unkind. I strongly feel you could have said that in a more polite manner. Clearly you know a lot about the art of baking a perfect scone so I’m unsure why you were even looking at this recipe?!
I agree certainly can be snarky…recipie was amazing way better with cream in my opinion. My family ate them all with in 5 mins! :DÂ
These look amazing. Can’t wait to make these for the weekend.
These are so ridiculously good and I had trouble not eating them all the first day.Â
Amazing!!! After trying so many different recipes that where just okay, this one is a winner!!! Already made different variations and they where all great.
Thank you sor sharing.
These are currently in the fridge waiting to bake. I didn’t have sour cream. So subbed the heavy cream/sour cream for buttermilk since buttermilk seems to be common in scone recipes. I didn’t have buttermilk so I made it. The recipe for buttermilk called for 1 cup milk + 1 T lemon juice. I totally forgot to measure out 2/3 cups and accidentally just poured the whole mixture into my flour mixture. The dough was a little wet but I was able to shape and cut it. Hopefully they turn out!Â
This recipe and the scones are primo great. Thanks for all the hints and explanation. My daughter is going to love the raspberry ones I’m making her for Valentine’s, heart shaped of course.
These are legit scones!!! I have been making scones for years using a recipe that has always received rave reviews. This recipe is better than mine!! Excellent, excellent scones!!!Â
This was my very first time making scones and they came out pretty good! I’m not great at making pastries so I was very happy with the outcome. I added the cream cheese, blueberries and lemon zest. Perfect. Thanks for the awesome instructions! Gonna make again with different add-ins.Â