The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (2024)

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.

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (1)
Table of Contents
  1. What is a scone?
  2. Best Scone Recipe Ingredients
  3. How to Make Scones
  4. Why is it important that the butter for scones be cold?
  5. Mix-In ideas for this recipe for Scones
  6. Savory Scones recipe tip
  7. What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?
  8. How to store Scones
  9. Do scones freeze well?
  10. Can this scone recipe be made ahead of time?
  11. What to put on a scone:
  12. More recipes you are going to love!
  13. Best Scone Recipe 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.

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (2)

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!

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (3)

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.

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (4)

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??

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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.

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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!

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Best Scone Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what to have on hand. Quantities given in the recipe below!

For the scones:

  • All purpose flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Baking powder
  • Butter (cold)
  • Egg
  • Vanilla
  • Heavy cream (see recipe note)
  • Sour cream
  • Optional mix-ins (like blueberries, cream cheese, etc. More on that below!)

For the glaze:

  • Butter (very soft)
  • Powdered sugar
  • Vanilla
  • Kosher salt
  • Milk

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.

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Why is it important that the butter for scones be cold?

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!

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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.

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Fold in mix-ins if you like (it’s not necessary), and pat into a circle.

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This is a master scone recipe and you can add any type of mix ins that you like. I made a few different versions: Cream cheese, blueberry, and plain.

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The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (13)

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. That would be delicious.

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Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice your circle in half, then each half into 3 triangles.

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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.

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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!

Sweet:

  • Blueberries with a tablespoon of lemon zest
  • Chocolate chips and toasted pecans
  • Dried tart cherries with almond extract (top with sliced almonds)
  • Craisins 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.

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(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.

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How to store Scones

Scones don’t have a long shelf life which makes their tendency to disappear into hungry mouths really convenient. To stretch their shelf life, seal tightly once cool and store on the counter or fridge. Eat within 2 days to get that wonderful texture.

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.

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (19)

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

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The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (20)

Best Scone Recipe

4.74 from 134 votes

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 30 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 large scones

The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (21)

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!

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.)

Video

Notes

*Heavy cream is usually sold in cartons by the milk. It is sometimes called whipping cream. The different names refer to different fat content levels. (Any type of cream will do for these scones. You can even use whole milk). Heavy cream is not coffee creamer. It is the thick, rich part of milk that rises to the top when you milk a cow. I get questions about this all the time! I think we all need to visit a farm ;)

**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.

***At this point, you can transfer your shaped unbaked scones to a ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months. Pop them out of the freezer and put them in the oven frozen solid. They may take a couple more minutes to bake, but not much longer. Try it! You will love yourself when you can have a freshly baked scone in 25 minutes flat on a random Tuesday!

****About the baking time: I like to put muffins and scones (and other baked goods that use baking powder) in the oven at a high temperature for the first half of baking, then lower the temperature. The high temperature at the beginning activates the baking powder and makes the scones rise really high, but then you have to lower the temperature so they don’t burn on the edges.

Nutrition

Serving: 1scone | Calories: 802kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 1418IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 258mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Eastern European

Calories: 802

Keyword: best, Breakfast, scones, snack

Did you make this? I’d love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!

Categorized as , , Breakfast, Christmas Recipes, Easter Recipes, Mother's Day Recipes, , Savory Breakfast, Sweet Breakfast

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The Best Scone Recipe I've Ever Made from The Food Charlatan (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones? ›

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

What to avoid when making scones? ›

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Scones
  1. Using anything but cold ingredients. The secret to the flakiest scones is to start with cold ingredients — cold butter, cold eggs, and cold cream. ...
  2. Only using all-purpose flour. ...
  3. Overmixing the dough. ...
  4. Not chilling the dough before baking. ...
  5. Baking them ahead of time.
May 1, 2019

What type of flour is best for scones? ›

The secret is using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. It's lower in protein and makes for ultra-tender scones. If you don't have any on hand, you can easily make your own using all-purpose flour and cornstarch (see the FAQs below). For a kid-friendly twist, don't miss my chocolate chip scones.

Why are my scones heavy and dense? ›

Navigating the vast array of flours at supermarkets can be a daunting task. Many quick scone recipes recommend self-raising flour, which contains a leavening agent that helps achieve the desired rise. Without this leavening agent, scones can become dense and heavy.

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

How do you make scones rise higher? ›

Much like cinnamon rolls, arranging your scones side by side, just touching one another, helps in making the scones rise evenly, and higher. Since the heat causes the scones to rise, if they are placed side by side, the scones will be forced to rise upwards, not outwards.

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

What is the best temperature for baking scones? ›

I preheated the oven to 405 degrees (it runs hot so this is the setting that gives me 425 degrees). The scones came out of the freezer, were set onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, placed into the oven. I set timer for 18 minutes and moved on.

Is heavy cream or buttermilk better for scones? ›

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Is it better to sift flour for scones? ›

Sifting flour is usually a good idea, says Penny Stankiewicz, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. “It lightens the flour and aerates it, making it easier to mix into any emulsion.

How thick should you roll out scone dough? ›

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

Does scone dough need to rest? ›

The explanation is simple: As with other doughs, including pizza dough, resting lets scone dough's gluten relax completely, so that it doesn't snap back during shaping or baking.

Why do my scones go flat and not rise? ›

Why Are My Scones Flat? Expired leavening agents. Your baking powder and/or baking soda could be expired. Most scone and biscuit recipes call for quite a large amount of leavening, and if either are expired, your scones simply won't rise to beautiful heights.

Why do my scones fall apart when I cut them? ›

Why are my scones too crumbly? The liquid that you add after adding the butter is required to keep the whole dough together. If there's not enough water to keep the dough together, it will fall apart too easily and it will be very hard to bring it all together.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy? ›

Some common reasons for dense scones are not using enough baking powder, overworking the dough and not baking with the oven at the correct temperature.

How do you make scones rise and not spread? ›

Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

What is the main reason for resting scones before baking? ›

This short rest relaxes the gluten, making scones more tender; and cold chills the fat, increasing flakiness.

References

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