Recipe For Scones

Using my perfected master scone recipe, build your own scones with a variety of add-ins like chocolate chips, berries, or cheese and herbs. These better-than-the-bakery treats are flaky, flavorful, and moist with crisp crumbly edges. There’s a lot of helpful information and step-by-step photos, but feel free to jump right to the recipe!

Scones are sweet or savory, perfect with coffee and tea, welcome at baby showers, bridal showers, brunch, snack time, bake sales, Mother’s Day, and wherever muffins or coffee are appropriate. (All the time!)

But depending on the recipe and technique, scones can be dry and sandpaper-y with flavor comparable to cardboard. They can also over-spread and taste pretty boring. However, boring isn’t in our scone vocabulary!! My basic scone recipe promises uniquely crisp and buttery scones with crumbly corners and a soft, flaky interior.

I have several scone recipes that begin with the same basic formula. Let’s review the fundamentals so you can learn how to make the best scones. Sit back because there’s a lot to cover in this post!

Depending where you live, the term “scone” differs. English scones are more similar to American biscuits and they’re often topped with butter, jam, or clotted cream. American scones are different, but different isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Today’s scones are sweeter, heavier, and aren’t usually topped with butter because there’s so much butter IN them. Sweetness aside, there’s still room for vanilla icing or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top. By the way, here’s my favorite recipe for traditional scones.

Scones are leavened with baking powder, so making them is generally quick. Blueberry scones are my favorite variety, but that quickly switches to pumpkin scones in the fall months! (Here are all my scone recipes.)

How to Make Perfect Scones

Use this basic scone dough for any sweet scone variety. See blog post for a couple savory scone options. Feel free to increase the vanilla extract and/or add other flavor extracts such as lemon extract or coconut extract. Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading.

Prep: 30min

Total: 1h

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick; 115g) unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream or buttermilk (plus 2 Tbsp for brushing)
• 1 large egg
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1-1.5 cups add-ins such as chocolate chips, berries, nuts, fruit, etc
• optional: coarse sugar for topping

Instruction:

1. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the add-ins, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
3. Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. For smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 wedges. To make 10-12 drop scones: Keep mixing dough in the bowl until it comes together. Drop scones, about 1/4 cup of dough each, 3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. To make mini (petite) scones, see recipe note.
4. Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
5. Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
7. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini or drop scones, use 2 baking sheets. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
8. Bake for 18-26 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Larger scones take closer to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Feel free to top with any of the toppings listed in the recipe Note below.
9. Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

The BEST Scones Recipe

Learn how to make delicious, soft, light, and tender scones with this easy recipe and tutorial. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!

Prep: 20min

Total: 40min

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter (cubed into pieces)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream (plus more for brushing the tops)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instruction:

1. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
2. Top the scones with the glaze and allow to harden for 10-15 minutes, then serve, and enjoy.

Easy Blueberry Scones Recipe | Beyond Delicious!