Scone Recipe

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.)

Scones

Here’s your basic “start here” scone recipe. While this simple vanilla scone is delicious as is, it’s also the perfect vehicle for your favorite add-ins; we happen to love dried cranberries and walnuts. Though chocolate chips are tempting, too!

Prep: 10min

Total: 58min

Yield: 12

Serving Size: 1 scone (63g)

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 scone (63g), calories 210 calories, Carbohydrate 27g, Cholesterol 55mg, Fiber 1g, Protein 5g, Sodium 320mg, Sugar 7g, Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 5g, Trans Fat 0g

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups (330g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter cold
• 1 cup to 2 cups chopped dried fruit chocolate or other flavored chips nuts [product-link]Jammy Bits[/product-link]* or a combination optional
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract or the flavoring of your choice
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup (113g to 152g) half-and-half or milk
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 tablespoons coarse sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar optional

Instruction:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder., Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. , Stir in the fruit, chips, and/or nuts, if you’re using them., In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla or other flavor, and half-and-half or milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. , Using a bowl scraper or a large spoon, stir the dough ingredients until all is moistened and holds together. , Line a baking sheet with parchment; if you don’t have parchment, just use it without greasing it. Sprinkle a bit of flour atop the parchment or pan., Scrape the dough onto the floured parchment or pan, and divide it in half. Round each half into a 5″ circle (if you haven’t incorporated any add-ins); or a 6″ circle (if you’ve added fruit, nuts, etc.). The circles should be about 3/4″ thick., Using a knife or bench knife that you’ve run under cold water, slice each circle into 6 wedges. , Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar. , Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit; there should be about 1/2″ space between them, at their outer edges., For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Chilling the scones relaxes the gluten in the flour, which makes the scones more tender and allows them to rise higher. It also chills the fat, which will make the scones a bit flakier. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third., Bake the scones in the upper part of your oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown. When you pull one away from the others, it should look baked all the way through; the edge shouldn’t look wet or unbaked. , Remove the scones from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan. Serve warm. They’re delicious as is, but add butter and/or jam, if you like. , When the scones are completely cool, wrap them in plastic and store at room temperature for up to several days. To reheat room-temperature scones, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.

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.

Professional Baker Teaches You How To Make FANCY SCONES!

FAQ

What is the secret to making good scones?

What are the two types of scones?

• Ice cream scones. A star rating of 3.9 out of 5. …
• Easy fluffy scones. A star rating of 4.8 out of 5. …
• Prune & almond scones. A star rating of 3.9 out of 5. …
• Easy sultana scones. …
• Fruit scones. …
• Spring onion & feta cornbread scones with chipotle butter. …
• Blueberry scones. …
• Pumpkin spice scones.

What is the basic difference between a scone and a biscuit?

What makes a scone a scone?