The Best Scone Recipe: With the help of this simple lesson, you can make scones that are tasty, soft, light, and sensitive. You may have these scones for dessert, brunch, or breakfast!
One of those recipes that some people tend to find boring or dry is scones. However, when prepared properly, scones are incredibly light, fluffy, and melt in your tongue!
I’m going back to the fundamentals today and will walk you through the process of making handmade scones. These scones only take about 20 minutes to bake in the oven, and they come together in about 15.
The Best Scone Recipe -learn Like A Pro
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SCONES:
- 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
FOR THE VANILLA GLAZE:
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
HOW TO MAKE SCONES:
- Set the oven temperature to 400°F, or 204°C. Put a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a sizable baking sheet and set it aside.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a sizable mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, add the cold cubed butter and cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles small pea-sized crumbs.
- Beat the egg, vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream together in a separate mixing basin until well blended. After mixing until just blended, add the wet ingredients to the dry components. It’s acceptable if the mixture seems a touch crumbly at this point!
- After transferring the mixture onto a surface dusted with flour, form it into a ball and press it into a 7-inch circle. Leaving a small space between each piece, cut the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces and arrange them on the baking sheet that has been prepared.
- After the scones are chilled, put the baking sheet in the freezer for five to ten minutes.
- Dredge each scone’s top in a little amount of heavy cream. If you’d like, you can sprinkle coarse sugar on top if you’re not going to apply a glaze.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the scones’ tops are cooked through and have a light brown color, at 400°F (204°C).
Take out of the oven and let cool entirely.
ALSO SEE
NOTES
Store scones in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
- Milk: whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or almond milk all work fine for the glaze.
- Scone Variations: Here are a few ways that you can change up this scone recipe. I suggest mixing in these ingredients right after you cut in the butter and before you add the wet ingredients.
- Blueberry: Add 1 cup (150 grams) of fresh blueberries
- Cranberry Orange: Add 2 teaspoons of fresh orange zest plus 2/3 cup (105 grams) of sweetened dried cranberries (or 1 cup of chopped fresh cranberries)
- Cinnamon Raisin: Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon plus 2/3 cup (105 grams) of raisins
- Lemon Poppy Seed: Add the zest of 1 medium lemon plus 1/2 tablespoon of poppy seeds
- Glaze Variations: You can replace the milk in this recipe to create different glazes too.
- Orange Glaze: Omit the vanilla extract and use fresh orange juice in place of the milk
- Lemon Glaze: Omit the vanilla extract and use fresh lemon juice in place of the milk
- Cinnamon Glaze: Add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
FAQs AND QUESTIONs
WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE
- All-Purpose Flour: When it comes to measuring your flour, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Too much flour can lead to a crumbly dough and scones that don’t taste as good. I talk about this more in my post on how to measure flour.
- Granulated Sugar: I typically stick with granulated sugar because I prefer the taste, but brown sugar will work too.
- Baking Powder & Salt: There is one tablespoon of baking powder in this recipe, and I promise it’s not a mistake! In order to get a good rise, you need a decent amount of baking powder.
- Cold Unsalted Butter: Since the amount of salt in salted butter can vary quite a bit between different brands, I prefer to stick with unsalted butter. Also, cold butter is key to creating the perfect scones. As the cold butter melts in the oven, it creates steam pockets that help the scones rise and create a lighter texture too.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: When it comes to soft scones that don’t dry out, heavy whipping cream is the best option. A little cream brushed on top of the scones before they go into the oven creates a beautiful, slightly crisp, and lightly browned exterior too.
- Egg & Vanilla Extract: The egg helps to create a lighter texture, and the vanilla adds flavor.