Easy Scones
I used to think scones were a bakery secret. Then I started baking them at home, and now a warm tray of easy scones shows up on my counter most weekend mornings.
This recipe gives you exactly what a good scone should be: buttery and flaky, moist in the middle, with crisp, crumbly edges that shatter just a little when you bite in. People love to call scones dry or bland, and honestly, they have a point when scones are made badly. Made well, they are none of those things.
The whole batch comes together with ten basic ingredients, most of which you probably already have in the pantry. Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, buttermilk, an egg, and a few extras.
You can keep them plain or load them up with sweet or savory mix ins, and either way you get tender, bakery style scones that are perfect for breakfast or brunch.
One batch makes 8 scones, which is exactly right for a small household or a slow Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee. Jack still claims he does not like scones, and he still eats two.
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What are scones?
Think of a scone as a close cousin of the biscuit. Both are lightly sweet baked goods enriched with butter, cream, or both, and both get their lift from baking powder instead of yeast.
The difference is mostly cultural. American scones often include mix ins like berries, dried fruit, or chocolate chips, and plenty of them get a glaze on top. British scones tend to be plainer and unglazed, and they are traditionally served at high tea with jam and clotted cream.
The recipe below is an American style scone, but you can absolutely leave the mix ins out if you want something closer to the British version. Either way, you end up with a tender, buttery scone that is worth the small effort.
Basic Scone Recipe Ingredients
Ten ingredients, one bowl of dry, one bowl of wet. That is the entire shopping list.
- 2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled. Spoon flour into the cup and level it off with a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs the cup and gives you dry, heavy scones.
- 1/4 cup cane sugar. Just enough sweetness. I add it even to savory versions because it rounds out the flavor, and I sprinkle coarse sugar on top of sweet ones.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder. This is what lifts the dough and gives you a tall, tender crumb.
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Salt makes the butter and sugar taste like more than they are.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 stick, frozen for at least 1 hour. Cold butter is the whole game here.
- 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups mix ins, optional. Berries, dried fruit, chocolate chips, cheese, herbs. Your call.
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk or heavy cream, plus more for brushing. This brings moisture and richness to the dough.
- 1 large egg. It keeps the crumb tender and light.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional. Lovely in sweet scones, best skipped for savory ones.
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling. Optional, but it gives the tops a little sparkle and crunch.
One practical note before you start: the butter needs an hour in the freezer, so plan that ahead. Everything after that takes minutes.
Buttermilk Alternatives
Buttermilk is my first choice because its tang and gentle acidity help the scones rise and taste rich rather than flat. If you do not have any, heavy cream works beautifully. Full fat coconut milk is another option.
You can also stir a scant 1/2 cup of milk together with 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice, then let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken before you add it to the dough.
How to Make Scones
Start by lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until everything is evenly combined.
Then grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater. Add the shreds to the flour mixture and toss to coat them. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. That texture is your signal that you are on the right track.
Do I need to use frozen grated butter?
Short answer: it is the easiest way to get flaky scones, and it is the method I reach for every single time.
Frozen grated butter stays cold, and cold butter is what creates flaky layers. Those small pieces of butter need to melt in the oven, not in your hands, and grating keeps them tiny and evenly spread through the flour.
It also means you barely have to touch the dough, so more of those butter bits survive intact.
That said, you are not stuck with one method. Cold cubed butter worked in by hand or cut in with a pastry cutter does the job just fine. A food processor works too. Whatever you choose, keep everything cold and stop as soon as the mixture looks like coarse meal.
Next, toss in your mix ins so they get coated in flour. This small step keeps berries and chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, if you are using it. Pour that over the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Then knead briefly with your hands, just enough to pick up any remaining dry flour. Do not overwork it.
The dough should feel soft but not sticky. If it is sticky, work in a bit more flour. If it feels dry, drizzle in a little more buttermilk. Mix ins and humidity both change the texture, so trust your hands here. Form the dough into a ball.
Move the dough ball to a lightly floured surface and flatten it into a 7 to 8 inch disk about 1 inch thick. Slice it into 8 equal wedges and set them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space around each scone.
Now freeze the shaped scones for 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 400°F. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that makes the biggest difference in how tall they rise.
Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle them with coarse sugar if you like. Bake for 18 to 27 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. Then move them to a wire rack to cool.
For planning purposes, prep takes about 40 minutes and baking about 20, so figure roughly 1 hour from start to finish.
Scone Flavor Variations
The base recipe is a template. Once you have made it a couple of times, you can spin it in just about any direction.
- Lemon blueberry. Use 1 1/2 cups blueberries and whisk 1 tablespoon lemon zest into the wet ingredients. A lemon glaze drizzled over the cooled scones is a lovely finish.
- Chocolate chip. 1/2 cup chocolate chips plus a pinch of nutmeg added to the dry ingredients.
- Currant or raisin. 1/2 cup dried fruit with a pinch of cinnamon in the dry ingredients.
- Cranberry orange. 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries plus 1 tablespoon orange zest in the wet ingredients.
- Cheddar herb. Leave out the vanilla. Use 1/2 cup grated cheddar and 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives.
My personal favorite is the cheddar herb version next to a bowl of soup on a cold night, but the blueberry batch disappears fastest whenever I put it out for brunch.
Best Scone Recipe Tips
Two things trip people up, and both are easy to fix.
First, liquid. Juicy mix ins like raspberries or diced strawberries release moisture as they bake. When I use them, I start with just 1/3 cup of buttermilk instead of 1/2 cup and add more gradually until the dough comes together. Start low and add slowly, and the dough will never turn soupy.
Second, mix in amounts. A good rule of thumb: about 1/2 cup for dried fruit or chocolate chips, 1 to 1 1/2 cups for fresh fruit, and as little as 2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary, sage, or thyme for savory herb scones.
Cold butter, a hot oven, and a short rest in the freezer are the three things that separate a good scone from a great one.
How to Freeze Scones
Baked scones keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 days. Past that, freezing is the better move. Sealed airtight, baked scones hold for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature or give them a quick turn in the microwave when you want one fast.
Even better, freeze the dough. Lay the shaped scones on a plate or baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour, then move them into an airtight container or bag, where they keep for up to 3 months. When the mood strikes, bake them straight from the freezer without thawing, adding a few extra minutes if they need it.
| Option | How to store it | How long it keeps | To serve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baked scones | Airtight container at room temperature | Up to 2 days | Enjoy as they are |
| Baked scones, frozen | Airtight container or bag in the freezer | Up to 3 months | Thaw at room temperature or microwave briefly |
| Unbaked shaped scones | Freeze 1 hour on a plate or sheet, then store airtight | Up to 3 months | Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes if needed |
Fresh scones on a random Tuesday morning with almost no work involved is a genuinely good feeling, and it is the reason I keep a bag of unbaked wedges in the freezer at all times.
FAQs
What is the secret to making flaky scones?
The secret to flaky scones is using very cold butter. Grating frozen butter and working it into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal creates steam pockets during baking that separate the dough into layers. Chilling the shaped scones in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking further ensures the butter stays cold for a tall, flaky rise.
How do you keep scones from getting tough?
To keep scones tender, avoid overworking the dough. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until a shaggy dough forms, then knead gently by hand only until the dry flour is incorporated. Over-handling develops gluten, which makes scones dense and tough rather than light and flaky.
Can I freeze scone dough before baking?
Yes, unbaked scone dough freezes beautifully. Shape the dough into wedges, arrange them on a baking sheet, and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen wedges to a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
What can I use if I don’t have buttermilk for scones?
If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk. Alternatively, make a quick buttermilk substitute by mixing a scant 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it thickens. Plain milk with lemon juice works best for the proper tang and leavening reaction.
What can I use if I don't have buttermilk for scones?
If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk. Alternatively, make a quick buttermilk substitute by mixing a scant 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and letting it sit for 5 minutes until it thickens. Plain milk with lemon juice works best for the proper tang and leavening reaction.
Easy Scones Recipe
Easy Scones I used to think scones were a bakery secret. Then I started baking them at home, and now a warm tray of easy scones shows up on my counter most weekend mornings.
- Total Time: 60 min
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/4 cup cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 stick, frozen for at least 1 hour
½ to 1½ cups mix-ins, such as berries, dried fruit, or chocolate chips
1/2 cup buttermilk, cold, or heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
1-Line a large baking sheet with parchment: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2-In a large bowl, whisk together the: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3-On the large holes of a box: On the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter. Add to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add desired mix-ins and toss to incorporate.
4-In a medium bowl, whisk together the: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, if using. Pour over the flour mixture and use a spatula to mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead with your hands to incorporate any remaining dry flour. The dough should feel soft but not sticky. If it’s sticky, work in a bit more flour. If it’s dry, drizzle in a little more buttermilk. Form the dough into a ball.
5-Transfer the dough ball to a lightly: Transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured surface and form it into a 7- to 8-inch disk about 1 inch thick. Slice into 8 equal wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space around each scone.
6-Freeze the scones for 15 minutes: Freeze the scones for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
7-Remove the scones from the freezer and: Remove the scones from the freezer and brush with buttermilk. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using. Bake for 18 to 27 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
8-Transfer to a wire rack to cool: Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Method: bake
