Description
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect scone recipe, you’ve come to the right place. Cakey and lightly sweet, these easy, buttery scones are so versatile and the perfect pairing for your morning coffee or tea.
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (276g) all-purpose flour (measured properly)
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold or frozen
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or buttermilk, cold
- 1 large egg, beaten, cold
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Coarse sugar, optional
Icing
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Grate the cold or frozen butter with a box grater, then add it to the flour mixture. You can stir it together with a fork and use the fork or a pastry cutter to ensure there are no large chunks of butter that are large than a pea. You can put the mixture in the freezer or the fridge to keep it nice and cold during the next step.
- Combine the cream, egg and vanilla extract in a measuring cup or small bowl and beat well.
- Pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture and gently stir together with a fork or spatula. The dough will begin to combine together, but also be a little bit shaggy. Don’t over work it to get it to come together.
- Pour the mixture out onto the counter and bring it all together, pressing it into a ball. If there are some dry bits, gently work them into the ball. Do not knead them or work the dough, other than to press everything together.
- Press the ball out into a disk shape, about 8 inches in diameter. Use a bench scraper or large knife to cut it into 8 scone wedges, then place onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Try to make them all pretty close in size so that they bake the same amount of time.
- Refrigerate the scones for about 15-20 minutes or freeze them for about 5-10 minutes.
- While the scones chill, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- After chilling and preheating oven, brush the scones with a little additional heavy cream. Sprinkle with sugar if using, then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top and sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- If using the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of cream. Add additional cream as needed to get a drizzling consistency. Drizzle the icing over the scones.
- Serve the scones. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You could refrigerate them for a couple extra days, if needed.
Notes
- Sugar – You could reduce it a bit, but if you do, I recommend only reducing by a tablespoon or two and replacing it with a little more cream.
- Unsalted butter – The butter should be cold, cold, cold (even frozen!), and you should do everything you can to keep it that way until the scones go in the oven.
- Heavy whipping cream – You want milk that has a high fat content for the best results, so don’t use lower fat milks. They will cause your scones to spread too much. I like heavy whipping cream, but buttermilk is fine too. Either way, make sure it’s very cold (to help keep the butter from melting).
- Add berries – Y can add blueberries, strawberries or even raspberries. I find that 1-1¼ cups fresh berries works best. You don’t need to chop the blueberries, but I recommend dicing the strawberries and chopping the raspberries.
- Other mix-ins – You could also add chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, or cranberries if you’d like. I recommend 1-1¼ cups.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scone
- Calories: 317
- Sugar: 27.7 g
- Sodium: 160.2 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.6 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 49.1 mg
