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scone recipe
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4.77 from 147 votes

Best Recipe for Scones (Sweet or Savory)

No, your scone is NOT supposed to be a sad dry heap of useless carbs! The best scones are crispy on the edges and tender in the middle. They are buttery, flaky, perfectly moist pieces of breakfast perfection that are surprisingly easy to make with a few tips. Don’t let the sad coffeehouse selections fool you into thinking you don’t like scones. You just haven’t tried this recipe yet!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Eastern European
Servings: 6 large scones
Calories: 802kcal
Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

  • 2 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 & 1/2 tablespoons baking powder yes really
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) COLD butter, frozen butter is great too
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream*
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • more cream for brushing

Optional add in

  • 1 (8-oz) package COLD cream cheese chopped
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar for coating cream cheese

For the glaze

  • 2 tablespoons butter very soft
  • 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  • Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar**, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
  • Wet ingredients: In another medium bowl, add 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla (omit for savory scones), 1/3 cup cream and 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk it together. Set aside.
  • Cut in butter: Now back to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the COLD or frozen butter. You can also grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it in that way. Cut the butter in until it is incorporated and there are still pieces of butter about the size of a pea. Don't overdo it! See photos.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough.
  • Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it's necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds. Do your best and remember that you will get better with practice!
  • Mix-ins: At this point add in any mix ins you plan to use. (If you want to add cream cheese like you can see in the photos, chop an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/2 inch chunks. Coat with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, making sure all the cream cheese is coated. Carefully fold into the dough.)
  • Prepare a work space with plenty of flour. I like to use a pastry cloth. Transfer the dough to the work place and use your hands to shape the dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle. I like really thick, tall scones. The thicker your circle of dough is, the taller your scones will be. If you added mix ins, your circle will be a bit larger.
  • Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the circle in half. Cut each half into 3 equal triangles.
  • Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the scones at least 3 inches apart from each other.
  • Freeze for 30 minutes.*** If you don't have room in your freezer, you can put them in the fridge for 45 minutes. If you don't have room to chill a whole baking sheet, place the scones on a plate and then transfer to the baking sheet when they are frozen/cold.
  • 15 minutes before the scones are done freezing, turn your oven on to 400 degrees F.
  • Place the cold scones on a baking sheet if you haven't done so yet.
  • Brush the top of each scone with cream. This will make the scones get nice and brown. Top each scone with coarse sugar if you like, or a bit of salt if you are doing savory scones.
  • Bake: Put the scones in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
  • Turn the heat down to 375 without opening the oven.**** Bake for another 8-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE. This is where the magic happens, so stay nearby. If you over bake your scones, they will be dry even if you did everything else right. If you are not sure, use a spatula to lift up one of the scones. If they are a nice golden brown on the bottom, they are done.
  • Remove from the oven and let set up on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk or use an electric beater to cream 2 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk together and add more milk until you have a consistency you like. Drizzle over the tops of the scones and let harden (it usually takes 20-30 minutes.)
  • Top your scones with butter and jam! They are great reheated in the microwave.
  • Store scones covered on the counter for 2-4 days. They are best eaten on day 1 so that you can get those crispy edges. After storing for a while it's hard to avoid a bit of sogginess. (Starbucks solves this problem but leaving them out in the air, but then eventually the center gets dried out. So, pick your poison. Or just eat all 6 scones single handedly on day 1. No judgment here.)

Video

Notes

*Heavy cream is usually sold in cartons by the milk. It is sometimes called whipping cream. The different names refer to different fat content levels. (Any type of cream will do for these scones. You can even use whole milk). Heavy cream is not coffee creamer. It is the thick, rich part of milk that rises to the top when you milk a cow. I get questions about this all the time! I think we all need to visit a farm ;) 
**If you plan to make savory scones, use 1/4 cup sugar or less! But don't take it all out. A little sugar in your savory baked goods is often the secret to success. Also the sugar provides structure when baking. 
***At this point, you can transfer your shaped unbaked scones to a ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months. Pop them out of the freezer and put them in the oven frozen solid. They may take a couple more minutes to bake, but not much longer. Try it! You will love yourself when you can have a freshly baked scone in 25 minutes flat on a random Tuesday!
****About the baking time: I like to put muffins and scones (and other baked goods that use baking powder) in the oven at a high temperature for the first half of baking, then lower the temperature. The high temperature at the beginning activates the baking powder and makes the scones rise really high, but then you have to lower the temperature so they don't burn on the edges. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1scone | Calories: 802kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 1418IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 258mg | Iron: 3mg