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. 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!
What are Scones?
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.)
No matter which flavor you choose, these scones are:
- Moist & soft inside
- Crumbly on the edges
- Buttery & flaky
- Not sandpapery ๐
One reader, Wendy, commented: “Oh my gosh, I was so intimidated at the thought of making scones. I thought it was so much more complicated. I’ve made these scones twice alreadyโonce blueberry and once ham and cheese. SO GOOD! Thank you for an uncomplicated, fool-proof recipe! โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Yelena, commented: “Absolutely delicious! Easy to make, simple ingredients, and just perfect. โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Venessa, commented: “It’s my go-to scone recipe. They turn out moist for a scone and so very yummy. Easy to make, which I always appreciate. Thank you! โ โ โ โ โ “
One reader, Donna, commented: “This was my first attempt at making scones. The result was amazing! These scones are super easy and delicious! The perfect consistency and nice and moist. I received so many compliments! โ โ โ โ โ “
Video Tutorial: Scones
Letโs start with a video tutorial.
Only 7 Ingredients in this Basic Scone Recipe
You only need 7-9 ingredients for my master scone recipe.
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount, but set extra aside for the work surface and your hands.
- Sugar: I stick with around 1/2 cup of sugar for this scone dough. Feel free to slightly decrease, but keep in mind that the scone flavor and texture will slightly change. Reduce to about 2 Tablespoons for savory flavors. Brown sugar works too. However, if using brown sugar, whisk it into the wet ingredients to get out all the lumps. For example, see my caramel apple scones.
- Baking Powder: Adds lift.
- Salt: Adds flavor.
- Butter: Besides flour, butter is the main ingredient in scones. It’s responsible for flakiness, flavor, crisp edges, and rise.
- Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk. Thinner liquids change the flavor and appearance. Youโll be headed down a one way street to dry, bland, and flat scones.
- Egg: Adds flavor, lift, and structure.
- Optional: Vanilla extract adds necessary flavor to sweet scones, but skip it if you’re making savory scones. Depending on the flavor, cinnamon is another go-to ingredient.
And don’t forget about the add-ins! Scroll down to see all my favorite scone flavors.
How to Make Scones from Scratch
So now that you understand which ingredients are best, let’s MAKE SCONES!
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Use a big mixing bowl because you want lots of room for the mixing process.
- Cut in the grated frozen butter. You can use a pastry cutter or 2 forks, like we do with pie crust, or your hands. A food processor works too, but it often overworks the scone dough. To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible. Messy and crumbly is a good thing!
- Whisk the wet ingredients together.
- Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Mix together, then pour out onto the counter.
- Form into a disc and cut into wedges. Wedges are easiest, but you can make 10-12 drop scones like I do with my banana scones.
- Brush with heavy cream or buttermilk. For a golden brown, extra crisp and crumbly exterior, brush with liquid before baking. And for extra crunch, a sprinkle of coarse sugar is always ideal!
- Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Keep scone dough as cold as possible. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. In fact, you can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning!
- Bake until golden brown. Scones bake in a relatively hot oven for only 20-25 minutes.
Cold Ingredients & Frozen Grated Butter
Keeping scone dough as cold as possible prevents over-spreading. When scones over-spread in the oven, they lose the flaky, moist, and deliciously crumbly texture. In other words, they’re ruined. But the easiest way to avoid disaster is to use cold ingredients like cold heavy cream, egg, and butter.
But frozen grated butter is the real key to success.
Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients to create crumbs. The butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, releasing steam and creating air pockets. These pockets create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp. Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients. Remember, you don’t want to over-work scone dough.
3 Tricks for Perfect Scones
If you take away anything from this post, let these be it!
- Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: Avoid thinner milks which yield a flatter, less flavorful scone. Canned coconut milk makes a wonderful nondairy option!
- Frozen Grated Butter: See above!
- Refrigerate Before Baking: Remember, cold dough is a successful dough. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
How to prevent flat scones: See #2 and #3. ๐
How to Freeze Scones
I used to be totally against freezing scone dough. You see, the baking powder is initially activated once wet and if you hold off on baking, the scones won’t rise as much in the oven. However, the decrease in rise is so slight that it doesn’t make a noticeable difference. In fact, you can even shape this scone dough into wedges and refrigerate overnight before baking.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time in the recipe below. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing or confectioners’ sugar. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300ยฐF (149ยฐC) oven for 10 minutes.
15+ Scone Flavors
- Blueberry Scones and Chocolate Chip Scones (both pictured)
- Cranberry Orange and Pumpkin Scones
- Banana Scones and Lavender Scones
- Lemon Blueberry Scones and Sprinkle Scones
- Caramel Apple and Cinnamon Chip Scones
- Triple Chocolate Scones – they taste like brownies!
- Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
- Ham & Cheese Scones
- Mixed Berry (pictured): Follow recipe below and add fresh or frozen mixed berries. Raspberries and blackberries burst easily, so don’t go overboard on those.
- Cherry Chocolate Chip: Follow recipe below and add 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3/4 cup chopped fresh or frozen cherries.
- Raspberry Almond: Follow the recipe below and add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract with the vanilla. After shaping the scones, gently press frozen raspberries into each, using about 1 cup total. (Avoid mixing them into the dough, as they can bleed.) Top the shaped scones with sliced almonds before baking (1/3 cup / 37g total almonds). After baking, drizzle with the raspberry icing from these mini vanilla pound cakes.
- Fresh Herb: Reduce sugar to 2 Tablespoons, leave out vanilla extract, and add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 cup chopped herbs such as rosemary, parsley, and basil. Additionally, feel free to add 1 cup shredded cheese to the dough and top with sea salt before or after baking!
Using the master recipe below as a starting point, toss in your favorite add-ins like white chocolate chips, toasted pecans, sweetened or unsweetened coconut, dried cranberries, peanut butter chips, etc. If it’s a particularly wet add-in like chopped peaches, blot them with a paper towel before adding to the dough. Top with lemon curd, raspberry sauce, or any of the suggested toppings below. Above all, have fun finding your favorite flavor!
Look At All Of Your Scones!
Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. ๐
Print
How to Make Perfect Scones
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 large or 16 small scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 1/2 cup (100g)ย granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoonย salt
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoonsย baking powder
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) 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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- To make triangle scones: 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.
- 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.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400ยฐF (204ยฐC).
- 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).
- 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.
- Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Before Baking:ย Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time in the recipe below. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing or confectioners’ sugar. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300ยฐF (149ยฐC) oven for 10 minutes.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย Glass Mixing Bowls |ย Box Grater |ย Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Bench Scraper |ย Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper |ย Pastry Brush
- Scone Flavors: See blog post above. If adding fruit, use fresh or frozen. If frozen, do not thaw. Peel fruits such as apples, peaches, or pears before chopping. If desired, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon with the flour. I usually add cinnamon when making chocolate chip scones.
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.
- Mini/Petite Scones: To make smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 equal wedges. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Optional Toppings: Vanilla icing, salted caramel, lemon icing from this iced lemon pound cake, maple icing from these banana scones, brown butter icing from these pistachio cookies, lemon curd, orange icing from these hot cross buns, raspberry icing from these mini pound cakes, dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Arenโt these weights wrong? 1 cup of flour should be 236g?
Hi Lara, we use the measurement of 125g for 1 cup of AP flour.
I added a cup and a half of shredded coconut and made coconut scones. I added one and a half teaspoons of coconut extract.
I love so many recipes on the site, and this scone recipe is terrific. I’ve made various flavors and improvised a walnut raisin scone, every batch has gotten raves. I would love to make a matcha white chocolate scone and wonder how much matcha powder and chips to use. Thanks!
So glad this recipe is a hit for you, Geri!
Your scone recipes are wonderful . I just finished my ninth batch (lemon-blueberry, my wife’s favorite) and just shy of 51 years married, she has decided to keep me. Thank you.
As usual with your recipes a very good product. Did the Cherry Chocolate chip add-ins and took one unusual step. I’m a cast iron collector and have divided cornbread skillets. Didn’t chill just took the fresh dough and pressed it into each triangle shape in the skillet. Made 16 scones of which 15 made it to a church pitch in my wife and I had the sample one. They quickly disappeared we took home and empty plate thank you for such a good recipe.
Iโm trying your recipe next time. Used the King Arthur Version, for Chocolate chip scones with Mexican vanilla, and buttermilk. Not enough oomph. Putting the dough into the mini scone pan was interesting. Next time Iโll use the regular Nielsen Massey Madagascar Vanilla.
I’ve never gotten past making blueberries scones. Mine don’t look as pretty as yours But The taste is amazing. I hadn’t made them in a while and I forgot my little trick
The night before I take my frozen butter run it through the food processor. Put it back in the freezer and then the next morning I put everything together. My old arthritic hands just can’t take all that grating. Just that little bit of crunch on the outside in the corners and so soft in the inside.
I love this recipe and make it all the time. What cookbook is it in? Thanks
Hi Lisa! We’re so happy to read you love this master scone recipe. This master recipe is exclusive to the site and not in any of Sally’s cookbooks. We do have the Lemon Blueberry Scones recipe in Sally’s Baking 101!
Could I substitute in sour milk instead of buttermilk?
Hi Ella, you can use a diy soured milk in place of the buttermilk.
I have tried making this recipe at least 15 times hoping for a better outcome, but they are always always always flat. There is no fluff to them. I am using frozen butter, barely working the dough, putting them in the freezer before baking (also tried not doing that), Iโve tried using cup measurements and also weighing the ingredients. I donโt understand it at all. I keep coming back to this recipe since it has great reviews. Any ideas where I could be going wrong?
Hi Desiree, we’re happy to help troubleshoot! It sounds like you are properly measuring your flour and other ingredients, which is a key step. How does the dough feel as you’re mixing/shaping? If it seems excessively wet/sticky, you can add another Tablespoon of flour until it comes together to a workable consistency. This should help them keep shape more when baking, too. Are you using heavy cream or buttermilk, or are you making any swaps by chance? Any lower-fat milk will cause the scones to spread more. Let us know if we can help further!
Baking powder is likely the culprit. There are two types of baking powder (unless you count double acting which is a blend). Both types release gas, oxygen I think, as their method of leavening. They differ in the catalyst that activates them: heat or moisture. Clabber Girl is a popular heat activated one that does its work in the oven. It can be depleted in the can if exposed to high temperatures. Rumford is a popular liquid activated brand and can be depleted in the can in humid environments. If you are using Rumford and keeping the dough frozen it may not be rising properly. If you left your Clabber Girl tin in the car in the Texas sun it may already be spent. Get a fresh can or let the scones rest on the pan for ten minutes before putting them in the oven.
I used buttermilk, 1 cup along with strawberries. Flaky I had to adjust temp down by 15 degrees to 385ยฐ and then brown them. That is my only suggestion.
I decided to split the base recipe into half savory and half sweet and my guests were impressed. I put a little too much lemon juice in the blueberry ones (didn’t measure, my fault) so they didn’t hold their shape but they were so delicious. For savory, I did bacon, cheddar and scallions and they were spot on. Perfect complement to my Bridgerton watch party “tea”!!
These are my familyโs favourite! I make them all the time. Great recipe! Inclusions that we have loved the most are raspberry white chocolate, cranberry orange and lemon poppy seed. Yum!
Really enjoyed these with chocolate chips! Made the mistake of using savory mix ins though for another batch. I removed the vanilla but didnโt reduce the sugar. How could the amount of sugar be modified for savory scones? Anything else that would need to change?
Hi Kristen, for a savory version, you can reduce the sugar to 2 Tablespoons and omit the vanilla. You could also just use these Ham and Cheddar Scones and swap the mix-ins and adjust the herbs to your liking. Enjoy!
I really like this recipe! I was just looking for a basic scone recipe, that I could add freeze dried fruit to. Iโm rehydrating my fruit pieces with a sweet Italian wine. My first try, using about a cup before hydrating, of apple pieces, and they turned out great. I wrapped and let my dough rest in the fridge about a half hour, then stuck them in the freezer a half hour before baking. I made 16 small triangles, they baked up almost two inches thick, moist, flaky and delicious. Next in the hopper Iโm going to try freeze dried cantaloupe.
This is the recipe for truly the perfect scone. A local place had the only scones I have ever loved and I realized they were using this recipe. SO good and so very versatile.
The scones turned out perfect! I made them per the recipe, using buttermilk and dried tart cherries. The only change I made was to use organic coconut sugar. The scones were done after 18 minutes. I will definitely make these again.
Do you have calorie count and fat, protein, carb count for your scones?
Hi Luray, We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Sally, I bake A LOT and I always read your recipes first when Iโm making anything. For a co-workers birthday last week I made these scones in three varieties expecting they would be good but not the smash hit they were! The texture was absolutely perfect and the master recipe lends itself so well to experimenting with different flavor combinations.
They turned out very dry!
Hi Bobbie, did you make any changes to the recipe? We don’t find these scones to be dry. If the dough seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream in step 3. Perhaps an oven thermometer might be help to ensure your oven is baking at the correct temperature. Many ovens run a little (or a lot!) off and could be overbaking. Thanks for giving these a try!
I have made this dozens of time. Our fave addition is toasted pecans and grated orange rind and 1/4 c. OJ and 1/4 c. buttermilk instead of 1/2 c. cream. Cuts the calories too!
Would I be able to use honey instead of sugar? Do I need to cut the liquid a little?
Hi Katlin, We havenโt tested anything, but you can certainly try some adjustments. We would slightly reduce the cream to make up for the moisture in the honey. If the dough is too sticky to shape you may have to add a bit more flour. Let us know if you give anything a try!
Can milk be used instead of heavy cream?
Hi Susan, Whole milk is fine, but youโll miss some richness and fabulous texture. Do you have half-and-half or buttermilk? We find those are a better substitute.
Excellent recipe. I added cranberries and orange rind to the dough and a hint of rind to the glaze. Fabulous, everyone loved them!
This recipe was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I tried the drop-scone version using a cookie scoop, and it worked perfectly. The scones came out wonderful, and everyone who tried them loved them. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and for the clear guidance, it made the whole process enjoyable and stress-free.
LOVE your recipes! And these scones are perfection!
A coworker was wondering if you could make a matcha scone?
Hi Carmen! We haven’t done any experimenting with matcha powder here, but we’d love to know if you or your coworker give it a try!
I made these to bring to my sisterโs house today for Christmas. I made these cranberry orange scones last week for work and they were a hit. This time, I did a savory one. I added shredded cheddar cheese and chopped bacon. The dough felt a little dry, but instead of adding more heavy cream, I added a couple spoonfuls of onion and chive cream cheese. They came out amazing. Baked perfectly, great flavor, and they were a hit with my nephews. I am definitely saving this recipe.
Itโs Christmas morning. I searched a Stone recipe at the last minute and I found this. I didnโt have time for any separate steps. I threw everything in a bowl cross some white chocolate chips and cranberries. I mixed it, spread it, cut it, baked it and they were the best scones Iโve ever had in my life. Iโm saving it but without any steps, just a dump recipe!