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 and taste pretty boring. However, boring isn’t in our scone vocabulary!! 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 🙂
Video Tutorial: Scones
Let’s 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. You’ll 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. 🙂
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 300°F (149°C) 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. 🙂
PrintHow 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) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 115g) 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 400°F (204°C).
- 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: 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 300°F (149°C) 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): Glass Mixing Bowls | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Bench Scraper | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | 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.
I’m a pretty good baker. But scones were my the one thing I just couldn’t get right. Til I tried this recipe. They were AMAZING. Used blueberries with a little lemon zest. Absolutely delicious. Thanks so much Sally!!
Can I use Yogurt instead of heavy cream or buttermilk? If so is 1/2 cup appropriate?
Hi Martin, you can substitute yogurt for a slightly denser scone. (Or substitute just some of the heavy cream/buttermilk for yogurt so you’re not eliminating all of the liquid). Let us know how it goes!
These were fun, my first time making scones. I cut up a very large 1 C of apples, tossed them in apple pie seasoning, and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top before I baked. They’re super soft, but I ate them while they were still hot :). I’m sure icing would make them extra amazing, but I’m trying to limit the sugar.
Hi Sally,
Can this recipe easily be doubled or tripled? Hoping to make multiple batched of both sweet and savory. Wanted to check if you’ve had or heard of any issues doing this before. If so, any tips? Or do you just recommend single batches at a time?
Hi M, for absolute best results, we recommend making separate batches. Otherwise, you might run the risk of overworking the dough. Hope this helps!
I just wanted to say thank you for your fabulous recipe. I started “Sunday Scones” a few months ago with my family and your recipe is our favorite. I’ve used it many times now. I’m Celiac and allergic to dairy so I substitute with Bob’s Red Mill GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour, Earth Balance for butter, and Chobani Oat Plain Extra Creamy milk.
I love that you have so many different options for the scones, and it’s helped me feel brave enough to do my own modifications too. Thank you!
The look and flavor were delicious!
My one problem is that they were very fragile and broke easily. I used a fine pastry flour. Would they be sturdier if I used regular flour??
Thanks.
Hi Julie! Yes, the scones will be more sturdy with all purpose flour. So happy you enjoyed the flavor!
Hi Sally!
I’m going to try your recipe, and want to go for savory scones (cheese, garlic, mushroom), inspired by the amazing scones at Wild Flour Bakery in Sonoma.
Are the base ingredients and their proportions still the same, especially the sugar and vanilla… ?
I’m going to go with Greek yogurt (I live in Spain).
Thanks in advance, and Happy Easter!
diego
Hi Diego, For savory scones, you can follow the basics from the “Savory Herb” flavor under the “15+ Scone Flavors” section of the post. It reduces the sugar to 2 tablespoons and omits the vanilla. Happy baking!
Hey!
I was wondering if I could substitute buttermilk or heavy cream for full fat european-style yogurt? Also, could I use lemon juice in place of vanilla extract for a more lemony scone, or would that affect the dough in an unfavorable way?
Hi Kate! You can substitute yogurt for a slightly denser scone. Let us know how it goes!
Hi there! I can’t wait to try this!
If I want to use a different extract or add a spice, what would you recommend? Should I replace all the vanilla and then maybe a teaspoon of the spice?
Hi Vanessa, we typically don’t recommend omitting all the vanilla — you can try replacing some of it with another extract or adding 1/2-1 teaspoon of extract on top of the vanilla, depending on how strong you’d like the extract flavor to come through. 1/2-1 teaspoon of spice would be a great place to start as well. Have fun experimenting with these!
This is my first batch and they look great in the oven BUT when you roll out and start to bake how “thick” should they be. 1/4″, 1/2′, 3/4″. Just wondering
Hi Tom! You want an 8 inch disk but we’re unsure of the exact thickness – probably close to an inch. Hope this helps!
Do you have any recommendations for rehearing leftover scones?
Hi Dana, A few minutes in the oven or a few seconds in the microwave should do the trick!
I have not made this quite yet but am about to. Doesn’t grating the butter make it melt faster? Isn’t the object to keep it colder longer? I am kind of confused by this. Also, the pressure of your hand having to grate something so soft will melt it as well, right? Is this better than cubing cold and using a pastry blender?
Hi Jen! Starting with frozen butter keeps the butter cold enough when grating. This way it more combines easily with the dry ingredients – which allows you to work as little as possible with the dough which keeps them from getting overworked and dense. Feel free to use a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands instead. Whichever you’re most comfortable with!
I made the chocolate chip and cinnamon chip scone recipes with much success. Now I’m wanting to make lemon with white chocolate chips. I was comparing the master scone recipe to the lemon blueberry one to see which one I should follow. Is there a reason for there being 25g less sugar in the lemon blueberry scones?
I made these scones the other day, subbing coconut sugar (for sugar) and Cookie Nip (for vanilla), and adding in 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup chopped unsalted mixed nuts, and 1/2 cup chopped mixed raisins. My husband raved about them! He lived in Scotland for a couple of years, and he had British scones many times while there. He said mine were better than any scones he’s ever eaten. Thank you for helping me with reminding my husband that I’m his favorite person.
I’m in the process of making my own double-fold vanilla. Next year around Valentine’s Day, I’ll make these with that vanilla and see how it tastes. Of course, I’ll make it several times before that, as well, because my husband will insist on it and I’ll gladly comply.
This recipe is so delicious! They were soft and dense and absolutely perfect. Although, during the baking process I ran into a small problem… my scones are perfectly cooked throughout however, they have very burned bottoms. I have a feeling that this is either completely my own error or my oven as this has happened with every scone recipe I have tried. I don’t think that others often experience this issue. Like I said, the scones are so delicious and perfectly cooked and were not overdone at all except for the very burnt bottoms. I was wondering if you know what is causing this problem and what I can do to fix it? Like I said, I am of the belief that this was either my mistake or my oven… and this happens with all scone recipes I have tried although not with any other baked goods I make. Thanks!
Hi Abby, If this is happening with different recipes maybe take a look at the cookie sheets/pans that you are using. Dark metal sheets typically over-bake bottoms and thin flimsy cookie sheets = burnt bottoms. You can also try moving your pan to a different position in your oven – away from the heat source, or turning your oven down a bit. Thanks so much for giving these scones a try!
These scones are absolutely fabulous. I made two types: blueberry and pecan & chocolate. Both types are awesome. These freeze really well. I made the large ‘drop’ version as they most resemble what we refer to as tea biscuits, which I love. Thank you for this fabulous recipe. It is my go to recipe for scones. Next up, I will make cranberry and pecan and probably a savoury version as well.
First time making scones and I followed your recipe to a T, and added frozen blueberries. I think frozen fruit worked great because of the modeling into the 8 inch disc, if I used fresh they probably would have been mushed up.
They were perfect, delicious, and I got rave reviews from the family.
Thanks,
Ted
Hi Sally, killer recipe! I want to add cream cheese to the blueberry scone recipe, any hints?
Hi Dave, We haven’t tested a cream cheese scone, but would love to hear why you try!
My scones keep getting burnt on the bottom after only 10 mins in the oven, any tips on how to fix this ?
Hi Nathalia! You can try moving your pan to a different position in your oven – away from the heat source, or turning your oven down a bit.
Looooove these. I made the blueberry version this morning with maple glaze icing. Oh my gracious. Heavenly.
This is my go-to scone recipe! It makes just the right amount for my family! or right now in quarantine, I make a disc, cut in half and freeze one while baking the other. I always keep a stick of butter (cut up in small pieces) in my freezer to be prepared for this recipe! Just made a batch, so another stick went into the freezer for next time. These scones rise so nicely- and every batch has been beautiful. Gave one of the frozen discs to my son, who defrosted in fridge overnight and sent me a beautiful photo. So it works with anyone! These scones are light with a very nice chew! This batch has dried cherries and I’ll top with orange zest and sugar. Thank you!
I made vanilla bean scones with vanilla bean glaze for my co-workers for St. Patrick’s Day. They were amazing. I made drop scones. Crispy on the edges light and fluffy inside. I will definitely make again with other flavors.
Hi, do you bake the scones on the bottom rack or middle rack of the oven?
How about the use of convection oven?
Thanks!
Hi Claire! We suggest the middle or bottom third. All of the recipes on this site are written for conventional settings. Convection ovens are fantastic for cooking and roasting. If you have the choice, we recommend conventional settings when baking cakes, breads, etc. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake. Hope this helps!
I made cranberry orange scones and they turned out absolutely perfect – they were crisp on the outside yet soft and flaky on the inside. I will definitely make these again !!
My first time making and eating these tasty treats was amazing! I made the Blueberry Scones and I decided to just use 1/4 of cinnamon instead for the recipe and I cheated by buying store vanilla icing to top them off. I can’t wait to try other flavors!
Ugh! I messed up! I was supposed to just use 2 tablespoons and ended up using the 1/2 cup of sugar! Ugh! They’re too sweet but my family still liked them, lol. Next time, I’ll make sure to just add the two tablespoons and extra spices to make them more savory. I’m usually good about following recipes but I won’t make the same mistake twice!
Scones are round. Ask any English person.
Apart from that your recipe is rather good. Use English or Irish butter.
Could you please supply the NUTRITION FACTS LIST such as content of cholesterol, sugar, sodiumm], potassium, etc. Family member needs information for kidney issues. Thank you.
Hi Jude! We don’t 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://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Since making my first scones using your recipe (cranberry orange-YUM), I am obsessed. I love coconut and, starting with your master recipe, would use unsweetened coconut and coconut milk instead of cream. Any ideas? Nuts? Chocolate chips?
Hi Mary! Those sound like great ideas. We recommend full fat canned coconut milk (unsweetened). Both nuts and chocolate chips would be delicious! You could do both for an almond joy flavor. Let us know what you try!
First time making the blueberry scones and I was surprised by how easy and delicious they turned out. Will be keeping this recipe close to try the other variations!
I had recently bought scones from the store. Blueberry scones to be exact. They had my mouth watering and wanting for more. I had looked up your recipe and gave it a try to see if I can make something close enough to the ones I had consumed. And ohhh my GOD! They are better. I made cranberry blueberry chocolate chip almond scones and I want to savor every bite of its crunchy moist flavorful sweetness. This is definitely a keep recipe and make enough to share for everyone . Though they are so good I may never make enough to do so.
Just made my first batch of fresh strawberry, blueberry scones and they are delicious . Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Looking forward to trying a new combination soon! Rate it 5!