Best Scone Recipe (video)

Learn how to make the best scones of your life! These scones have a dark-golden and crunchy outer crust. They are tender, moist, and buttery on the inside. Plus you can easily adapt this recipe with your favorite add-ins.

There is a local farm bakery near my kids’ karate that makes the best scones. They are worth getting up early for on a Saturday. They have different flavors every weekend, so it’s always a nice surprise. When we do make it out to karate class on Saturdays, I make sure we get there early enough so I can swing by the bakery to grab myself a little treat to enjoy while the kids are in class. I’m always amazed by how crispy the outside of their scones are, yet the inside is incredibly moist and tender. So I really wanted to duplicate that in a simple-to-follow recipe. And with the help of King Arthur Flour, I did.

Why this recipe is so great:

• Some people might think of scones as dry, hard, and bland bricks of pastries, but I guarantee you this recipe is not like that at all. It’s quite the opposite actually. With this recipe, you get a very buttery and moist scone with a soft and tender inner crumb. The exterior is crunchy and baked to a dark golden perfection.
• This recipe is easy to make and you can customize it any way you want. You can use this recipe to make sweet or savory scones. It works with any combination of your favorite mix-ins.
• Here are some reviews:

“Love this recipe! I can’t stop making blueberry lemon scones. I find I have to leave mine in the oven a bit longer, but they come out perfect! I top them with a bit of butter and honey. Oh my goodness! So tasty!” – Monica

“Best scones I ever made! I usually use heavy cream but feel the buttermilk made the difference. After I brushed them with buttermilk, I sprinkled the top with sanding sugar and then made a vanilla glaze…only because I can’t leave well enough alone! I used 2 cups of frozen blueberries as an add-in. Excellent recipe!” – Julie

How to make scones:

1. Start by tossing together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Then add in the cold butter.
2. Using a pastry cutter, fork, or two knives, work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some larger pieces remaining.
3. Toss in your add-ins.
4. Whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla (if making sweet scones).
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix just until all is moistened.
6. Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface.
7. With floured hands, gently knead the dough into a ball. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth. Rough and shaggy is actually better.
8. Flatten into a 6″ circle and cut into 8 wedges.
9. Transfer onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
10. Brush the surface with buttermilk and bake in a 400F oven for 20 minutes.

Expert tips:

• Use cold ingredients. Using cold butter, milk, and egg is essential for this recipe because you want the butter to remain solid while you work the dough. The small pieces of butter in the dough are what gives the scone its desirable texture. Cold butter creates steam as it melts in a hot oven. The steam from the melting butter expands between the layers of dough yielding a soft and fluffy interior, while the fat on the surface of the dough coats and creates a crispy outer shell.
• Be gentle and work quickly. When mixing your wet and dry ingredients together, gently mix until JUST combined and all appears to be moistened; that way you don’t create too much gluten. When kneading the dough into a ball, work quickly, so you don’t melt too much of the butter with your hands.
• Chill the dough. The key to this recipe is to let the scones chill in the fridge for 20 minutes while your oven preheats. This allows for the gluten in the flour to relax, which makes the scones more tender and enables them to rise higher. It also chills the fat, which makes the scones flakier.

FAQ:

Can scones be made in advance?

Yes, you can prepare the dough the night before, cover and store in the fridge overnight, and bake fresh in the morning. Baked scones will last in the fridge for up to 5 days, so you can also bake them in advance, and just reheat when ready to serve. To reheat, place them on a baking sheet lightly tented with foil, and warm in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes.

Can you freeze scones?

You can freeze them baked or unbaked. To freeze unbaked scones, place the wedges in the freezer until frozen solid, put them in a ziplock back, return to freezer and store for up to a month. When ready to bake, let thaw overnight in the fridge, and bake as instructed. To freeze them after baking, let cool completely, place in a ziplock bag, and freeze for up to a month. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge, and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet lightly tented with foil in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes.

How do I get my scones to rise and be fluffy?

Make sure you are using enough baking powder and make sure it’s fresh. Don’t add too much flour when you knead the dough and don’t overwork the dough. Be very gentle and just work it enough to gather it into a shaggy ball. Letting the dough rest before baking also helps.

Do scones need eggs?

The answer is no. However, scones that contain eggs are fluffier and rise higher than scones that don’t because eggs serve as a leavening agent in baked goods. Eggs also add flavor, moisture, and richness to the scones so I highly prefer recipes that contain eggs.

Are scones supposed to be dry or moist?

Scones are supposed to be crunchy on the outside while soft and moist on the inside. They should not be dry or crumbly.

Why are my scones hard?

Scones can turn out hard for a number of reasons like overbaking, overworking the dough, the oven temperature being too high, not enough fats or liquids. However, it’s usually due to overbaking.

This recipe will serve as your basic go-to scone recipe with instructions on how to adapt it for sweet or savory, and mix-in options. What you see in the photos are sweet scones with white chocolate chips, blueberries, and raspberries as mix-ins. I used this same recipe to make my chocolate chip scones. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make.

You might also like:

• Chocolate Chip Scones
• Best Blueberry Scones
• Feta Cheese & Blueberry Scones
• Flaky Butter Biscuits
• Bakery Style Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Did you make this recipe? Please kindly leave a comment with your star rating below.

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