I love scones. With their crisp exterior and slightly softer interior, they are the perfect vehicle for any number of toppings, and are so easily customized! Whether enjoyed with a cup of coffee or as a delightful addition to an afternoon tea spread, scones are a versatile and timeless baked good. Bonus- they’re incredibly easy to make! This recipe is the perfect basic scone recipe, and you can add in flavors or specific mixins after the dough comes together.
Let’s start by breaking down the steps involved in making the base recipe. You only need a few key ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, vanilla, and buttermilk.
If you’ve made scones, biscuits, or pie crust from scratch before, you know that cold ingredients are absolutely VITAL. When making scones or any other flaky pastry, I like to grate my butter and then pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes to get it back to an ice cold temperature. This guarantees that the butter will only melt into the pastry during the baking process, creating a more flaky and delicious end result. I know grating butter before using it in a recipe seems a little excessive, but I promise that it’s worth it! You can also just go the traditional route of working in cubed cold butter with a pastry cutter or your hands. Your scones will still be delicious if you do it this way! Just be sure not to overwork the dough.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Grate the butter and set in the freezer for 10 minutes.
While the butter is chilling, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add the butter back into the flour mixture and use your hands to incorporate the butter until just combined. Do not overwork this mixture!
In a separate measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the buttermilk into the dry ingredients in two batches, using a spatula to fold everything together.
When the dough is just combined but still shaggy, transfer it to a parchment lined surface.
Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 7”x 5” rectangle. Use a bench scraper to fold the dough in half before rolling it out again. Repeat 4-5 times. The dough will become smoother as you work.
Shape the dough into a tight 7” x 5” rectangle and use a bench scraper or knife to cut it into 8 smaller rectangles. Each scone should be about 2” thick.
Transfer the scones onto a lined baking sheet. Brush each one with an egg or milk wash before sprinkling on some turbinado sugar.
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
Cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy with butter and jam (my favorite combination!), nutella, or as is!
Perfect Scones
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter
- 3 ⅓ cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- Milk or egg wash
- Turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Grate the butter and set in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- While the butter is chilling, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add the butter back into the flour mixture and use your hands to incorporate the butter until just combined. Do not overwork this mixture!
- In a separate measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the buttermilk into the dry ingredients in two batches, using a spatula to fold everything together.
- When the dough is just combined but still shaggy, transfer it to a parchment lined surface.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 7”x 5” rectangle. Use a bench scraper to fold the dough in half before rolling it out again. Repeat 4-5 times. The dough will become smoother as you work.
- Shape the dough into a tight 7” x 5” rectangle and use a bench scraper or knife to cut it into 8 smaller rectangles. Each scone should be about 2” thick.
- Transfer the scones onto a lined baking sheet. Brush each one with an egg or milk wash before sprinkling on some turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
- Cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy with butter and jam (my favorite combination!), nutella, or as is!
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