Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (2024)

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This authentic Scottish Scones recipe is super easy to make and so flaky. Soft and crumbly, these delicate scones go wonderfully with a hot cup of tea or strong caffe’ latte.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (1)
A lazy Saturday morning deserves a scone fresh out of the oven slathered with your favorite jam. Any morning deserves a scone fresh out of the oven!

Authentic Scottish Scones recipe

I usually make pancakes or waffles on the weekend. My family recently has been requesting scones. I have been making scones over the years for the kids with different kind of chips (butterscotch, chocolate, white chocolate) and with fruits. I never make them with just freshly grated lemon zest.

I mentioned recently I’ve been finally catching up on recipes I wanted to try from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life. This was one of the recipes in the book I marked to try and it is a definite keeper!

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (2)

What is a good scone?

My brother came over the other day and he was asking me what makes a really good, or rather, great scone? He asked how should the texture be? Hard? Soft? So I explained the texture should be crumbly and soft. Definitely it should not be tough and the less you work the dough, the more delicate your scone will be!

The tangy zest of the lemon mixed with the sweetness of the strawberry jam is exquisite. Delicate scones go wonderfully with a hot cup of tea or strong caffe’ latte (that’s the way I like them.

Scottish Scones
slightly adapted from Orangette

½ c milk (I used low-fat. You can use even heavy whipping cream if you like)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
zest of one lemon
½ stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
3 Tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (3)

Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar and toss to mix. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (4)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it no more than 12 times. [Apparently, twelve is the magic number here; surpass it at your own risk.] Pat dough into a round approximately 1-inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (5)

Using a pastry brush, brush milk onto the wedges.

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack and serve with your favorite jam.

If you want to see some pretty scones with a sweet glaze, check out my darling friend Lindsey's delicious scones! Here are links to my Sour Cherry Scones with White Chocolate Chips and my Butterscotch Chip Scones. The Butterscotch Drop Scones are dangerous. That’s all I have to say.

My in-laws have been enjoying this wonderful Florida weather. We have been too! The intense humidity and days of temperature over 100 degrees are around the corner for us. This gorgeous sailboat passed in front of our view on one of her recent visits to the beach. I see them so often that I forget their beauty.

I take for granted the splendid colors of our ocean. I neglect to cherish simple images such as this as I’m sure my in-laws do the same with the beauty that surrounds them in Italy. I guess your eyes are no longer intrigued with what is common.

I smile every time I hear them say, “Che bello!” How beautiful. Yes, it is beautiful. I’m looking at the places I see every day with new eyes thanks to my in-laws. I appreciate my life a little bit more each day.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (6)
My mother-in-law was fascinated with these trees at the park the other day. She kept filming them and photographing them. The same spot, over and over again.

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (7)

Can you think of somewhere in your city or town that you have taken for granted? Something simple and beautiful. Something that is unique and special? Take me to your city! Tell me all about it!

Thank you for stopping by and for your awesome comments!! I promise to post something I’ve recently made with Teresa (my mother-in-law). She moves so fast when she cooks it is difficult to photograph her!

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (8)

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5 from 2 votes

Authentic Scottish Scones

This authentic Scottish Scones recipe is so easy to make and so flaky. Soft and crumbly, these delicate scones go wonderfully with a hot cup of tea or strong caffe’ latte.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: English

Keyword: Scones, tea time

Servings: 8 scones

Calories: 149kcal

Author: Lora

Ingredients

  • ½ cup milk you could use almond, oat or coconut milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • zest of one lemon
  • ½ stick 2 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and chilled (use vegan butter sticks if you like)
  • 3 Tbs sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.

  • Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar and toss to mix. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon.

  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it no more than 12 times. [Apparently, twelve is the magic number here; surpass it at your own risk.] Pat dough into a round approximately 1-inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat.

  • Using a pastry brush, brush milk onto the wedges.

  • Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack and serve with your favorite jam.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 54IU | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @savoringitaly or tag #savoringitaly!

Authentic Scottish Scones Recipe-Soft and Crumbly Tea Scones (2024)

FAQs

What makes scones crumbly? ›

The less you knead the mix, the less the gluten will tighten up – which means your scones will stay loose and crumbly, rather than tight and springy. Make sure you sieve the flour and baking powder into your bowl. This means that the two will be well mixed together, which gives you a better chance of an even rise.

What is the difference between Scottish and English scones? ›

British scones are usually lightly sweetned and contain fruit like currants or berries. Scottish scones are often closer to a biscuit and are made with buttermilk, though some Scottish grandmothers will swear you should only use sour milk.

What to avoid when making scones? ›

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Scones
  1. Using anything but cold ingredients. The secret to the flakiest scones is to start with cold ingredients — cold butter, cold eggs, and cold cream. ...
  2. Only using all-purpose flour. ...
  3. Overmixing the dough. ...
  4. Not chilling the dough before baking. ...
  5. Baking them ahead of time.
May 1, 2019

Should scones be crumbly? ›

Biscuits should be light—airy even—with well-defined flaky layers. Tender, yes, but sturdy enough to support or be dragged through gravy, a runny egg yolk, or a generous serving of maple syrup. A scone should not flake like a biscuit. It can have layers of course, but they should err on the side of crumbly.

How crumbly should scone dough be? ›

Work the butter into the flour gently but thoroughly with your hands or a pastry blender. For flakier scones, flatten the chunks with your fingers as you go. The finished mixture should be unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger flattened piece.

What do Scottish people call scones? ›

In Scotland and Ulster, savoury varieties of scone include soda scones, also known as soda farls, sour dough scones known as soor dook scones made with sour milk, and potato scones, normally known as tattie scones, which resemble small, thin savoury pancakes made with potato flour.

How do the Scottish eat their scones? ›

If a Full Scottish isn't for you, you can pop your tattie scone in a bread roll (known as a morning roll here!) with other breakfast items, or eat straight from the toaster with a slather of butter. Finally, some people even enjoy theirs with butter and jam, like traditional scones.

How do you eat scones in Scotland? ›

A Scone is a round cake made with butter, self-raising flour and sugar, sometimes with the addition of baking powder (to make them fluffier). The are generally eaten with butter and jam, or jam and cream. And always with tea.

What type of flour is best for scones? ›

Know what flour you should use! We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein.

Is buttermilk or cream better for scones? ›

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.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Keep scones cold before putting them in the oven: For best results, chill the mixture in the fridge before baking, this will help to stiffen up the butter again, which will stop your scones from slumping as soon as they hit the oven's heat.

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Why are scones bad for you? ›

They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

What is the best temperature for baking scones? ›

The first batch into the oven was 'plain' Original Recipe. I preheated the oven to 405 degrees (it runs hot so this is the setting that gives me 425 degrees). The scones came out of the freezer, were set onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, placed into the oven. I set timer for 18 minutes and moved on.

Should you knead scone dough? ›

By kneading the scone dough, the gluten is made active and the scone is then no longer cake-like but rather bread-like. Bread needs to be kneaded but scones need to be treated with the lightest of touches to remain airy.

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