Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (2024)

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The best scones are always made from scratch! Make Grandma’s easy scone recipe – crumbly on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside, perfect for slathering with jam and cream.

Why We Love This

Transform basic pantry staples to the best scones ever in no time! This easy scone recipe is made the traditional way by hand, but you can use a food processor to make it even easier.

Slather your freshly baked scones in butter, jam or cream for the best afternoon snack or store them in the freezer for later.

This recipe is super adaptable to add new flavours or textures – see our variations section below for more ideas.

Related: Ginger Fluff Sponge / Apple Crumble with Muesli / Weetbix Cake with Dates

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (2)

What are Scones?

Scones are a type of quick bread made with baking powder instead of yeast. They’re similar in appearance to Australian damper bread, and both can be prepared with either savoury or sweet additions to the dough.

Today we’re sharing Laura’s Grandma’s scone recipe, perfected over years of baking for family. It brings back memories of when the whole family would gather at Gran’s for a feast of epic proportions – scones, party pies, sausage rolls, and Grandma’s famouspea and ham soup!

Scones vs Biscuits

Scones are often confused with American biscuits, but there are a couple of key differences. American biscuits tend to be sweeter, lighter and fluffier, with visibly flaky layers, and sometimes include fruit or other additions.Scones, on the other hand, are a little more dense with a crisp and crumbly texture. They’re traditionally served with fresh butter, jam, and thickened cream (heavy cream) or clotted cream.

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (3)

What You’ll Need

  • Self Raising Flour – We use self-raising flour so there’s no need to add baking powder in separately. It results in more even textured scones as the raising agent is more evenly mixed through the flour. Sub with plain flour and sift in 4 tsp baking powder if you need.
  • Butter & Milk – You can use salted or unsalted butter, it’s up to you. Full cream milk or buttermilk will give you light and fluffy scones. Both ingredients should be cold when you start working with them, so only take them out of the fridge right before you use them.

How to Make Scones

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (5)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (6)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (7)
  1. Preheat the oven to 230˚C / 450˚F and line a tray with baking paper. Place theflour,sugarandsaltinto a large mixing bowl. Add the choppedbutter anddig in with your hands. Mix the butter and flour together with your fingers until you get a crumbly texture with no lumps.
  2. Make a well in the centre and pour in themilk. Use a butter knife or dough scraper to ‘cut’ the flour in all directions until the dough just starts to come together into a sticky dough ball.
  3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press out into a flat 2 cm / 1 in thick circle.
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (8)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (9)
  1. Transfer dough onto a lined baking sheet and cut into 8 equal pieces just like a pizza.ORuse a scone or cookie cutter to cut into shapes. Dust the cutter each time before pressing, and don’t twist when pulling it out. Transfer to the baking tray.
  2. Lightly brush the top of each scone withmilkto glaze. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Wandercook’s Tips

  • Start Cold – Always use cold butter and milk when making scones. This stops the butter while you bring the ingredients together, creating steam when baking and resulting in lighter scones. You can even use frozen butter to help achieve this.
  • Don’t Over-Knead – There’s almost no kneading required for scones. Simple ‘cutting’ the flour with a butter knife or dough scraper is the key technique in this recipe. It helps ‘pull’ everything together, resulting in that fluffy scone texture you know and love.
  • Shaping the Scones – You can use a scone cutter / cookie cutter to get the right shape. Lightly dust it in flour before each press to stop the dough sticking. Avoid twisting when pulling the cutter out as this can make them go lopsided while baking.
  • Extra Tall Scones – Arrange them close together on the baking tray. This way they all support each other as they rise, and the steam released will keep the insides extra moist and fluffy as they’re baking.
  • Keep Fresh – Wrap scones in a towel after baking to trap in a little moisture but still allow them to breathe.

FAQs

What should I serve with scones?

Hot scones are amazing with a simple slather of butter alongside a hot cup of coffee or tea! For cooler scones, serve them with jam or marmalade and your favourite cream such as clotted, thickened cream or heavy cream. If you’re feeling experimental, try them with a fresh batch of coconut jam or cinnamon infused speculoos spread!

Can I use a food processor?

Yes you can add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor, then add the butter on top. Give it a quick blitz until the ingredients look like breadcrumbs, then continue with the recipe below.

How long do scones last?

Scones are at their best on the day of baking, but will last for 2-3 days in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave on high for 10-20 seconds to warm them before eating so they’re nice and fluffy.

Can I freeze scones?

Yes, you can freeze scones. For best results, store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Allow them to defrost on the bench before reheating them in the microwave on high for 10-20 seconds. Or warm them in the oven (preheated to 150˚C/300˚F) for 5 to 10 minutes.

My scones didn’t rise, what happened?

There are a few things that may have stopped your scones from rising.
– Oven Temperature – make sure your oven is fully pre-heated before baking, as a cold oven can affect the rising agent.
– Out of Date Ingredients – Try again with fresh self-raising flour (or plain flour and baking powder if using).
– Too Much Kneading – Once you add the milk, it’s important you don’t over-mix the dough. Over-kneading causes the flour to develop too much gluten, leading to scones that are flat, dense or chewy.
– Too Much Flour – When turning out the dough onto your work surface, just dust it very slightly so the dough doesn’t stick.

Why are my scones chewy?

It’s probably from working the dough too much. Use a knife or dough scraper to ‘cut’ through the mixture until it’s just combined before pressing it lightly into a ball – there’s almost no kneading at all. You can also try cooking them a little bit longer to see if that dries them out a bit more.

Variations

  • Play With Shapes – While you might typically think of scones having a roughly rounded shape, there are no hard and fast rules. Make them squares, rectangles, triangles or any shape you desire.
  • Add Fruit – Once you’ve incorporated the butter but before you add the milk, you can add a handful of currants, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates or even frozen berries and mix them into the dough.
  • Flavour Ideas – Try them with a tbsp of fresh lemon zest, orange zest, vanilla extract or almond extract.
  • Spice it Up – Add a sprinkling of cinnamon or pumpkin spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cloves) in with the dry ingredients.
  • Make it Savoury – Omit the sugar and add fresh herbs such as rosemary, oregano or dill.
  • For Chocolate Lovers – Add a handful of dark, milk or white chocolate chips.
  • Add Texture – Stir though toasted coconut, chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans.

For more baking fun, try these next:

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (11)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (12)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (13)
Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (14)

★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!

Grandma’s Scones – Easy Scone Recipe

The best scones are always made from scratch! Make Grandma's easy scone recipe – crumbly on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside, perfect for slathering with jam and cream.

4.91 from 11 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Australian

Servings: 8 scones

Calories: 293kcal

Author: Wandercooks

Cost: $5

Ingredients

Optional Toppings:

MetricUS Customary

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 230˚C / 450˚F and line a tray with baking paper.

  • Place theflour,sugarandsaltinto a large mixing bowl. Add the choppedbutter anddig in with your hands. Mix the butter and flour together with your fingers until you get a crumbly texture with no lumps.

    450 g self raising flour, 2 tsp raw sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 100 g butter

  • Make a well in the centre and pour in themilk. Use a butter knife or dough scraper to 'cut' the flour in all directions until the dough just starts to come together into a sticky dough ball.

    375 ml milk

  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press out into a flat 2 cm / 1 in thick circle.

  • Transfer dough onto a lined baking sheet and cut into 8 equal pieces just like a pizza.ORuse a scone or cookie cutter to cut into shapes. Dust the cutter each time before pressing, and don’t twist when pulling it out. Transfer to the baking tray.

  • Lightly brush the top of each scone withmilkto glaze. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Optional: Serve with jam, cream and butter.

    Jam, thickened cream / heavy cream, Butter

Video

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (16)

Recipe Notes

  • Self Raising Flour – We use self-raising flour so there’s no need to add baking powder in separately. It results in more even textured scones as the raising agent is more evenly mixed through the flour. Sub with plain flour and sift in 4 tsp baking powder if you need.
  • Butter & Milk – You can use salted or unsalted butter, it’s up to you. Full cream milk or buttermilk will give you light and fluffy scones. Both ingredients should be cold when you start working with them, so only take them out of the fridge right before you use them.
  • Don’t Over-Knead – There’s almost no kneading required for scones. Simple ‘cutting’ the flour with a butter knife or dough scraper is the key technique in this recipe. It helps ‘pull’ everything together, resulting in that fluffy scone texture you know and love.
  • Shaping the Scones – You can use a scone cutter / cookie cutter to get the right shape. Lightly dust it in flour before each press to stop the dough sticking. Avoid twisting when pulling the cutter out as this can make them go lopsided while baking.
  • Extra Tall Scones – Arrange them close together on the baking tray. This way they all support each other as they rise, and the steam released will keep the insides extra moist and fluffy as they’re baking.
  • Keep Fresh – Wrap scones in a towel after baking to trap in a little moisture but still allow them to breathe.
  • Variations:
    • Play With Shapes – While you might typically think of scones having a roughly rounded shape, there are no hard and fast rules. Make them squares, rectangles, triangles or any shape you desire.
    • Add Fruit – Once you’ve incorporated the butter but before you add the milk, you can add a handful of currants, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates or even frozen berries and mix them into the dough.
    • Flavour Ideas – Try them with a tbsp of fresh lemon zest, orange zest, vanilla extract or almond extract.
    • Spice it Up – Add a sprinkling of cinnamon or pumpkin spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cloves) in with the dry ingredients.
    • Make it Savoury – Omit the sugar and add fresh herbs such as rosemary, oregano or dill.
    • For Chocolate Lovers – Add a handful of dark, milk or white chocolate chips.
    • Add Texture – Stir though toasted coconut, chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Grandma’s Scones – Easy Scone Recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

293

% Daily Value*

Saturated Fat

7

g

44

%

Cholesterol

31

mg

10

%

Sodium

255

mg

11

%

Potassium

111

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

39

g

13

%

Fiber

1

g

4

%

Sugar

4

g

4

%

Protein

6

g

12

%

Vitamin A

386

IU

8

%

Calcium

62

mg

6

%

Iron

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Hey hey – Did you make this recipe?We’d love it if you could give a star rating below ★★★★★ and show us your creations on Instagram! Snap a pic and tag @wandercooks / #Wandercooks

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (17)

About Wandercooks

Wandercooks is an Australian recipe site reaching over 9 million views annually. Our recipes are here to inspire you with fresh and exciting food ideas from a range of Asian, European and Australian cuisines. As seen on Google.com, Today.com, Buzzfeed, Jetstar Asia and Lonely Planet.Read more...

Grandma’s Scones - Easy Scone Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones? ›

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

Is heavy cream or buttermilk 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.

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

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

Which flour is best for scones? ›

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

How to get scones to rise higher? ›

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

Should butter be cold or softened for scones? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

How thick should you roll out scone dough? ›

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

Why are my scones not fluffy? ›

If your scones barely rise in the oven, reconsider the amount of water you've added. You might want to add more. Otherwise, increase the amount of baking powder/soda. If you're using baking soda, take care that you've added at least one sour ingredient (e.g. buttermilk).

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.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

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.

Why put eggs in scones? ›

Just as in old times, today's scone recipes don't include eggs, but there are some rare recipes that do. Eggs may change the texture of the scone, which should be golden on the outside and airy inside.

Why do you grate butter for scones? ›

With the frozen, grated method, you're only increasing the payoff. “Distributing the fat throughout the dry ingredients creates the lighter, flaky textures in the final baked goods.

Should scones touch when baking? ›

Arrange scones side by side on the baking tray, so that they are just touching each other. This will help keep the sides straight and even as the scones cook.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy? ›

Some common reasons for dense scones are not using enough baking powder, overworking the dough and not baking with the oven at the correct temperature.

Why do my scones spread out and not rise? ›

You may have used too little raising agent or over handled the dough before it was baked. The oven may have been too cool.

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