Basic Cream Scones Recipe

I've been taking my daughters for High Tea on their birthdays since they were each 5 years old, and that's upwards of 25 years now. I wanted to have a "Mommy Date" to make each feel special on her special day. That, and I love High Tea and needed an excuse to go myself!

One of the best parts of High Tea are the cream scones, of course. And while going out is always fun, learning how to make scones at home is easier than you think!

With a basic scones recipe at hand, you can vary the flavorings and mix-ins to make a variety of scones to suit your whims.

Using a recipe ratio for cream scones

Recipe ratios are an easy way to remember the basic building blocks for many items. The concept comes from Chef Michael Ruhlman's book, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking book. For example, the recipe ratio for a pie crust is as easy as 3 : 2 : 1 (3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part liquid). This post takes a deeper dive into how to use recipe ratios in cooking and baking.

Biscuits fall under a 3 : 1 : 2 ratio, 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. A cream scone is just an enriched biscuit, meaning eggs are included in the measurement of the liquid (in this case, heavy cream) for richness and tenderness.

And just as with making pie crust, it's important to keep everything chilled as you go.

What you need

Now that remembering the ratio for homemade scones is easy, no recipe is really necessary! The ingredients needed to make homemade scones are flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, heavy cream, and an egg.

The ability to riff on the basic scone recipe is easy, too. The variations are only limited by your imagination (yes, yes, and the ingredients you have...yeesh!). Optional ingredients include any mix-ins you want use (like chocolate chips), flavorings like vanilla extract, and toppings like coarse sugar. If you want to glaze your scones, use powdered sugar plus some liquid that complements the flavor of your scones (not shown below).

How to Make Scones With a Master Scone Recipe

Step 1: Make the dough

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (photo 1).

How you cut up your butter isn't as important as keeping it cold. Either grate frozen butter on a box grater, or cut the chilled butter into small ½-inch cubes. Either way will work.

Toss the butter into the flour mixture to coat, then use a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands to work the butter into the flour until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear (photo 2). Don't overdo this step as you don't want the butter to warm up and mix completely into the flour.

Slowly add the heavy cream mixture to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just holds together (photo 4). Using a bowl scraper will help to combine the dough in the bowl without your hands warming up the butter, plus you can see any crumbs at the bottom that still need to be mixed in.

Use the bowl scraper to push the dough into a ball in the bowl, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a flattened disk about 1-inch high.

You have to be flexible about the amount of liquid to add to the flour mixture as the actual amount will depend on the humidity of the day. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers and if it is very crumbly, add more liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum). If the dough is too wet, you can knead in 1 tablespoon of flour when you turn out the dough. Don't over-mix the dough - you want to keep that butter cold and separate from the flour.

Step 2: Fold in any mix-ins

If you're adding in a mix-in (like with these Chocolate Chip Cream Scones), place a few pieces on the top of the disk, then fold the dough over them. Flatten the dough and reshape into a disk (photo 5).

Do this "fill and fold" method a few times until you have enough layers of your mix-in incorporated into the dough. This method is similar to how to fold in mix-ins for bread dough, too.

Use a bench scraper to release the disk from the mat. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 20 minutes or up to overnight to let the butter firm up again.

Step 3: Portion the dough

Depending on how you want the size and shape of the scone to be, there are 2 options to portion the dough:

For wedge-shaped scones: Unwrap the chilled dough and place it on a half sheet baking pan covered in a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper. Cut the disk into wedges using the bench scraper and place the wedges about 2-inches apart (photo 6).

For cut scones: Unwrap the chilled dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or whatever size or shape you desire) to cut out shapes. Gather and cut the leftover dough again as needed, but hopefully not more than 2 times. Transfer the cut scones to a half sheet baking pan covered in a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper.

The yield is generally about 8 scones (that's what I get from a circle cut into wedges or using a 3-inch round cookie cutter), but yours may vary.

Step 4: Bake the scones

Brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream using a pastry brush and sprinkle on some coarse sugar (or your topping of choice, if desired). The coarse sugar adds a nice crunch to the scones, but it's not strictly necessary.

Bake at 425°F for about 18 to 23 minutes or until they are dark golden brown (photo 7).

Step 5: Glaze the scones

If you want to ice the scones with a glaze, you can use milk or cream to make your glaze, or choose a flavored liquid to complement your other ingredients. An example is using orange juice for these Orange Cranberry Scones.

Whisk the powdered sugar and the flavored liquid in a bowl until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding 1 teaspoon of liquid or more sifted powdered sugar as needed. Drizzle the glaze on the still-warm scones and allow to set for a few minutes.

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions you might have...

Pro Tip: Get Creative With Your Scone Recipe

Flavoring Options are where the creativity lies. Have fun with it! Here are some ideas:

• Flavored liquids (instead of heavy cream): Buttermilk, eggnog, pumpkin, applesauce, or a non-dairy milk alternative
• Mix-ins: Chocolate chips (or other flavored chips), dried fruit, finely chopped nuts (toasted if desired), or even sprinkles
• Extracts (in addition to or instead of the vanilla): ¼ teaspoon almond, mint, orange, lemon, or Fiori di Sicilia extracts
• Toppings: Coarse sugar adds a nice crunch to the scones, but it's not strictly necessary. You can vary the toppings with other things like sprinkles or chopped nuts
• Glaze: You can use milk or cream to make your glaze, or choose a flavored liquid to complement your other ingredients

You can prepare a thicker, richer glaze than the normal powdered sugar version, like with these Maple Walnut Scones. Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and your flavored liquid of choice together in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted powdered sugar.

Scones also can be savory rather than sweet, and will be like enriched biscuits. Just omit the sugar and vanilla, use a complementary liquid like buttermilk or broth instead of heavy cream, and use mix-ins and/or toppings like grated cheese, herbs, or bacon bits.

What goes with scones?

Why, homemade lemon curd and clotted cream, of course! I've also seen whipped cream, butter, crème fraîche, and various jams and jellies at teas I've attended, just to name a few. No rules!

Scones stored in an airtight container at room temperature will keep for up to 5 days. Freeze the baked scones in a ziplock bag for longer storage.

For freshly baked scones anytime, freeze the cut, unbaked scones in a ziplock bag. Take out as many as you want to bake (there's no need to defrost them first), and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

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