A delicious and easy scone recipe that makes eight perfect triangle scones. Use the basic scone recipe, and make it your own by adding your favorite fruit and nuts.
What is a scone?
A scone is similar to a biscuit, but it’s usually a bit sweeter and often includes ingredients like fruit, nuts, or flavorings. Scones are a traditional part of tea time in the United Kingdom, and they are believed to have originated in Scotland. In the United States, scones are most often enjoyed as a breakfast pastry. No matter when they’re served, they are hearty and satisfying. While there are many variations, most scone recipes include flour, butter, and a liquid like cream or milk. Some recipes use an egg for a slightly richer texture, while others do not, and the amount of sugar can vary depending on how sweet the scones are meant to be.
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How is “scone” pronounced?
The pronunciation of “scone” depends on where you are located. In parts of the United Kingdom, especially Scotland and northern England, it often rhymes with “gone.” In southern England and Ireland, it’s more commonly pronounced to rhyme with “bone.” In the United States, most people say “scone” so it rhymes with “bone,” but both pronunciations are considered correct. You may hear either version depending on regional preference, and there isn’t one single “right” way to say it. If you’ve watched Downton Abbey, you may have heard it pronounced to rhyme with “gone,” which reflects the northern England usage.
Why This Recipe Works
This easy recipe for making scones features one of two ways to make scone dough. You can add an egg, or not. I like to add an egg for binding purposes, plus the egg adds moistness. This basic scone recipe can be easily varied by changing the add-ins. (See Variations.) This easy scone recipe consists of 7 main ingredients. The flavor of a scone is determined by the extra added ingredients. For example, if you want a savory scone, add freshly chopped herbs and cheddar cheese. For a sweet scone, add fresh or dried fruit. For a dessert scone, add semi-sweet or white chocolate chips.
How to Make Scones
- Dice a stick of butter and place back in the refrigerator.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, beat together the egg, whipping cream, and almond extract. Set aside.
- Remove the butter from the refrigerato,r and using a pastry cutter, cut it into the dry ingredients. (You will have small chunks of butter. That’s fine.)
- Pour the whipping cream mixture into the flour/butter mixture.
- Stir with a large spatula until the liquid is incorporated into the flour.
- Add the dried cherries & almonds, and mix one more time.
- Put the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using your hands, mold the dough together, and begin shaping into a disc.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the disc so it measures 8 to 9 inches in diameter.
- With a large sharp knife, cut the disc into eight sections.
- Place the sections on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, at least 2 inches apart.
- Refrigerate the cookie sheet for 30 minutes.
- When the refrigeration time is almost over, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the scones from the refrigerator. Brush with more whipping cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.
- Place the cold cookie sheet in the oven.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, watching closely at the end. Scones should be golden around the edges.
- Remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Variations
- The dried cherries can be swapped out with any other kind of dried fruit: raisins, dried cranberries, pitted and minced dates.
- Swap out the almonds with any type of chopped nut: pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts.
- A glaze drizzled over the cooled scones adds sweetness and extra moisture.
How to Make Glaze for Scones
Mix one cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk until combined. The glaze should pour, but it should not be runny. To make it thicker, add more powdered sugar. To thin it, add more milk.
Easy Scone Recipe Tips
- Every oven has a mind of its own, so make sure and watch the scones at the end of the baking time. Each batch of scones I make bakes a bit differently. The baking time depends on the thickness of the scones, and how cold the butter is.
- For the baking time, set your timer for 20 minutes, but keep an eye on your oven. The scones are done when they are light golden around the edges. My batches of scones take between 22 and 25 minutes.
- It’s very important to NOT skip the refrigeration step before baking. After rolling, cutting, and handling, the butter in the dough is nearly melted. By popping the scones in the refrigerator, the butter hardens again, and then melts in the oven. This produces a very flaky, light, and tender scone.
- The scone dough can be adjusted after it’s all mixed together. If it’s too dry, just add a tablespoon or two of whipping cream. If it’s too wet, simply add more flour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Easy Scone Recipe with Cherries + Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter)
- 8 tablespoons cold butter, diced
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Dice a stick of butter and place back in the refrigerator.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, beat together the egg, whipping cream, and almond extract. Set aside.
- Remove the butter from the refrigerator, and using a pastry blender, cut it into the flour mixture. (You will have small chunks of butter. That's fine.)
- Pour the whipping cream mixture into the flour/butter mixture.
- Stir with a large spatula until the liquid is incorporated into the flour.
- Add the dried cherries & almonds, and mix one more time.
- Put the dough out onto a cutting board that's sprinkled with a little flour.
- Using your hands, mold the dough together, and begin shaping into a disc.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the disc so it measures 8 to 9 inches in diameter.
- With a large sharp knife, cut the disc into eight sections.
- Place the sections on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, at least 2 inches apart.
- Refrigerate the cookie sheet for 30 minutes.
- When the refrigeration time is almost over, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the scones from the refrigerator. Brush with more whipping cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.
- Place the cold cookie sheet in the oven.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, watching closely at the end. Scones should be golden around the edges.
- Remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!
Handy Kitchen Tools
- Goldtouch baking sheet
- large Pyrex bowl & measuring cup set
- dough cutter/blender
- cooling rack
- parchment paper
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Anne, can the scones be made to the point of baking, then refrigerated overnight to be baked in the morning?
Hi Penny…to be honest, I’m not sure because I have never tried it. But I found this online: “Shape your dough and freeze individual scones on a baking sheet until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen at the required temperature, adding 2–5 minutes to the total baking time.” You can refrigerate them overnight, but leavening fades with moisture, so the scones might be more dense.
Thank you so much, Ann. I really appreciate the information!
I’ve followed this recipe twice now. It’s delicious! The recipe is easy to follow too. I make two round disks and cut them into 8 pie shapes each. Of course they bake a bit faster – say 18 min. Delicious flavor!!
A trick I use for softer scones is to place them close together with narrow pieces of parchment between them so that they rise high rather than to the sides. This is a good recipe. I’m at a high altitude so I increase the temp to 410 and decrease the time to 18 minutes.
I have made these a few times and they are always a hit. Ran out of almonds one time, so substituted coarsely chopped pistachios and they were delicious also. Thank you for this, it’s a keeper!
I made this Cherry Almond recipe this morning for my neighbor who loves scones. Today is her 95th Birthday! They were delicious and didn’t even need any glaze. Buttery and light with just the right amount of sweetness and crumble. This is definitely a keeper and I’ll experiment with other additions. Thank you.
Hi Therese-Marie…thank you so much for the lovely comment and especially the rating. It helps me so much and I truly appreciate it. You are the best. XO
Wonderful recipe! Great scone texture/crumble.
Just made these during our Texas ice storm-vert delicious! Will definately make this recipe frequently-thanks for sharing!
My mother always made scones as the base for strawberry shortcake. Sweet scones with strawberries and whipped cream are one of the favorite desserts of my childhood.
I have never eaten or made a scone, but I can’t wait to try your recipe! It looks absolutely scrumptious!
Without a doubt the best scones I have ever had.
Hi Katy…thank you so much for the review. I truly appreciate it!
I have made several scones before but this recipe was heavenly. The dough was just about perfect. Next time I will try this recipe with my other favourite – dried apricots! Thank you so much for this recipe. A definite winner!
Hi Ann- I just pulled the scones out of the oven and devoured one while still hot. It was absolutely divine! This was my very first attempt at making scones and I am sure to be hooked now. I also shared your recipe link with my White Lily friends and I hope they stop by. Thank you for the yummy and easy recipe!!!!!
Yum! This sounds amazing!
Hi Ann – – I will try your cherry/almond scone recipe – they look DELISH. I have been making scones for the past 5 years and like to try different variations. One of my favorite is orange/dried cranberry scones – – just add orange zest into the dough, brush with cream and bake and make an orange zest/confectionary sugar glaze for the top. I also tried fresh peach scones this past summer using mashed up ripe peaches into the dough and made a mashed peach/confectionary sugar glaze for the top – – -both are DELISH.
Love you recipes – THANKS, Judi
I love scones so will be trying this recipe. I do have a question about your pronunciation explanation. You mention that in some regions, scone rhymes with “gone” and other regions it rhymes with “bone.” I’m in the South where “gone” and “bone” rhyme with each other. :-) So does your pronunciation of “gone” rhyme with “won?” Scone, gone, won?
I and from Lousiana and thought the same thing! I sat here saying gone/bone? I don’t get it. My dad made scones all the time when we were growing up, mostly with 3 minute oats with whole wheat flour and raisins.
Oh my gosh…I have never in my life heard “gone” and “bone” pronounced like they rhyme! By South do you mean in the U.S.? If yes, let’s do this. Scone can rhyme with stone, or with pawn. Does that help?
Yes, the US South. I’m glad Nancy from Louisiana chimed in so that I didn’t feel like I was coming out of left field. :-) My husband, who is from the Seattle area, told me that “gone” and “bone” don’t sound anything alike to most people!
I’m half Scottish and they are pronounced with a long O like “bone”.
Ann,
As a lover of most scones, I look forward to trying your recipe. I love tea parties and making at least one kind of scone for each party. The first recipe I ever made was Ina Garten’s Cheddar Dill scones which are so tender and flaky, and mouth-watering. That recipe made me want to try more. I love cherries and almonds, so your recipe will be the next one I try. Thanks so much for sharing. I look forward to making them and enjoying one with my afternoon cuppa!
These scones were so yummy! Scones are quickly becoming one of my favorite things to make. Thank you for sharing how to freeze the dough. We are empty nesters and having 8 fresh scones is sometimes too tempting. However, it’s great to run a few over to share with the neighbors.
Just made the apple crisp salad and the dressing. So fresh and delicious ! I will be trying the cherry almond scones this wknd! Thanks Ann, Mary
I have a recipe for ‘Pat a Cake’ scones from a magazine that I’ve made for many years. It’s a recipe that’s so easy even children can make it and thus the name. I always brush cream on the top and sprinkle cinnamon sugar and extra cinnamon before I pop them in the oven.
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp dried orange or lemon peel/optional
Mix dry ingredients together then slowly add cream while mixing. When dough is well incorporated and pulls away from the bowl edges, lightly flour the counter and place dough on top. Pat it down into a 7″ diameter. Brush cream on the top and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top and cut into 6 or 8 pieces. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Bake in a 375 degree oven until lightly brown on the bottom. About 15 mins but it goes quickly so check them until you see the light brown color. This recipe is very easy and quick.
Happy New Year Ann a few days late. Thank- you this recipe. The scones look wonderful. I always enjoy your posts.