How to Make Soft Scones

Every day is perfect for scones, and this tutorial will walk you through exactly how to make soft scones. These scones come out crisp on the outside and super soft and light in the middle. They are incredible!

Soft scones

I’ve made a lot of scones over the years. Enough to say I’ve mastered the technique for the perfect light, soft scones each and every time.

Once you have a master plain scones recipe, you can create many variations with that one recipe.

I’ve used this base for chai pear scones, blueberry buttermilk scones, lemon cream cheese scones with strawberries, and so much more.

So I thought why not give you this master scone recipe along with my best tips and tricks for incredible scones. Use it to create your own fun flavors!

Sones take only about 20 minutes to bake and you can pretty much eat them straight from the oven. Melty butter or jam slathered over a hot scone is pure bliss.

This basic scone recipe is pretty simple and straightforward. You’ll notice that this recipe calls for one egg.

Sometimes I’ll use an egg and sometimes I won’t. I think the egg adds a little extra richness that is needed for a simple scone without much flavoring.

Don’t overwork the scone dough

This is probably the most important tip I can give you and it applies to all baking. Never mix more than needed.

Once you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients, stir gently until the dry ingredients have become moistened. Don’t stir anymore beyond this point.

Instead, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently four or five times until it comes together.

Then shape it into a 7-inch round circle.

Keep the scone dough cold

For super soft scones, it’s important to keep the dough cold. Use cold ingredients and handle the dough as little as possible with your hands.

I’ve seen recipes call for freezing the butter and grating it into the flour instead of simply cutting cold butter in with a pastry blender. Honestly, this is way too much work and completely unnecessary.

After shaping the scones, place them on a baking sheet in and pop them into the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.

This takes the same amount of time as freezing the butter beforehand but saves your arm and wrists from the strain of grating frozen butter.

The result will be the same! The butter that’s in the dough will harden in the freezer and melt inside the scones as they bake.

The steam from the melting butter creates air pockets which make the inside tender and light. So so good!

I prefer to brush the scones with a little milk or heavy cream just before baking. This helps give them a gorgeous golden color.

Add a sprinkle of coarse sugar and you have yourself the perfect soft scone to accompany your morning coffee.

I do hope you’ll give this quick and easy scones recipe a try soon!

Common questions about soft scones

What’s the rule of thumb with adding fruit to the batter?

I generally stick to adding 1 cup of any mix-in. You can add a single ingredient or a combination of fresh fruit, dry fruit, nuts, etc.

Toss them in before you add the wet ingredients and then mix everything together. There’s no need to adjust any of the ingredient amounts.

Can the scones be made without sugar?

Yes, they certainly can. My recipe calls for sugar because I live in the US and this is how we make them. But other places like the UK don’t add sugar to their scones. So, it just depends on what you prefer.

Can I make scone dough and freeze it for a later use?

Scone dough will freeze well! Make the dough and shape scones. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze them for an hour. You can then transfer them to a freezer safe container or ziptop freezer bag.

They’ll keep for up to 3 months. Bake them straight from the freezer but add a couple minutes to the bake time.

Can you use half & half in place of milk?

You can use half and half or any milk substitute in place of milk.

Helpful Tools

• Pastry Blender
• Baking Sheets

More scone recipes you’ll love

1. Peach Scones with Almond Glaze
2. Carrot Cake Scones
3. Sweet Potato Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

Soft Scones

Every day is perfect for scones, and this tutorial will walk you through exactly how to make soft scones. These scones come out crisp on the outside and super soft and light in the middle. They are the perfect base for all sorts of add-ins!

5 from 10 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Freeze Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Yields: 8 scones

Calories: 341

Author: Jen Sobjack

Ingredients

US Cups - Metric

• 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla together and gradually add it to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together. You may not need all the buttermilk. Add a little at a time until the mixture is moist but not too wet. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough four or five times. Pat the dough into a 7 inch round circle. Cut the circle in half, then cut each half into four triangle shaped wedges. Arrange the scones 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400°F. Brush the tops of the scones with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve immediately.

Make ahead tip

• You can refrigerate the dough overnight then simply shape the scones and bake them the next day.
• Scones will keep for up to 2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 
• Scones can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
  

Notes

The scones need to be cold when going into the oven. Placing the shaped dough into the freezer for 30 minutes ensures the scones will bake up light and fluffy.

Alternatively, you can place the scone dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Fun flavor options:

• Mix in 3/4 to 1 cup of your favorite add-in. (fresh or frozen fruit, dried fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange zest.
• Use 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 milk in place of buttermilk.
• Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of your favorite extract in addition to the vanilla.

Nutrition

Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 330mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 9.2% | Calcium: 11.2% | Iron: 12.3%

Nutritional values here on my recipes should be used as a general guide only. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the values shown are just an estimate.

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