English Scones

These are the ultimate scones to pair with your afternoon cup of tea!

English scones are light, flaky, and just barely sweet. That means slathering them with clotted cream and strawberry or raspberry jam is practically obligatory.

What Are English Scones?

English scones are more closely aligned with American biscuits than they are to American scones.

While American scones are dense, rich, and sweet, English scones are lighter, flakier, and only lightly sweetened. English scones contain less butter and sugar and are usually just enriched with plain milk rather than the heavy cream and sometimes egg that’s often used to enrich American scones.

Traditionally, English scones are served with butter, clotted cream, fruit jam or a combination. They’re intentionally meant to be plain and simple so they can be a vehicle for these spreads, whether they’re enjoyed at breakfast or teatime. You’ll also find that English scones are traditional cut and baked into tall rounds (like American biscuits) rather than wedges.

Tips and Tricks for Making English Scones

There are a lot of different scone techniques! However, these tips and tricks will help set you up for baking success. 

• Freeze and grate the butter: To get a flaky texture, you want cold bits of butter interspersed throughout the dough. My favorite way to achieve this is to freeze the butter and then grate it on the largest holes of a box grater. Then you can simply toss the frozen bits of butter into the flour without fear of it warming up too quickly and melting.
• Use a light hand. It’s easy to overwork the dough when you’re combining the dry and wet ingredients. However, if you mix and knead everything too much, your scones will end up being tough. Instead, just lightly work the dough until a rough ball forms. It’s okay if it’s a bit lumpy.
• Chill the scones before baking. Instead of baking the scones straight after shaping them, let them rest in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats. This gives the gluten in the flour a chance to soften, resulting in more tender scones.

Scone Swaps and Variations

Scones are notoriously versatile. Feel free to get creative with flour swaps and dried fruit.

• Swap up to half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. You’ll likely need to use the full amount of milk (2/3 cup) to assemble the dough, as whole grain flour needs a bit more liquid.
• Add a 1/3 cup of currants, raisins, craisins or minced dried apricots. Add the dried fruit to the milk before adding it to the dry ingredients. This will help slightly plump up the dried fruit before it’s mixed into the dough.

The Best Way to Store and Freeze Scones

While these scones are best enjoyed freshly baked, either eaten warm or at room temperature, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days.

To freeze baked scones: You can also freeze baked scones for up to 2 months. Freeze on the parchment-lined baking sheet until firm, then transfer them to a zip top freezer bag. Thaw overnight at room temperature, then rewarm them in a 400°F oven.

To freeze unbaked scones: After cutting them into rounds, freeze them on the parchment-lined baking sheet until firm, then transfer them to a zip top bag. Bake the frozen scones—no need to thaw—as directed, brushing them with milk and adding a few extra minutes onto the baking time.

More Satisfying Scone Recipe

• Ginger Scones
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Queen Elizabeth’s Drop Scones
• Savory Scones with Goat Cheese and Chives