Easy Homemade Scones (Eggless Recipe)

Name: Easy Homemade Scones (Eggless Recipe)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 250 gm all purpose flour; 30 gm sugar; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 113 gm frozen cold butter (grated); 120 ml buttermilk; 2 tbsp heavy cream; 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Homemade scones are not only super easy to make but they are fluffy and very delicious. You can freeze them once baked and enjoy with tea as needed. They only need a few ingredients and 30 mins to prepare!

Lorraine. I think about her when I make scones. I have never met someone who adores scones as much as she does. She was a colleague who is a chef and personal trainer. Her guilty pleasure was eating scones plain, not with butter/jam/cream or anything she would just down them as they were and I never got the hype. Don’t get wrong I’ve eaten scones and made them so many times for clients as needed but I never understood the deep love she had for them. Until I stumbled into this recipe.

I made this recipe thanks to the heavy cream in my fridge that was going to go bad and I needed to use it for something. So I decided to make scones but with buttermilk instead. I mixed the heavy cream and milk with vinegar to create a thicker homemade buttermilk which I then used to make the scones. Result: SUPER FLUFFY AND TENDER SCONES that were soft on the inside but crunchy on the outside. Now I have always made them with an egg wash for that golden color but I used some of the buttermilk to brush it – to keep them intentionally eggless and sprinkled a bit of granulated sugar on the top which made it so crunchy and gold on the top! No egg wash needed again.

It is worth mentioning I decided to share this recipe with you lot thanks to a follower/subscriber who commented on my leftover lemon peel jam to serve it with scones and it was like a light bulb moment for me. So, Trésors De Luxe thank you for the advice, it was delicious! Before we get into the recipe it is important to get into understanding scones also there are many ways to make them and the ingredients can vary as well. You can flavor them to your liking and serve it as you like. The beauty about my recipe is that it is convenient but still stays true to the flavors and textures of a delicious scone. Let us get into it.

What are scones?

Scones are a traditional baked good that can be served sweet or savory. It is a simple tea time recipe that works well with any accompaniment and can be traced back the United Kingdom and Ireland. They are simple to make and most often than not need only a handful of ingredients to prepare with no fancy equipment either.

Why are they called scones?

The word is thought to have originated from the Dutch “schoonbrot,” meaning fine white bread; and the closely-related German “sconbrot,” which means fine or beautiful bread, according to Freshways. Some also say the name comes from where the kings of Scotland were crowned, the stone (scone) or destiny.

Are scones British?

Scones are a British tea time staple. They are served for breakfast, they have a unique texture that is similar to a cake and a fluffy buttery biscuit. The baked treat is neither though, in saying this you can find them world over today with a variety of flavors and options.

What is the history of scones?

Scones are considered to be from Scotland. Around the early 1500’s, the first reference was made by a Scottish poet where they were made using oats, shaped into large round shaped discs, scored into 6 wedges and baked. They can be traced back to another “quick bread” called bannocks.

What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?

Scones are most often than not, made like a quick bread with a higher ratio of liquid too flour and some recipes don’t even call for butter. In contrast to this biscuits have a high ratio of butter and a lamination process is essential to achieve those flaky layers. Both are served as tea snack, breakfast or brunch as well. Some scones are made like you would a biscuit and it is give you a similar fluffy texture.

Frequency asked questions about scones:

Can I make scones in a food processor?

Some recipes suggest using a food processor to cut the flour into the buttermilk and it works well but you can just as well do it by hand.

Should scones have egg?

Most often than not scones do not have eggs in them however many. Recipes recommend using eggs for brushing the top to get that golden brown color. You could use eggs in the dough to create a richer scone but I personally do not advocate it. My logic is – if you do no need it then we do not need to add it.

Is a scone a cake or a biscuit?

A scone is neither a cake nor a biscuit. It is fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. A cake is under and fluffy all through and through while a biscuit is packed with buttery layers and laminated to create a puff like texture as it bakes.

Is a scone hard or soft?

A good scone is soft on the inside and hard on the outside. It will hold its shape and have a delicious fluffy inside and crunchy outside texture.

What to avoid when making scones?

Do not use warm butter – it must be fridge cold. Over mixing is big no no or else you will end with dense and tough scones once baked. Rushing the chilling process, if your kitchen is warm it might take longer for the dough to chill in the fridge so be patient.

Which flour is best for scones?

ALL PURPOSE FLOUR! Screaming it for the people in the back cause I know a lot of recipes suggest self raising flour and whole wheat flour. While they are noteworthy options – my personal favorite HAS to be all purpose flour as it is gives the fluffiest scones.

What is the correct way to eat scones?

Here comes one of the biggest debates of all time in the culinary world. Many suggest to slit a scone into half and spread jam over it, then clotted cream and its ready. While others suggest adding the cream first and then the jam. Whichever way you do it, hey are best served with jam and clotted cream. I have served my scones with a homemade leftover lemon peel jam, whipped vanilla cream and frozen berries.

What are the ingredients for scones?

Scones are made with flour, leavening agents such as baking powder, baking soda and a little salt and sugar. As for the liquid ingredients, recipes can vary from buttermilk, heavy cream, milk, yogurt, sour cream, eggs, butter etc. when it comes to flour recipes can include all purpose flour or a combination of flours like wholewheat and rye or buckwheat, oats, etc.

What makes a scone a scone?

This is a little controversial but we will comb through it, scones are not meant to be biscuits meaning, they are not meant to have flakey layers like laminated biscuits would. They are meant to be drier than a biscuit however when done well it will no be dry at all. Some say scones are meant to have cream and eggs in the dough. Others say it should be tender and soft with minimal crunch. This all very poetic but in my humble opinion a scone must be tender on the inside and have a golden crunch on the outside.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy?

This could be for a variety of reasons, the butter melted into the dough, the dough wasn’t chilled enough before baking, the oven was not preheated well and they were not baked well.

What is the secret to making good scones?

Making sure all the ingredients are cold, not over working the dough, chilling the dough before baking, baking it in a preheated oven.

Can I make scones in advance and bake later?

This is a genius tip, you can shape them and instead of chillin in the fridge, you can freeze them in zip lock bags or ai right containers for up to 2 months. When ready to use, allow it to defrost, brush with cream and bake until golden and done.

Don’t have buttermilk? Heres how to make buttermilk at home!

To make the best homemade buttermilk I would suggest mixing heavy cream with whole milk and vinegar. So for 1 cup butter milk you need 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar. This is also known as half and half in many countries. We don’t get half and half easily in UAE hence I make it like this.

Flavor options:

You can add any flavors into these scones to make them different. Chocolate chips or chunks with walnuts are a delicious option. A little lemon zest with blueberries or assorted fresh berries as well. Go crazy with spices like cardamom or cinnamon, keep it simple with orange and vanilla too. The most popular flavors are raisins and nuts.

What ingredients do you need to make scones?

To make these scones we need all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, butter, buttermilk.

What equipment do you need to make scones?

We need a mixing bowl to make the dough I have used my hand but you can use a pastry cutter. I like to grate the butter to make it easy for making the dough so a grater would work here. Cut them up with a knife and bake on a lined baking tray in the oven.

How to make scones at home?

Grate the frozen butter and place in the fridge until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 190℃, line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl add the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Stir together until evenly distributed. Add the chilled butter into the dry ingredients and gently rub together using your fingers until it resembled clumpy damp sand. Pour in the buttermilk and bring the mixture together to form a shaggy dough. Gently bring the dough together on a clean kitchen counter. We are not kneading the dough but gently bringing it together.

Once you’ve got a dough, flatten it gently with your hands and using sharp knife cut into squares. Place them on the baking tray and brush with cream on top, sprinkle over the granulated sugar and place it in the fridge for 10 mins. Bake them for 15 minutes until risen, golden and crunchy on the top. Allow the scones to cool down before serving with jam and cream.

How to serve scones?

I love serving these scones with jam and cream but honestly you can serve it with anything you like. I have eaten them with butter and sea salt and honey as well. They are delicious with hot drinks like coffee and tea. The perfect tea snack, breakfast or brunch accompaniment as well. To make then savory serve them with eggs, bacon and cream cheese/halloumi cheese.

Storing scones?

Once these scones are baked you can store them in zip lock bags in the fridge for 1 week and in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to eat you can heat them in the microwave for 20 seconds or in the toaster as well.

Looking for more tea time snacks?

PRO TIPS for the BEST scones recipe:

Cold ingredients & frozen grated butter keeps the scone light and fluffy after baking.
Using buttermilk makes for a very tender and soft scone once baked.
Chilling before baking allows the dough to firm up so when it bakes they rise instead of spreading.
Do not over mix the dough or else you will ned with brick like scones once baked.
Freezing scones before and after baking
Avoid adding more flour when form into a dough, just work the ingredients together gently and patiently.
Making tall/giant flakey scones – follow the lamination biscuit technique, which might seem blasphemous but trust me when i say it works.

Now that we have covered how to make these easy homemade scones recipe, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.