Classic Scones Recipe (2024)

These are the best simple scones I've ever made.
In a pinch, if you don't have cake flour, you can substitute with a mixture of corn starch and regular flour:
Combine 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch.

Can I make these the night before, put them in the fridge, and then bake them in the morning?

A monkey could cook these scones. I'm not a fan of the gargantuan, crumbly-dry US version, but this recipe made light, buttery scones. I halved the recipe with no problems & cooked at 425 for 10 minutes, convection setting - on parchment paper as others suggested. Perfect results.

I soak a cup of raisins in tea (pg tips) over night & then strain them & add to mixture b4 i add cream.... Makes for a moist and tasty scone.

The printed recipe says to use an "ungreased baking sheet" but in the video, Mr. Bittman says to use parchment paper on a baking sheet. Use the parchment paper. I went with an ungreased baking sheet and the bottom of the scones burned black by 7 minutes in at 425ºF. I cut the bottoms off, and fortunately, the scones were very tasty with a delicate texture.

If, like me, you tend to be borderline incompetent until about a pint of coffee kicks in, you can make these the night before and freeze them. Take them out while the oven heats up, and then bake ‘em.

Just wanted to say that if you're going to make an English scone you should pronounce it correctly. Scone rhymes with don not bone.

Ha! Impossible to screw this up! Used AP flour and halved the recipe as I live alone and leftover scones are weaponized food. Don't ask how I managed half an egg... but despite these 'adaptations' the scones were great. This is a keeper.

I'm a Brit expat, and love real scones. My favorite recipe comes from the Wishing Well cafe in Upwey, Dorset. Somewhat similar to this, but NO egg. Plain flour, and mix with milk instead of cream. The richness comes from the clotted cream and the butter. Dust scones with flour, and flour the baking sheet. Raisins or currents optional. It's never failed me yet!

Delicious! I used plain flour & whole milk. Hard to believe that cake flour & heavy cream could have improved them! I also added candied lemon peel which added interest. This recipe is a "keeper!"

Came out great with all purpose flour. Used half quantities with a whole egg and whole milk instead. Still very flaky, light and crunchy. Delish!

these were truly excellent scones, i think the cake flour made a huge difference.

The trick is to keep everything cold. I freeze the butter/dry ingredient mixture (can be stored a long time). Heat the oven before you pull it out and add the egg and milk. Only use enough cream/milk to moisten it. If it's humid, the flour will have absorbed moisture and you'll need less. I use half whole wheat/half all-purpose flour for wonderful flavor.

Fat free half and half works well. Obviously it won't be as rich, but the results were delicious. Don't be afraid to make this substitution!

Delicious. Didn't change the recipe. I did make them wedge shaped because I am profoundly lazy. Perfect for shortcake.

My scones did not brown on top although bottoms did at 425 F. Recipe made 9 three inch round scones.

I halved the recipe and used a smaller whole egg. Came out a bit eggy but delicious nonetheless. This recipe is perfect—no tweaks needed!!! With some good homemade clotted cream, there’s nothing better with some tea.

This is a great base recipe that you can substitute based on what you have and how you want to bake. I used whole wheat pastry flour, chopped chocolate, and cut the butter in by hand. Excellent.

I added chopped bing cherries and chocolate chips, and used a heart shaped cookie cutter. Happy Valentines Day!

I don’t have a food processor, so I cut the butter in small pieces and kind of rubbed them into the dry ingredients - like eraser crumbs. I also substituted cake flour for 1 3/4 cup AP flour and 1/4 cup corn starch as suggested. Both worked great!! I folded in lots of raisins and the scones came out gloriously. One note - with my second batch made from the cut-out dough that was re-rolled - I should have baked longer, because I kneaded it a bit more to re-roll, another 1.5 min or so.

These are delicious! I made them exactly as written the first time and they were good, but they were a little too delicate to hold up to a nice schmear of clotted cream and jam. The second time I made them I used half cake flour and half AP flour and it was perfect. They're also very quick to make and freeze well - twenty to thirty seconds in the microwave and they're back to being fluffy, warm, and delicious!

These were great made as written.I don’t keep heavy cream on hand,so just used fat free milk & they came out perfect.My husband & I ate the entire batch with homemade chicken soup, it’s freezing up here in NH!Thank you.

Make clotted cream from lightly pasteurized heavy cream first. Then, use the resulting buttermilk in place of the milk or cream in the recipe. World's better, more authentic. Start the process at least 24 hours before, since that's how long it takes to make clotted cream. Pour 2 pt cream in vessel where cream is at least 1" high, 12 hours at 170°F in the oven, 12 hours to chill in fridge, drain buttermilk into separate dish, mix "clots (crust)" into the thickened cream, bake scones, enjoy.

I too, agree with others that 3 cups of chicken broth makes the vegetables too runny. Use 2 instead.

Better than The Two Fat Ladies' scones. (God rest their souls)

I’ve been making for years—sometimes half the dough contains cheddar and diced jalapeños; the other half contains diced candied ginger. Stores well; reheat in a toaster oven. I use a little extra butter because we love butter. And whisk the cream with the egg before adding to batter (no food processor). Great for homemade jams.

These are not British scones. Authentic British scones are made with whole meal flour (substitute 1.5 c strong flour or bread flour mixed with 1/2 c whole wheat flour) or you can use self-raising flour. Cake flour will only give you a lighter crumb which is tasty but not not at all reminiscent of the British scone in which the dough is kneaded and it is not sticky. It is then briskly cut into circles and baked at 375 degrees. 450 degrees is too hot as you can tel by the photo image.

So tired of over-sweet over-dry American scones that I had to bake these. Perfect and delicious every time. No need to go out and buy cake flour since the substitution in the notes works well. Parchment paper crucial. Sprinkle leftover Demerara sugar on them.

500 degrees works better

Add zest of 1 orange to dry ingredients.