Strawberry scones with buttermilk are soft and flaky, with a tender crumb and juicy fresh berries in every bite. They are also surprisingly easy to make!
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Pin RecipeScones are often compared to biscuitsโand like biscuits, they can be hit or miss. If youโve tried scones before and you decided you didnโt like them, odds are that you didnโt have a good scone. These strawberry scones are flavorful, soft, and tender, not bland, crumbly, and dry.
Across the pond in the United Kingdom and Ireland, scones are usually served with clotted cream, butter, or jam. This strawberry scone recipe includes a sweet glaze, so thereโs no need to serve it with anything else, although if you want to go the more traditional route, you can omit the glaze and serve your scones with jam, lemon curd, or orange marmalade instead.
While strawberry scones are a traditional accompaniment to afternoon tea, I like whipping up a batch for a weekend brunch or breakfast. Everyone in my family loves them!
Easy Strawberry Scone Recipe
Another thing that both biscuits and scones have in common is that they have a reputation for being a chore to make. In my humble opinion, the only part thatโs a bit of a hassle is cutting in the butterโyou always have to be careful to strike the right balance between too crumbly and too doughy, but itโs best to err on the side of crumbly because thatโs what will give your scones a light, flaky texture.
Once youโve mixed all of the ingredients together, youโll turn the dough out onto a marble slab or cutting board and shape it into a disc, then cut the disc into wedges. Since thereโs no excess dough like there is when you use a biscuit cutter, this part of the process is pretty unfussy.
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Ingredients for Strawberry Scones
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- All-purpose flour โ I havenโt tested this recipe with other types of flour, so if you try a different variety, let me know how it turns out in the comments!
- Granulated sugar โ You only need 1/3 cup of sugar in the scone dough because the sweetness comes from the strawberries and the glaze.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unsalted butter โ The butter should be cold; if itโs warm, it will melt into the dry ingredients when you cut it in, and your scones will be dense. Some bakers suggest freezing the butter and grating it with a cheese grater.
- Buttermilk โ You can make a buttermilk substitute with a scant cup of 2% or whole milk and a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar.
- Fresh strawberries โ If strawberries are no longer in season, you can substitute blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or a combination of berries.
- Powdered sugar โ Powdered sugar makes an easy peasy glaze.
- Heavy whipping cream โ Milk will work too, but your glaze will be thinner.
- Almond extract โ This is optional, but itโs so good! You can omit it, though, or use vanilla extract instead.
Variations
This strawberry scone recipe is perfect exactly as written but here are a few variations you may want to try:
- Use a different type of fresh berry to make a whole new kind of scone. Blueberries, blackberries and raspberries all work well in place of strawberries.
- Replace the buttermilk with half and half to make rich, creamy scones.
- Bake the scones in a greased muffin tin, filling each muffin cup to the top with scone dough. This will give you perfect, uniform scones.
How to Make Strawberry Scones
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 400ยบF.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Cut in the butter: Add the butter to the flour mixture in tablespoon-size pieces. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Add buttermilk and strawberries: Make a well in the center of the dough mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir briefly, until just combined, then fold in the strawberries.
- Form strawberry scones: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half, then form each half into a disc thatโs about 3/4-inch thick. Place the rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet, with about 2 inches between them. Score each round into wedges by cutting halfway through the dough.
- Bake: Bake the scones for about 14 minutes, or until they are baked through and golden brown on the top. Let the scones cool before glazing.
- Glaze: While waiting for the scones to cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract. Drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Quick Tip
Double the recipe for the scone glaze and then dip the top of each scone completely into the glaze. This will make your scones extra sweet. You can really never have enough glaze!
FAQs
In my opinion, there are two secrets to making good scones. The first is to use very cold (or frozen) butter. If your butter is the least bit warm, it will soften too much when youโre cutting it in and the result is dense, unappetizing scones. The second secret is to mix the dough less than you think it should be mixedโit really needs to be just combined. Itโs okay if you leave behind some flour behind in the bowl when you transfer the dough to your work surface.
If your scones arenโt light and fluffy, the butter was probably too warm or the dough was over-mixed.
Yes, strawberry scones can be frozen either before or after baking. If youโre freezing the dough, you can bake it directly from the freezerโjust add a little extra baking time to account for the fact that the dough is frozen.
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Strawberry Strawberry Scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- โ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยพ cup unsalted butter cold
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup fresh strawberries diced into small pieces
Glaze
- ยผ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- โ teaspoon almond extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF.
- Combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Cut cold butter into tablespoon size pieces and add to flour mixture.
- Use a pastry blender cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter forms pea-size pieces.
- Make a well in the center of the flour/butter mixture and pour in buttermilk. Stir briefly to combine into a rough mixture
- Gently stir the strawberries into the scone mixture.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide in half. Form each dough half into a circle and pat out to 3โ4โ thickness. Place each round on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2-3โ between the rounds
- Score each round (cutting about 1โ2 way down through the dough) into wedges
- Bake at 400ยฐF for 13-15 minutes or until the scone is cooked all the way through. Be aware that the strawberries add moisture to the scones and take extra caution that the center/bottom of the scones are cooked
- Whisk together powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract to make drizzle. Add more cream until desired consistency is achieved.
- Drizzle glaze over scones; it will form a dry skin after 20-30 minutes.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Notes
- In order for the scones to cook all the way through without the tops getting too dark, it is important that the scone rounds are not too thick – be sure they are no more than 3โ4โ thick.
- The buttermilk adds moisture to the dough. You can also use regular milk.
- The strawberries add quite a bit of moisture; donโt add more than 1 cup chopped strawberries to the recipe.
- Rinse and dry strawberries before cutting; if strawberries are prepared in advance, store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before mixing into scones.
- Drain any excess juice before adding to the dough.
- You can also use a scone pan or drop into mounds to make individual scones. Cook time may be slightly less.
Awesome recipe, instructions and tips. I researched many recipes and was quite intimidated by the cutting in step,not having the correct tool. I used the two forks and then my fingers a little to get to the pea size. I also made 4 discs because I wanted cute mini. Scones for an afternoon tea event. They were perfect!! I am so excited Iโm going to make a second batch with blueberries! Thank you !
We’re so glad they turned out well for you, Debi! Thank you for trying them out! ๐