A basic, easy-to-make scone fit for a queen (or six). Customize it with easy pantry ingredients to make flavors like cinnamon sugar, matcha, peach, lemon craisin, or cheese and cloves.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Ingredients
2.75cupsall-purpose flour
1/3cup sugar
3/4teaspoonkosher salt
1tablespoonbaking powder
1/2cupcold butter, diced into 1/4" cubes
2 large eggs
2teaspoonsvanilla
1/2cupmilk, your choice (I used whole)
For brushing
1tablespoonmilk
demerera, turbinado, or granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
Rub the cubes of butter into the dry ingredients, flattening each cube between your fingers until you have a crumbly mixture with little flecks of butter distributed throughout the flour.
Gently fold in any mix-ins you're using.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into dry ingredients and gently stir until the mixture just comes together. Use your hands to work in any dry floury bits, but be careful to not overwork the dough.
On a floured surface, divide dough in half and pat each half into a 5" circle about 3/4" thick. Brush each circle with milk and sprinkle with sugar (coarse sugar like demerera or turbinado is great, but regular sugar will also work).
Cut each circle into 6 wedges and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If time permits, freeze scones for 30 minutes (uncovered) to help encourage rise and flakiness. Otherwise, skip straight to baking.
Preheat oven to 425 and bake scones for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top (if you cut the scones smaller, adjust the baking time down accordingly). Let cool briefly on the pan, then serve warm!
Notes
Base scone recipe is from King Arthur Flour! Additional ingredients for each scone variation below; see the blog post for full instructions.Peach scone: 1-2 cups diced peaches (or any stone fruit) Lemon and craisin: 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 2/3 cup craisins or currants, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons lemon juiceCheese and cloves: 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 5-6 oz diced soft cheese (like camembert)Matcha honey butter: 2 teaspoons almond extract, 3 tablespoons flour, 2.5 tablespoons sugar, 1.5 teaspoons matcha powder, 2 tablespoons room temperature butter, 1 tablespoon honeyChurro: 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk