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Scone Recipe: The Best Scones Ever

4.94 from 284 votes
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This is my scone recipe for the best scones ever – buttery, crispy on the outside but velvety on the inside perfection! These scones are simple to make and will have you baking them weekly for your weekend breakfasts.

Slather these with clotted cream for the perfect combination!

buttery scones with raisins on blue background
scones

The Best Scone Recipe Ever

I have been baking these scones for as long as I can remember. I think, sometimes, that my husband married me for my baking. Not all of it, but some. He has admitted, in a sugar-induced haze, that he married me so he could savor my butter tarts every Christmas. Now, don’t go getting all excited, I mean butter tarts, there are no sneaky innuendos or double meanings implied there. My family’s recipe for butter tarts. Yup. Savor them he does. Or is the word inhale?

And then that evolved to my mincemeat tarts. And then my shortbread. Now the past few years, its my scones.

I guess baking is cheaper than a divorce in any case, right?

Do Scones Have Eggs?

This recipe does and I think that’s what really sets it apart from all others. I use sour cream AND an egg to make the ultimate rich scones. Really, just read all of the raving reviews below from readers that have made these – I don’t call anything the best unless I REALLY think it is!

Sour cream is what sets the best scones apart from all others, it yields a tender crumb inside while the butter in the recipe makes the outside crispy and snappy, the perfect scone in my opinion. This recipe is one of the oldest on my website and has been updated many times over the years with new photos and even a new how-to video- but never a new recipe!

Recipe Video

Simple, Easy Scones Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 1 cup of blueberries or raisins, or whatever fruit you want.
  • 1 cup of margarine or butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.
all the ingredients needed for scones ready
ingredients needed for scones

Step by Step How to Make Good Scones

Get all of your ingredients ready to use! It’s easier when you have everything ready to go, or “mise en place” as chefs say, which translates to “everything in it’s place.”

ingredients needed for scones in red and white bowls on wood board
ingredients needed for scones

More pretty.

close up of blueberries for scones in a white bowl
bowl of blueberries for scones

Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda. It makes it poof up. That’s my well-educated explanation of the chemical reaction that happens. It poofs up.

adding the baking soda to a bowl of sour cream in a white bowl
sour cream in a bowl

It…poofs…up.

a spoon in bowl with sour cream
sour cream in a bowl

Ok, throw those 4 cups of flour into a big mixing bowl. I brought out my Big Steel Baddy for this job. He can handle it.

flour mixture for scones in a large stainless bowl, sour cream mixture in a small white bowl on the back
flour mixture for scones recipe

Add your cup of sugar.

adding a cup of sugar to the flour mixture for scones recipe
flour mixture for scones recipe

Add in your baking powder.

 baking powder on a small red bowl
baking powder

And your salt.

pinch of salt in a red small bowl
salt

And whisk them all together, or sift. If anyone out there owns a sifter you can go ahead and feel free to use it. Don’t be intimidated by my whisk, and the fact that it can kick your sifters hiney, then come back and fluff my ingredients right up, then come back for a second helping of kicking hiney on your sifter. Just saying.

a whisk on dry mixture for scones in a large stainless bowl
dry mixture for scones

Ok, butter time. And even though there are some scone purists who may clutch their pearls and fan themselves rapidly with their cookbooks, I have used margarine in this recipe, and it tastes great as well. Choose your poison.

 salted butter in a red small bowl
salted butter

Now, this is one kitchen do-hickey I cannot live without, my pastry blender. Can you believe that I used two knives scissor style for years? And for the gold cookie award, does anyone want to guess who gave me this for Christmas one year? Leave your answer in my comments, I am sure you can guess correctly.

cutting the butter using pastry blender into the dry mixture
cutting butter into scones dry mixture

Cut the butter in until your arms ache, and it looks like this. If your arms aren’t aching, it ain’t cut in enough!

butter blended into the dry mixture
cutting butter into scones dry mixture

Hello world. Meet egg. I love this picture because it shows how I am loathe to wash more dishes than I have to. See the little salt sprinkles on the front edge? I just re-used the closest dirty bowl to me.

 beaten egg in a small red bowl
beaten egg

Beat the egg slightly.

Take your poofy sour cream and your egg and add them in.

adding the beaten egg into the dry ingredients mixture
beaten egg in orange container

Mix it well, and then add your fruit. With fresh fruit, you have to be oh so careful not to squish it in too much. Raisins are amazing in this recipe as well, they make a sweeter scone than the blueberries do. Raisins, you can pound the heck outta the suckers and you won’t even make a dent. Blueberries are a delicate fruit to use, but worth it in the end.

Be gentle.

blueberries added into the mixture for scones on a large stainless bowl
how to mix blueberries into scones

Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches).

three equal size circles of scone dough
how to cut scone dough

See? If you look at the front, even I squished the berries.  After I had the gall to lecture you. Serves me right. Later I will show you what it looks like all baked up, don’t even sweat it if you squish some.

close up of a circle scone dough
how to cut scone dough

Cut each circle into 6 pieces.

3 pieces of circle scone dough cut into 6 pieces each
how to cut scone dough into 6 pieces

Lay your beautiful little pie-like pieces onto your very well greased baking sheets. Blueberries like to stick.

Pop them into your preheated 350 degree oven and bake until the bottoms are nice and brown, and the tops are slightly browned.

little pie-like pieces of scones on a baking sheet
scones on baking sheet

So here is a squished one, see how it just shoots little blue veins through the dough? No big deal, in fact, fairly attractive looking.

a piece of a pie-like baked blueberry scone
baked blueberry scone

These are great plain, better with margarine or butter, and fantastic with jam.

More Scone Recipes

Here are a few more tried, tested and true recipes here on The Kitchen Magpie!

  1. Glazed Meyer Lemon Scones
  2. Christmas Cherry Scones
  3. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones
  4. Pumpkin Spice Scones
close up of scones with raisins on blue background
scones with raisins

Best Scones Ever Recipe Tips & Tricks

  • Use cold butter ( even frozen) and grate it into the scones if you have a grater. Don’t fear however if you want to make these and you didn’t have time to freeze the butter, cold from the fridge works great as well!
  • Try not to overwork the dough if you can. The heat from your hands will soften the butter. IF you think you did over work the dough, you can refrigerate the scone triangles before you bake them to get the butter hard again.
  • Make sure to read my Step by Step How to Make Perfect Scones. It will totally help you with cutting the scones up!

Happy baking!

Love,

Karlynn

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Scone Recipe: The Best Scones Ever

The best scone recipe ever. It always works and it's the perfect base for other flavors!
4.94 from 284 votes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Total Time
25 minutes
Course
Breakfast Meals
Cuisine
British
Servings
18
Calories
287
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup of butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of blueberries or raisins or whatever fruit you want.

Instructions
 

  • Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.
  • Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda.
  • Whisk together the flour, sugar,baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, until the butter is broken into pea sized morsels in the flour.
  • Beat the egg and mix in into the sour cream.
  • Add the sour cream mixture into the dry mixture, working it in.
  • The dough can be a bit dry, but if you use your hands to combine it, it will be perfect. If needed add milk until it's combined. The secret to a good scone is a drier dough, not gluey.
  • When the dough is combined, mix in the fruit. I fold in delicate berries by hand.
  • Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches). Cut each circle into six equal triangles.
  • Bake on a well greased or parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are browned nicely on the bottom and slightly on the top. Watch them carefully!
  • Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Tips & Tricks

  • Use cold butter ( even frozen) and grate it into the scones if you have a grater. Don't fear however if you want to make these and you didn't have time to freeze the butter, cold from the fridge works great as well!
  • Try not to overwork the dough if you can. The heat from your hands will soften the butter. IF you think you did over work the dough, you can refrigerate the scone triangles before you bake them to get the butter hard again.
  • You can substitute in currants for a very traditional scone!
  • Make sure to read my Step by Step How to Make Perfect Scones. It will totally help you with cutting the scones up!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g, Calories: 287kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 306mg, Potassium: 176mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 410IU, Vitamin C: 0.6mg, Calcium: 49mg, Iron: 1.6mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

Site Index Blueberry Raisins Scones

Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Cathy M. says

    I just now made them with plain Greek yogurt, erythritol, organic whole wheat pastry flour, and goji berries. They were/are mildly sweet, tender and fluffy. not heavy like a British tea scone. Next is to run it through a nutrition app. I’m interested in low carb treats for type 2 diabetes.

    I am thinking next time I make them I will try coconut or maybe avacado oil, spelt flour, coconut sugar and, a bit of orange extract, peel, and blueberries!

    Thank you, Karlynn, for inspiring me with a delicious recipe worthy of experimenting with!5 stars

  2. Ambur says

    I made these a little lighter by replacing half the butter with applesauce and cutting the sugar in half. I think they are sweet enough but we may drizzle with icing or frosting. I also replaced one cup of flour with whole wheat. I made a cinnamon raisin version and one with fresh raspberries. The moisture from the raspberries made them a bit softer but I chilled then before baking and they turned out fine. The texture is still fluffy, a little crumbly. Not a hard British scone but creamy and soft (obviously different with my changes). Anyway – Great recipe!5 stars

  3. Megan says

    This is my go to scone recipe! I’ve used it with blueberries, huckleberries, chocolate chips and craisins! I always have to add a bit of half and half at the end to keep it together. Works great!5 stars

  4. Cheryl says

    I have made this recipe several times, and it really is the best scone recipe. These scones are light, moist, and flavorful, and they are so much better than I have had at any tea room. On different occasions I have mixed in fresh cranberries, fresh raspberries, or frozen raspberries, all with good results. These scones are delicious plain, but they also pair well with clotted cream, lemon curd, butter, and jams. Tip: These scones can be made the night before by wrapping the patted circles in plastic wrap, refrigerating them overnight, and cutting and baking the scones the next day. Thank you so much for this recipe!5 stars

  5. carol e hawley says

    I am definitely going to make this recipe, it sounds so delicious. P S It must have been your husband that bought you your pastry blender, I have one also & it sure is a handy tool.

  6. Linda says

    Great recipie! Works well every time and I have made this recipie many times. Everybody loves them. Thank you!5 stars

  7. Sharon W. says

    The blueberry scones turned out lovely. So nice that I shared them with friends. I added another 1/2 cup of blueberries because I add a cup when other recipes called for only 2 1/2 cups of flour…..DON’T do it! I wasted the extra berries as they ended up in the bottom of the bowl without enough dough to mix them in. I did add some milk sprinkles into the dough as I found it a bit too dry to adhere well but it didn’t affect the rolling and baking outcome. I wanted more than just the usual 12 scones and this recipe made 20! Thank you for sharing….I think the sour cream addition is great because I don’t always have whipping cream in the frig when I get the urge to bake. Highly recommended!

  8. Jody says

    I’d like to try these with a couple substitutions. Full fat yogurt instead of sour cream and Crisco instead of butter. Do u think it will work?

    • Yvonne says

      I have always wanted to make sconces. So glad I tried your recipe. I did sprinkle a little sugar on top before baking. Do you have a recipe for Cranberry Orange?5 stars

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