This is my beloved 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!
Why I Think You’ll Love These Scones!
- This recipe yields eighteen perfectly delicious, crispy, buttery scones.
- These scones are SO good that the recipe is in my second cookbook!
- Once you try these scones, you won’t make any other type again.
This Really is the Ultimate Scones Recipe
I have been baking these scones for as long as I can remember. Sometimes, I think 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 to savor my butter tarts every Christmas. Now, don’t get all excited. I mean, butter tarts. There are no sneaky innuendos or double meanings implied there.
Ingredient Notes
I use sour cream and an egg to make the ultimate rich scones. Just read all of the rave reviews below from readers who have made these—I don’t call anything the best unless I 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.
How to Divide and Cut Scone Dough into Even Pieces
This method will work with any scone recipe, simply portion out the dough into two disks (12 scone yield recipes) or 3 disks (larger 18 scone yield like this recipe.) Form a log of dough that is even in thickness.
Cut the dough into three equal portions. Form each disk into a circle one inch thick, gently shaping and patting it into a circle (width ranges from 6 to 7 inches).
Cut each circle into six pieces to yield eighteen scones.
How to Arrange the Scones on the Baking Sheet
Lay the little pie-like pieces onto the baking sheets. Blueberries and other fresh fruit like to stick, so grease your baking sheets if you are using these. I use a good non-stick sheet, but my raisin scones don’t stick to it. Make sure there is space between the scones, as shown.
Karlynn’s 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 don’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 overwork the dough, refrigerate the scone triangles before you bake them to get the butter hard again.
More Delicious Scone Recipes
Happy baking! Let me know in the comments below if you have tried these and what you think!
Love,
Karlynn
The Best Scones Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter cold or frozen is best
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup raisins blueberries, or other fruit pieces work
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Get out an extra large baking sheet or two baking sheets that fit into your oven. Lightly grease the baking sheets.
- In a large glass measuring cup, mix the sour cream and baking soda. Let it bubble.
- In a very large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Grate the cold butter into the dry mixture. Or you can also 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 in the measuring cup.
- 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 a tablespoon or two of milk until the dough JUST comes together, you want a dry dough, not a gluey one!
- When the dough is combined, mix in the fruit.
- 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. Place the cut scones on the baking sheet with space between
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are browned nicely on the bottom and slightly on the top. Watch them carefully! Remove and let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet , then remove and cool completely on a baking rack.
- Store in a closed container at room tempertature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Video
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
Pin this recipe to your Breakfast or Desserts Boards and Remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
Bethany Young says
Awesome recipe ! Didn’t use any sugar , instead topped with home made jam and whip cream.
Harjit says
Absolutely love that I have all the ingredients at home and the scones were just like the ones from the bakery – and this was my first attempt!! 5 stars for sure
Margaret SutherlandBachor says
Karlynn< I forgot to add my tip to alleviate he aching arms. Grate the butter (it should be cold for this recipe anyway) into the bowl. 😉 Waaay less cutting in work. 😉 I am arthritic and this helps me.
Margaret Sutherland Bachor says
Really really good! I didn’t have enough sour cream so I topped up the cup with yogurt! Still poofed up and turned out beautiful. I did some with dried cranberry and some cheese. Though I brushed the tops with milk they didn’t brown at all ( I think this is my oven’s issue) I grew up with a Scottish Gran and she would definitely approve. I think next time however I will cut back on the sugar, especially for a more savoury type scone. A bit too sweet for me. Still a beautiful rise to them and very fluffy and light. 4 3/4 stars for sure. 😀
Sarah says
I made these less healthy and put mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. The kids and the hubs love them. I’m going to try cinnamon chips next!
Allison says
Forgot to rate
Allison says
Hi Gm
Just made these. Used my kitchenaid. They came out great. Left some plain and used dry cranberries in the others. They’re delicious. Even my picky eaters loved them. Thanks for the recipe. Continue the great baking.
Nancy says
This is a fabulous recipe and will be my go to scone recipe from now on!
Karlynn Johnston says
Yay!!! I am so glad you loved it!
Susanne says
OMG!! Absolutely delicious, incredible, never make another recipe again. You are a genius. I made mine with fresh green gage plums from my tree. (They were over-ripe and super sweet) I did have to add about 1/2 cup more flour because of the fruit juice. WOW! thank you so much!
Christine says
These were absolutely delicious! I can not stop eating them. I substituted greek yoghurt for the sour cream and they were still awesome.
Lauren says
Thanks for the tip so hard to find sour cream in Italy it’s not used here.
Fritz says
I just want to say, I love your narrarative mixed in with the written directions for the recipe! Making recipe now, but just reading it was a pleasure!
Karlynn Johnston says
Thank you SO much! I am so glad that you enjoyed the post and the recipe!
lila says
loved them….for my husband an I alone, I cut recipe in half..makes 9
loved how you narrated the procedure..
Maria says
I have made “The Best Scone Ever” numerous time with dried cranberries or just plain scones. Everybody who has tasted them, are hooked.
Karlynn Johnston says
That’s so great to hear! We love them and make them once a week !
Liz says
I have halved this recipe using a 3-2-1 ratio of almond, tapioca, and coconut flours respectively. It has been an excellent equal trade mix for traditional flour recipes. I also half the sugar again (using 1/4 cup) and end up with a very nice cakey textured scone (a hard texture to achieve when you’re baking grain-free!). Thank you for this delicious recipe; We love it!
Karlynn Johnston says
Great to hear!
Jonpow says
These were very good! I added a light vanilla glaze which added the crazy amount of sweetness I like. I surprised my wife this morning. It was a bit hit! Thank you!
Karlynn Johnston says
I bet they were amazing with the glaze!
Mandy Hurley says
So, they came out delicious, I have to say right off the bat. Thank you! However, they all melded into one big scone in the oven (so I just cut them up into bits). You can totally make fun of my baking fail (though I am not above blaming my baby, gnawing on my legs while I was baking). But could you also maybe help me troubleshoot what I did wrong? I read back through the ingredients and did not leave anything out… thanks in advance!
Mike Johnston says
Having one big scones is NEVER a bad thing. It’s like a scone cake. I’ll take that any day!
Karlynn Johnston says
Hi Mandy,
Try putting them in the fridge so that the butter is cold when you bake them!
Jeffrey says
Made scones for the first time using your recipe. I have no need to try any other. These are awesome! Am making my third batch today.
Gina says
I think I just fell in love. I can tell this will be heavenly. Thank you for sharing.
Kyle says
Karlynn– I am making these tomorrow for a brunch and am thinking about making the dough tonight and refrigerating over night and then baking tomorrow- Thoughts?
Mary P Hoffman says
They look amazing – thanks!
Zai Abdullah says
Can I substitute the sour cream with yoghurt?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Yes, you can!
Shanon Warner says
They really are the best ever, very moist and great taste. I make your recipe all the time, and smother them with Devonshire Cream and strawberry jam. So good! These scones are so moist they are still good the next day, which I have never found with a scone before.
Karlynn Johnston says
They are SO good the next day!
Sharon Fitger says
I think your Mom got you the pastry blender:)
Cassidy Dowd says
Barb Mitchell try this one maybe? mine this morning was from the yellow Teddy Bear cookbook.
Barb Mitchell says
Thanks my little chef
Lydia says
I have never posted a comment on a cooking site before, but I have to thank you for this recipe. It is by far the best scone recipe I’ve ever tried and produces by far the best scones I’ve eaten. Even when I mess then up they come out great. I’ve never failed to get loads of complements for them. And they’re better than most of the scones I’ve bought in cafes.
1000 thanks 🙂
Lydia says
I have never posted a comment on a cooking site before, but I have to thank you for this recipe. It is by far the best scone recipe I’ve ever tried and produces by far the best scones I’ve eaten. Even when I mess then up they come out great. I’ve never failed to get loads of complements for them. And they’re better than most of the scones I’ve bought in cafes.
1000 thanks 🙂
Ros says
I cheated when I made the Blueberry scones I made a thin circle of the dough x2 laid the Blueberries over one nice and even so each scone would have berries, then carefully laid the other circle on top. then I cut the scones in triangles. This way no crushed blueberries,I also baked them on parchment paper, no sticky cookie sheets to clean…Its a fantastic repice…Thanks for sharing
Ros says
I cheated when I made the Blueberry scones I made a thin circle of the dough x2 laid the Blueberries over one nice and even so each scone would have berries, then carefully laid the other circle on top. then I cut the scones in triangles. This way no crushed blueberries,I also baked them on parchment paper, no sticky cookie sheets to clean…Its a fantastic repice…Thanks for sharing
Karlynn Johnston says
Great idea!
Chef R says
That’s my recipe Ive used for 30 years however I do also add a 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar. It makes a texture and moisture difference. I highly recommend it. My family favorites are the original currant or instead of fruit cut in a can of almond paste with the butter. So good!!
Chef R says
That’s my recipe Ive used for 30 years however I do also add a 1/4 of cream of tartar. It makes a texture and moisture difference. I highly recommend it. My family favorites are the original currant or instead of fruit cut in a can of almond paste with the butter. So good!!