The very best scone recipe

And here's another version from Tartine.

I was never ga ga for scones. They're like biscuits- dry and rather tasteless unless you slather them with butter.

Yes, R2, but if you like to bake, you might want to give these a try. They are exceptional.

Why would anyone want to bake scones unless it’s to use as a doorstop? Dry and makes me want to gag.

^^ Here come the scone scolds.

[quote] Why would anyone want to bake scones unless it’s to use as a doorstop? Dry and makes me want to gag.

Not these scones!

I'm from Virginia and my father grew up in North Carolina. We ate biscuits with dinner all the time and I never liked them that much. I like foods with chew or crunch.

Turns out that I love scones. I don't mind the crumbly biscuity interior but I love the hard-shell exterior. Many of them also seem to be just the right amount of salty. Nom nom!

The most famous recipe in Australia. Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen's Pumpkin Scones.

Why do you never publish your own recipes? You always link to recipes on he internet.

Are they trade secrets? Is that why?

[quote] Why do you never publish your own recipes? You always link to recipes on he internet. Are they trade secrets? Is that why?

Sorry, I've never come up with my own scone recipe. Don't see the reason to—this is far better than anything I'd come up with. But I do cook a lot and research recipes to find what I think is the best. I have shared some basic techniques I think I've perfected over the years (like how to make beautifully moist chicken thighs with crispy skin, how to cook delicious carrots, how to make really good chicken parmesan, how to roast a chicken, make a pot roast, or how to make a delicious pork rib roast).

These sound good, and I actually have all the ingredients on hand (even currants!) so I might try them. But aren't scones usually triangular and not cut out like biscuits?

Thanks for posting recipes that use weight to measure out the ingredients. Although I think it's a little silly to use weight to measure things like salt and baking soda.

These are my favorite scones.

R10 you are right, it takes a while to get the art of scones just rightand when you do they are a dreamy delight

R13, that actually looks quite good.

You can't beat a well made scone! I'll give those a go, they look nice. Saying that, scones consistently come in at the lower end of likes on my Instagram page; I suspect they're not well known outside of Britain unless you're a foodie.

THIS IS AN IMPOSTER: GREG ASSHOLE EXPLODED AND HE IS DEAD

Don't equate real scones with those nasty, dry triangles you find at Starbucks. A real, traditional scone is light, moist, and flavorful. It must be fresh! Day-old scones, no matter how wonderful they were before, are like stale biscuits. The recipe from OP is nice, but the real prize in it is the lemon cream!

GREG IS DEAD

Who the fuck says NOM-NOM?

Scones are supposed to be eaten with butter, jam, and tea, right?

R21 But those Australian pumpkin scones must have some nutritional value as opposed to traditional scones which have no nutritional value and are merely an excuse to eat butter and jam which are excessively fatty and sugary.

Greg DEAD

r17 r19 r23 STFU.

Yes—R17, R19, R23—give me a break. I've tried ignoring you but you're just an annoying pain in the ass. Please be crazy somewhere else.

[quote] Scones are supposed to be eaten with butter, jam, and tea, right?

Not butter—scones are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam/preserves/lemon curd.

R11: Traditional English scones are served with afternoon tea and are tall and round, not triangular (like American scones). Let us know how they turn out!

I thought that scones were supposed to be triangular?

R13 looks like a version of monkey bread, mot scones.

I don't like lemon mixed with chunks of other things. OP's recipe disgusts me.

I only like the ones with chocolate chips.

Now I want the chicken thighs recipe! And the carrots!

Real scones, piled high with clotted cream and jam, served with a pot of Assam or Darjeeling tea -HEAVEN! Who cares about nutritional value? They are a sensual delight!

[quote] "They're like biscuits- dry and rather tasteless unless you slather them with butter."

I'm with R32 on this. Clotted cream makes all the difference. I haven't made them in some time, given I'm cutting carbs, but the last batch I made contained toasted chopped walnuts, diced dried apricots, and crumbled bleu cheese.

I probably could've used a little bit of clotted cream, but instead just touched them with apricot jam. It was more than enough. That bleu cheese (while a wonderful addition) really makes them rich.

Those look really good, I bookmarked the recipe. Scones can be awfully dry, there are some terrible ones out there.

Ironically I had a really good one today, with clotted cream, at a local tea house run by a wonderful British lady. We also have a couple of excellent French bakeries nearby. Baked goods and bakeries are among my favorite things.

R26- Clotted cream sounds like something that will CLOG your arteries.

r35 But what a way to go!

Amen, R36! Clotted cream is one of the wonders of the world. You can't have it every day, of course, but as a treat you pile it on an have a culinary orgasm.

[quote] "Clotted cream sounds like something that will CLOG your arteries."

Don't eat it excessively, R35. By name, clotted cream sounds like it would be absolutely disgusting. But it's (in very basic terms) like a cross between butter and cream cheese, and every bit as delicious.

A ship geek friend from Canada was appalled when he ordered scones onboard a Cunard cruise ship and he was given whipped, not clotted, cream with his scones.

He had every right to be furious, R39.

Well, Cunard has been cost cutting for years…but I guess that the process of making clotted cream is time consuming and expensive? For r40.

R8, that doesn't seem like a scone at all, more like a muffin made without the tin. The pumpkin makes them moist. Whatever it's being called, it sounds like it's a delicious fall treat.

r39 Is your friend named Karen?

[quote] I thought that scones were supposed to be triangular?

Ah....R27, see R26

Yes, R21, on Wednesdays after shopping.

I looked up how to make clotted cream -- because I don't know anywhere to buy it -- and it does look like the easiest thing on earth to make. It sounds like a little bit goes pretty far, so it's something to make when you're expecting a crowd.

I've made clotted cream before -It's a royal pain in the butt. Basically, "clotting" the cream means baking it at a low temperature to remove water, but not actually cooking it. It ends up with a texture similar to whipped cream cheese, but it is sweeter. You must use unpasteurized cream, which is horribly expensive here in the US. I spent about $80 on cream and ended up with about 1/2 cup of clotted cream. Much cheaper and easier to buy it from places like Frazier Farms, Whole Foods, etc. that tend to carry it. Beware that you can find it unrefrigerated on a shelf in some places, but it isn't as good as the fresher stuff in the chillers at upscale markets. You can order it from iGourmet.com and have it delivered chilled. (Great cheeses there, too!)

Why is clotted cream so difficult to find in the U.S.? It's in every supermarket here; I thought it'd be common there, too.

Damn, if I didn't have the beetus, I'd eat scones every day.

Clotted cream: the name alone makes me want to vomit. But then I hate dairy in general. I don’t even like the concept of consuming a bovine fluid. All i can see are cows wandering around in shit and being filthy dirty. They are sweet animals though. I just don’t want to consume them or their bodily fluids.

Good scones make biscuits seem like hockey pucks

R48, Because we don't like it! We don't do "tea"; we don't make Yorkshire pudding; and, no matter this thread, we don't really eat scones (most Americans don't even pronounce the word correctly) on the regular like the Brits.

I had Devon clotted cream once in the UK (Clovelly) to see what all the popularity was about. Blech!

Here, it's available in Wegmans.

My grocery store sells clotted in the small international foods section along with a few other British products, including lemon curd, digestive biscuits, Cadbury chocolates, etc. I've never considered trying it because of the name. The only other thing I've ever heard of clotting is blood, and so another body fluid clotting is not really appetizing.

[quote]we don't make Yorkshire pudding

Sure we do. Pioneer Woman even made it on last Saturday's show. And America's Test Kitchen has made it too.

Overall British cuisine is pretty gross.

I am curious about mushy peas, though.

Beautiful scones, Greg.

[quote] Beautiful scones, Greg.

Thanks! Did you make them?

I may try to make clotted cream this weekend.

[quote] the beetus

Are you talking about Diabetes, R49?

It has become very common this last decade, that's why I avoid fatty foods like clotted cream.

I just wonder qhat clotted cream tastes like. I'm guessing sour cream mixed with butter??? I love fresh whipped cream too much, especially on hot chocolate.

R61- I love REAL fresh whipped cream more than ice cream.

Ok I think I'll make the lemon scone one tonight. Thanks, it looks good.

R61 - It's closer in flavor to whipped cream than butter. Definitely not sour cream. If you want something close in flavor and easy, just over-whip some whipped cream until is it very, very stiff. Don't sweeten or flavor it. Just be careful not to make butter!

Thanks R64. Well I just made the recipe as I had nothing better to do. They turned out rather well, very tasty. I would say they taste like good fluffy sweet lemony American biscuits, with a sweet crunchy exterior! The recipe made like 10 scones, and one was plenty - very rich! I cannot imagine putting heavy whopped cream on one!!🤦‍♂️

R54, Yes, okay. But I see many foods prepared on TV that never see the light of day in most Americans' kitchens.

[quote] Well I just made the recipe as I had nothing better to do. They turned out rather well, very tasty. I would say they taste like good fluffy sweet lemony American biscuits, with a sweet crunchy exterior! The recipe made like 10 scones, and one was plenty.

I'm glad you liked them!

Didn’t Greg die?

Greg, you are so sweet. If there wasn't an ocean between us, I would ask you to marry me.

Found a recipe for clotted cream made in the slow cooker…started it last night. Will put it in the fridge before I go to work today.

[quote] Greg, you are so sweet. If there wasn't an ocean between us, I would ask you to marry me.

Awww....that is very nice of you to say! Where do you live? Mwah!

In Croatia.

I would love to try all your cookies, but I am on the diet now, because during this semi lock-down I became a bear out of a twink.

I'm making these for xmas

My favorite scone is Greg's dried up old nutsack!

[quote] My favorite scone is Greg's dried up old nutsack!

It's one of Grandma's treasured old world recipes!

Scones taste like flavorless over baked week old biscuits. It’s like the biscuit equivalent of biscotti. Which is just a rebaked (over baked) cookie.

I hate biscottis. But I love scones. I’ve never had a dry one either.