In my opinion, scones are completely underrated. They are flaky, buttery, and full of fresh flavor. What’s not to love? Every brunch needs a sweeter menu item so pick this recipe for your spread. Plus, scones are a great way to incorporate fresh fruit into a recipe.
Several years ago, my mom and I took a cooking class for Mother’s Day. This is where we both learned to love scones of all flavors. You would think for such a delicate pastry, they would be much harder to make, but they’re not! Once you find a good recipe, they will never disappoint. I modified the recipe from our brunch class to incorporate these fresh strawberries and DANG they are addicting!
What is a scone?
A scone is a lightly baked good often served with tea or coffee. They originated from the United Kingdom and can be triangular or round in shape. Scones are similar to shortbread. Special scone pans and/or cutters exist if you’re looking for the perfectly shaped scone, but I prefer to cut into triangles myself.
Tips on making scones:
- COLD grated butter. This is the ultimate trick for perfectly flaky scones. Little did you know that cheese graters could be used for baking needs too. Cold butter mixes very easily with the flour mixture, and almost instantly turns into crumbs. Why cold butter? The small grated pieces melt quickly in the oven which helps the scones rise and form flaky layers. I always grate the butter first thing and return to the fridge while I prepare the other ingredients.
- Do not overwork your dough. Since the butter is grated, it will melt quickly while mixing. Melting the butter while mixing will create a tougher scone.
- Dough consistency. If your dough is still too crumb like after adding the strawberries, add a splash more liquid, but just enough so that the dough holds together. If you feel your dough has too much liquid in it already, add a bit more flour so that the dough holds together. It should not stick to your fingers.
- Brush the tops of the scones before baking. Your scones will look glossy, but this is the trick for the golden brown crusty top.
Other fresh scone ideas:
You can also mix up this recipe with different fruit combinations. Here are some other variations worth trying:
- Blueberry and lemon zest
- Raspberries and lemon zest or raspberries and almonds
- Apple and cinnamon
- Cherry and coconut
- Peach and vanilla (use the same milk/vanilla mixture in this recipe)
Fresh Strawberry Scones
Ingredients
Scones
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter grated and chilled1
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp table salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- ¾ cup fresh strawberries chopped
- 1-2 Tbsp whole milk for brushing tops of scones
- large sugar crystals
Icing
- ¾ cup powder sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Using a box grater, grate butter and return to the fridge to chill while preparing other ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silicon baking mat or sheet of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix together milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Using your hands or a pastry cutter, gently add the grated butter and work the mixture evenly.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the milk/vanilla mixture. Using a fork or your hands, mix until ingredients are incorporated, but still rough and shaggy. ***It is important not to overwork the dough.
- Gently fold in the chopped strawberries. If the dough seems too dry, add in 1-2 tablespoons more milk, but note that the strawberries will help add more juices to the dough. If your dough is sticking to your hands, you need more flour.
- Flour a flat surface and pat the dough into 3/4-inch thick round. Cut into wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
- Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar crystals before baking.
- Bake until light brown, about 18-20 min. Transfer to a cooling rack for about 5 min.
- Once cool, in a small bowl, mix together powder sugar, vanilla and milk. Drizzle over scones. Let harden for 5-10min and then serve!!
Notes
I’d love to hear from you once you get the chance to make this recipe. Leave a comment below with your review or any modifications you made!