Set up a spread of English scones! Here are 6 sweet and savory flavors to try

These English scones would make a lovely Mother’s Day brunch.

Scones are an English bakery classic. With a little help from a baker, you can bake them up in your own kitchen! This recipe lets you pick your flavor flair, so you can dress them up to be whatever you’re craving.

Lori Vaughn shared her recipe. She thinks these would make the perfect Mother’s Day brunch setup. You can make them classic, or give them a sourdough twist by using up some leftover sourdough discard.

Easy Homemade Scones

“These easy homemade scones are quick, versatile, and impressive. Make sweet or savory, with even an option to include sourdough discard if you’d like. Perfect for brunch, showers, or just a weekend treat.”

-Lori Vaughn

PREP TIME 30 minutes
COOK TIME 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME 50 minutes
SERVINGS 8 scones

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar *see note if choosing savory flavor
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold + 2 tbsp for brushing
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• About 1-1.5 cup mix-ins (chopped strawberries, chocolate chips, etc. – see note for complete idea list)
• course sugar to top optional
• glaze to stop optional – see note for glaze recipe & flavor combos

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
2. Cut butter into tbsp pieces and add to dry mixture. Incorporate using a pastry cutter to get pea sized pieces of butter through the mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: heavy cream, egg, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients. Add mix-ins of choice (see notes) and fold everything together.
4. Transfer to a work surface and press into an 8” disk. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 pieces. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
5. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes or fridge for about 30 minutes to chill. Brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle coarse sugar on top (optional). Bake for about 18–22 min until golden brown.
6. If you’d prefer a glaze for your scone flavor, baking time is a great time to prep that. Whisk together the ingredients in the recipe below (see notes section).
7. Store leftovers airtight at room temp. To reheat, place in the oven at 350° F for 10 minutes, or until warm.

Notes

SUGAR AMOUNT: Scones are typically a sweeter pastry, however for a little less sweet, reduce to 1/4-1/3 cup sugar. Sugar moistens, so it will make the scone slightly less tender but still delicious.

For savory scones, I highly recommend reducing sugar to 2 tbsp.

FLAVOR VARIATIONS: Add about 1-1.5 cups of any of the following flavors to your scone dough

• Biscoff & White Chocolate (~3/4 cup white chocolate chips + ~3/4 cup broken up Biscoff cookies). Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle on melted Biscoff butter.
• Strawberry (~1 heaping cup chopped strawberries) Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle on glaze recipe below.
• Chocolate Chip (~1 heaping cup mini semisweet chocolate chips). Brush with cream and add coarse sugar on top before baking.
• Bacon, Cheddar, & Chive (heaping 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon, heaping 1/2 cup cup up or grated sharp white cheddar or sharp yellow cheddar cheese, & 2-4 tbsp finely chopped chives). Brush with cream prior to baking.
• Ham & Cheddar (heaping 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham, heaping cup chopped or grated cheddar cheese), Brush with cream prior to baking.
• Blueberry Lemon (1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. Do not thaw. If using frozen, I love using wild blueberries because they are smaller. Add 1 tbsp lemon zest.). Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle with a lemon glaze. See recipe below.

Glaze Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional for lemon glaze)
• 1 tsp lemon zest (optional for lemon glaze)

METHOD

1. Whisk together and drizzle on scone after baking.

Find Lori’s Sourdough Scone recipe here, and her scone recipe here.

Find more recipes from Lori on her website, loskitchenco.com or on her Instagram, @loskitchenco. You can find Lori’s Sourdough Guide here.