Traditional Irish scones with a crisp sweet top and soft, moist and tender center are easy to make with a few simple ingredients. Top with jam, butter or cream for a breakfast treat!
When you don’t feel like making a whole loaf of Irish soda bread this St. Patrick’s Day, making a scone recipe is the perfect solution!
Table of Contents
Traditional Irish Scone Recipe
Fresh out of the oven these traditional Irish scones are elegant addition to breakfast, brunch, or ven work great as a dessert. We love my blueberry scones recipe, orange scones and pumpkin spice scones for the same reasons!
This Irish scone recipe has a crisp sugary top and is soft, tender and moist inside. Serve it warm with homemade whipped cream and strawberry jam, and it’s almost like a strawberry shortcake biscuit. Such an easy and delicious treat!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Perfect texture. The best-ever Irish scone has a sugary, crisp top, tastes slightly sweet and the center is moist and tender!
- Easy to make. These Irish scones are ready in only 30 minutes! Perfect for a breakfast or brunch treat.
- Versatile. Add dried fruit like raisins or try some chocolate chips! Cut them into triangles, squares or even rectangles.
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure to the scones. I have not tested this with any other flours.
- Sugar: You will need granulated sugar for the scones and I like to use a coarse sugar for sprinkling on top.
- Baking powder: Gives rise to the scone.
- Kosher salt: To enhance taste.
- Butter: For flaky scones super cold butter is necessary. Place it the freezer after cutting it into cubes for about 30 minutes for optimal results. If you want to use Irish butter you can!
- Eggs: You will need two eggs for moisture and rich taste in your scones and then 1 egg white to brush on top.
- Whole milk: Whole milk or heavy cream is preferred.
How to Make Irish Scones
- Combine dry ingredients and cut with butter: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then cut in butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Combine wet ingredients then combine: In a measuring cup, mix together 2 eggs and milk. Add to your dry mixture and mix until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly until it comes together.
- Prepare for baking: Pat the dough into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick and cut into twelve equal sized rectangles. Beat the egg white in a small bowl and brush over each scone rectangle. Then sprinkle the tops with sugar and place on baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 475 degrees F for 13-15 minutes, or until the scones have puffed up and turned golden brown on top.
Expert Tips
Make sure to keep the tips below in mind when making this Irish scones recipe:
- Learn how to measure flour accurately by using this simple spoon and level technique. Too much or too little flour can leave you with dense, heavy or dry scones.
- Cold butter: This is worth repeating! Cold butter will yield the best flaky and buttery scones.
- No pastry cutter: Use two knives to cut your butter into the dry ingredients or you can skip cubing your butter and use a box grater to grate your cold butter then mix.
- Be careful not to overwork the dough, or the scones won’t have that perfect flaky texture we’re aiming for. Knead the dough lightly until it comes together. Similar to when making homemade biscuits, it’s okay to have a few small lumps in the dough.
- Sprinkle extra sugar over the tops after adding the egg wash to give your scones the perfect finishing touch. The extra hint of sweetness takes them up a notch. My favorite type to use is a coarse sugar, such as Kirkland organic sugar.
FAQs
Irish scones are an easy to make quick bread with flour, butter, baking powder, sugar and creamy milk. They are reminiscent of English scones but are less sweet. Also, instead of cutting them into classic wedge scone shapes, they are cut into rectangles or circles. They may remind you of a drop biscuit but with the addition of egg.
Yes, before baking, feel free to mix in some dried currants, raisins or chocolate chips to add an extra hint of sweetness and flavor. Adding 1/2 cup should be plenty!
Your scones should be light, fluffy and tender with a slight crumb. If yours are dry, overly crumbly and hard that means either you have over baked them or overworked your dough.
While you can’t make the dough ahead of time as the baking powder will lose it’s rising power, you can freeze leftover scones. Wrap tightly to prevent any freeze burn, store in a freezer safe for a few months and thaw as needed.
How to Serve Irish Scones
While these scones are delicious on their own, take them to the next level by adding any of the delicious toppings below. My favorites are strawberry jam and whipped cream!
- Strawberry jam
- Homemade whipped cream
- Cinnamon butter
- Orange butter
- Honey
- Fresh berries
Storage Instructions
These scones will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, however I do think they taste best on the first day. I recommend heating them in the toaster oven for 1 to 2 minutes if enjoying on the 2nd or 3rd day.
Need more baked goods? Try raspberry sweet rolls, lemon blueberry muffins, or my favorite chocolate chip banana bread.
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Irish Scones
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (450 g) all-purpose flour , spoon and leveled
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) sugar , plus more for sprinkling on top
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 6 Tablespoons (84 g) butter , cut into pieces
- 2 eggs , divided
- ¾ cup (177 ml) whole milk
- 1 egg white , for brushing on top
For serving: butter, whipped cream and berry jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a measuring cup, mix together 2 eggs and milk. Add to dry mixture and mix until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter or cutting board and knead lightly until it comes together. Be careful not to overwork the dough, or the scones will not be as flaky.
- Pat into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick (using a rolling pin if needed) and cut into twelve equal sized rectangles. You could also cut them into circles if desired. Beat the egg white in a small bowl and brush over each scone rectangle. Alternatively you could brush the tops with heavy cream or milk if desired. Then sprinkle the tops with sugar and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the scones have puffed up and turned golden brown on top.
- Serve with butter, fresh whipped cream and jam.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Original post contributed by The Baker Upstairs
Categorized as: Biscuits + Rolls, Bread, Breakfast, Desserts, Nut-Free, Quick Bread, Sweet Breakfast, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
These are delicious!! Love the sugary top. My family loves them with berries and cream!
These scones were absolutely delicious! Thank you for the easy recipe!