Buttermilk scones – the perfect weekend breakfast or an afternoon treat with a cup of tea and friends, these are delicious. A simple recipe that can be adapted to add any flavour combination that you choose.
Buttermilk scone are a favourite bake of mine. I am by no means a fancy baker, but I do really enjoy baking and do it regularly. I like simple cakes or loaves, I make a mean chocolate and pecan brownie. However, I always opt for simple icing, I don’t care for butter or fondant icing and my icing skills are shocking, which is why Michelle decorates my children’s Birthday cakes! You can imagine then my horror the year my youngest daughter asked for a pink dinosaur! Perhaps what I am best known for amongst my family and friends are my scones. Simple to make, but boy have I paid for and eaten some bad ones over the years; too dense, too dry and crumbly, loaded with baking powder to make them rise, etc! That said it is generally always a scone I opt for when I’m out for coffee.
My quest for the perfect scone started about 6 years ago! I was visiting a friend who’s Mum was staying with her. Her Mum makes the best scones and when I asked how she made them she said with buttermilk and no baking powder. They were easily the best I’d tasted so there started my search for the perfect scone recipe. I tried and tested many but settled with this recipe here. I use it as the base for any other flavour scone I’m making, both sweet and savoury.
In fact it was this very recipe that sparked my friendship with Michelle. Michelle discovered my scones through a mutual friend of that had been to mine for morning coffee and scone. “You’ve got a recipe I need” said Michelle next day in the school playground. So a love of food, an invite to sample and the sharing of a recipe is what started all this off back in 2012.
Alternative recipe suggestions:
We also have some other flavoured scones that might interest you. Try our Savoury Cheese Scone, or autumnal flavoured Pumpkin Scone and Apple & Cinnamon Scone. If you enjoyed this bake have a look at our Ultimate Guide to Baking with Kids, full of great recipe suggestions for baking with children.
buttermilk scones
Ingredients
- 500 g self raising flour
- 100 g caster sugar
- pinch salt
- 100 g unsalted butter - chilled from fridge and diced
- 2 medium free-range eggs
- 200 ml buttermilk
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the chilled butter and rub together gently through your fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Do not press the mixture together.
- Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and add to the dry mixture and mix using a round knife. Use your hands to gently bring the dough together into a ball. (Take care not to over-work the dough as this will only result in dense, heavy scones. The lighter the handling the lighter the scone).
- Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to around 3cm using a floured rolling pin. (If you don't have a rolling pin pressing gently with the back of your hand will suffice). Using a 6cm round cutter stamp out your scones and place them on a greased and floured baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the scones with the remnants of the buttermilk mixture left in the measuring jug to give a golden top to the scones.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200CFan for 16-18 minutes or until the scones have turned golden on top. Remove from the oven and serve.
Jacqui Bellefontaine
Love how you two became friend. any foodie will know the how divine a well baked scone is. It made me think about friends i made through food and apart more recent friends made through a local dinner club. My two best friendships that have stood the test of time came about through food. My 1st through studying Home Economics together and being partnered fro cookery classes our skills complimented each other so me a made a good team, The other was when i invited a friend of a friend whom i met once before to Christmas dinner in June back in the 80s I was working on a photoshoot for a magazine and i didnt want all the food to go to waste.
Michelle
Thanks Jacqui, it is true, the love of food and friendship go hand in hand. Our skills too compliment each other which is why I think we work so well with each other, that and our agreed commitment to be utterly honest with each other! So glad to hear you’ve made some life long friends through the love of food.:-) Cheers, Michelle x
Janice
These look like epic scones, buttermilk makes all the difference to the rise.
Lesley
Thank you Janice, buttermilk does indeed make a big difference and cuts out the need for raising agent. This scone recipe is how Michelle and I first struck up a friendship. She’d heard I made the best scones and asked if I’d share the recipe. Friends ever since. Lesley x
Kirsti Cook
I have never mastered scones so will give these a try. X
Michelle
They are lovely and light Kirsty, they really don’t even need to be rolled, most times I just pat the dough and put the cutter straight through. Love to see your photos once you do make them – and you can vary them too with adding spices, etc.
Karen
BOOKMARKED and ready to bake this weekend, thanks so much for sharing this recipe and what a heart-warming post too! Karen
Michelle
Thanks Karen, I hope you enjoy them! They are a go to breakfast for us on mornings when we are blogging!