Cream Scones

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These Cream Scones are perfectly light and flaky. They are melt-in-your-mouth good! The best scones recipe.

I wanted to get this recipe to you before the weekend, just in case you need some baking inspiration. Baking a batch of these Cream Scones would be a perfect way to start your Sunday morning. Start to finish, you can have these incredibly light and flaky scones on your breakfast table in well under an hour. They are super easy to make, especially if you use your food processor to mix up the dough.

It’s hard to beat a good cream scone. One of my favorite breakfast treats is a cream currant scone or peach scone. I didn’t have any currants when I made these, but the dried cherries were equally delicious. You could use almost any small chopped fresh fruit or dried fruit, really.

Dried cranberries, blueberries, apricots, or even toasted chopped nuts would be wonderful in these scones. If you prefer, you can mix mini chocolate chips into these scones instead of the dried fruit.

If you have a weakness for breakfast pastries, try my cream cheese danish next!

How to Make Scones

If you have a food processor, you can use it to combine the dry ingredients and work in the butter. The food processor makes this recipe so quick and easy! Then you’ll use a fork or spatula to incorporate the heavy whipping cream.

Finally, shape the scone dough into a ball and then a 1 1/2-inch thick circle. Cut the dough into 8 triangular wedges, bake and enjoy!

(Full instructions below.)

Tips for the best Cream Scones:

You want to use a light hand when mixing up the scone dough, and err on the side of under-mixing. This will ensure that your scones turn out with those light and flaky layers that you love.
You want the butter to remain cold, and blend in the butter just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. The largest butter pieces should still be the size of small peas.
This scone recipe is easily adaptable for other mix-ins. Try your favorite chopped dried fruit, fresh berries, nuts or chocolate chips.
I often make these scones with a half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour to include more whole grains.

This scone recipe is so good, you’ll have a hard time stopping at just one. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and a warm scone, and settle in for some weekend relaxation time.

More Scone Recipes:

Lemon Scones
Cinnamon Scones
Gingerbread Scones

5 from 2 ratings

Servings: 8 scones

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 12 minutes mins

Total Time: 27 minutes mins

These Cherry Cream Scones are the lightest, flakiest scones ever. They are melt-in-your-mouth good!

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Ingredients

▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
▢ 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
▢ ½ cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped, or dried cranberries or currants
▢ 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. (Alternatively, see note about mixing scone dough by hand.)
Pulse a few times to combine the dry ingredients.
Add the butter cubes to the food processor. Pulse 10 times to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
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Add the dried cherries and pulse one or two times to mix them in. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the heavy cream and use a fork to mix until the dough starts to come together. Use your hands to finish bringing the dough together if needed. Do not over-work the dough; you want the bits of butter to remain cold.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a disk. Flatten the disk into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut into 8 wedges and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until the scones are lightly browned on the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

To make dough without a food processor: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to work in the butter until the largest pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Then stir in the dried cherries and heavy cream.
Scones can be frozen before or after baking. Freeze unbaked scones on a baking sheet and then transfer to a zip-top bag. Bake straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the baking time.
Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

Serving: 1scone, Calories: 322kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 161mg, Potassium: 207mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 925IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 98mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is an estimate.

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast

Tried this recipe?Mention @kristines_kitchen on Instagram or tag #kristineskitchenblog.

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Breakfast Freezer Friendly

posted by Kristine Rosenblatt on Sep 30, 2018 (last updated Jan 16, 2020)

24 comments Leave a comment »

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24 comments on “Cream Scones”

Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust — October 30, 2014 @ 6:37 am Reply
I’m usually very excited for the time change but I’ll be traveling this year. It just seems like a waste of an extra hour, lol! Love these scones, I could eat a scone every day!
- Kristine — November 2, 2014 @ 8:14 am Reply
  See Also
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  I would be so bummed if I missed out on my extra hour! Wishing you safe travels! 🙂
Karen — November 2, 2014 @ 10:57 am Reply
I made these scones today with a combination of dried cranberries & apricots and they were SO good!! Thanks for the great recipe! I’m sure I will make it again and again with different mix-ins. And it will be hard to ever eat a store bought scone again – these taste so much better, and I was surprised how easy they were to make!
- Kristine — November 2, 2014 @ 8:26 pm Reply
  Thanks for letting me know, and I’m so glad you liked these! I want to try them with cranberries and orange zest soon!
  - Karen — November 24, 2014 @ 8:34 pm
    I made these again today with a combination of dried cranberries, orange zest, and mini chocolate chips. They were SO good! This time I made the dough using my fingertips instead of the food processor, and I actually found it to be much easier!
  - Kristine — November 25, 2014 @ 9:48 pm
    Thanks for commenting and letting me know! I tried them with dried cranberries and orange zest a few weeks ago, but I bet the chocolate chips made them even better. Thanks for sharing the tip about making the dough by hand, too!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice — November 2, 2014 @ 3:42 pm Reply
I spent my extra hour of Daylight Savings Time sleeping, though maybe I should’ve been baking these scones! 🙂 These look delicious, Kristine! I love the cherry flavor. I love how soft and moist they look!
- Kristine — November 3, 2014 @ 8:15 pm Reply
  Sleep sounds like a pretty good way to spend that extra hour! Unfortunately my kids didn’t get the memo about daylight savings time. 🙂
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen — November 3, 2014 @ 6:53 am Reply
Gorgeous scones Kristine! I love scones in the morning – they’re so perfect for breakfast! Pinned!
- Kristine — November 3, 2014 @ 8:55 am Reply
  Thanks for the pin, Kristi! Scones are my favorite breakfast treat. They go so well with a cup of coffee!
Oriana @Mommyhood's Diary — November 3, 2014 @ 7:22 am Reply
Ohh boy!! This is what I need right now to pair my cup of coffee. Love it. Pinned
- Kristine — November 3, 2014 @ 8:55 am Reply
  Thanks, Oriana! I know, it’s too bad I made these scones a few weeks ago because I could totally go for one with my morning coffee today too!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking — November 4, 2014 @ 5:56 pm Reply
I love scones! These look perfect! Soft, moist and packed with dried cherries! Just how I like them! I did enjoy that extra hour…but I don’t enjoy how early it gets dark!!
- Kristine — November 4, 2014 @ 7:43 pm Reply
  Thank you, Lindsey! The early evening darkness is not my favorite either, and it certainly makes dinnertime natural light food photos impossible!
Karen — August 31, 2020 @ 8:01 am Reply
I had heavy cream I needed to use up so I found this recipe and I am sooo glad I did.
These are just delectable. I used a combined dried berry mix that I presoaked in hot water and drained just so they wouldn’t be too hard in the finished scone. Since it is summer, I also used frozen butter that I simply grated on a box grater.
This recipe is definitely going on my baking favorites list. In fact, it’s a reason to have cream on hand to whip up a batch. Tea party anyone?
Fran — May 14, 2021 @ 11:16 am Reply
Just as the previous comment I had a cup of cream left over and been meaning to try your scone recipe They turned out just as pretty as yours. Just took them out of the oven and waiting for them to cool down so I can dig into one. I used cranberry and orange rind in the mix . Thank you!
Jamie Lee — October 8, 2021 @ 12:46 am Reply
Love these scones. Perfect!! Made them twice coz the first time wasn’t enough. Thank you. ???
Charlene Wurtz — February 21, 2022 @ 1:38 pm Reply
have you ever used half and half cream instead?
- Kristine — February 23, 2022 @ 11:16 am Reply
  I haven’t. I think it will work fine, the scones just won’t have as rich of a flavor.
Sharon Palmer — April 24, 2022 @ 6:49 pm Reply
Says 2c. Flour 10 oz?? My dry cups are approx 7.25 oz
Measuring things out to make tomorrow..adding pecans an little hint of maple extract with maple glaze..
Can hardly wait..
- Kristine Rosenblatt — April 25, 2022 @ 6:04 am Reply
  Hi Sharon,
  I’ve just looked it up again to double check and 2 cups of flour weigh 250 grams (which is about 8.5 ounces). You can either measure the flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and leveling it off, or by weighing out 250 grams for this recipe. If you find the dough to be very sticky, you can add a bit more flour. I hope you enjoy the scones!
Terrie S — October 18, 2022 @ 1:56 pm Reply
These scones were so good. I made them by hand using a pastry cutter and they were perfect. I used a mixture of dried cherries and mini chocolate chip. Yummy!!
Ruth Furr — October 21, 2023 @ 2:30 pm Reply
I made these today, but is the 1 TABLESPOON of baking soda correct? Thats just about all I could taste in these scones.
- Kristine Rosenblatt — October 22, 2023 @ 8:46 am Reply
  Hi Ruth, It is 1 tablespoon of baking powder, not baking soda. They are not the same thing.

FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones? ›

Top tricks I learnt from the experts for baking perfect scones:

Resist the twist.
Use frozen butter.
Don't overwork the dough.
Freeze the dough. ...
Create rise and shine.
Follow this recipe.
Reduce the juice.
Fresh is best.

May 10, 2024

Do you butter a cream scone? ›

The flavor of the cream scones is just a bit richer than the butter scones. They don't need any additional butter or garnishes before serving. The butter-based version, on the other hand, welcomes a pat of warm salted butter.

Know More ›

Why are my scones so dense? ›

Over-kneading your dough will result in scones and biscuits that are tough, dense, or rubbery. The longer you knead the dough, the stronger the gluten network will be. We want just enough gluten for the scones to hold their shape, but not so much that we sacrifice the light and flaky texture.

Read The Full Story ›

Why are scones bad for you? ›

They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

What is the secret to making scones rise? ›

Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

Explore More ›

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

Read On ›

What are the qualities of a perfect scone? ›

Among the myriad baked goods in the breakfast pastry canon, scones are uniquely delicious in their humble simplicity. The best scones have a crisp, slightly caramelized exterior and a tender, buttery, just-sweet interior. They can be dressed up with a glaze, studded with fruit or nuts, or gently spiced.

Learn More ›

How to get scones to rise high? ›

How to make scones rise high? Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

Keep Reading ›

Why aren t my scones light and fluffy? ›

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture. The trick is to use light pressure and only the work the dough until it just comes together.

Discover More Details ›

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Leave your scones to rest on the tray for about 10 minutes before brushing the tops with some extra milk. Bake in your pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

Tell Me More ›

Cream Scones - Easy Recipe! (2024)