These lovely traditional scones are full of flavour and have a very nice firm, crumbly texture.

Makes: about 11 – 12, using a 7cm cutter

Level: Easy

Time: About 30 minutes “hands-on” then less than 20 minutes baking.

Need: Just basics -a cutter, a wooden spoon maybe, a large bowl

Ingredients

500g strong white flour, plus a little extra when rolling out
½ tsp fine salt
90g caster sugar
5 tsp (25g) baking powder
80g softened butter
150g – 175g dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants etc.)
100g – 125g chopped mixed nuts (whatever you fancy or have in the cupboard)
2 eggs (Use 1½ in the mix, the rest to glaze later)
250ml buttermilk or milk + some in reserve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to fan 200°C. Line two baking trays with baking parchment and dust with flour.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add in the butter then work it all together with fingers to create a crumbly mixture.

3. Stir in most of the beaten eggs and the buttermilk or milk. Mix together gently then add in the fruit and nuts.

4. Mix thoroughly, incorporating all the ingredients then bring everything together to form a soft, quite wet dough.

5. Sprinkle a little flour onto the work surface. Tip the soft dough out onto it and sprinkle a little more flour on top. The mixture will be wet and sticky.

6. Fold the dough over itself several times. If the mixture becomes too sticky use some extra flour to coat the mixture or your hands to make it more manageable. Be careful not to overwork your dough.

7. Roll the dough out or flatten by hand. Aim for about 20 – 25mm depth (around 1”)

8. Using a pastry cutter, stamp out rounds and place them onto the baking tray, spaced apart. Any leftover dough can be worked & rolled again. (NB Dip the cutter into flour before each cut.)

9. Use a pastry brush to glaze the scones with the reserved beaten egg. Avoid dribbling it down the sides.

10. Bake them for around 15 – 18 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown. (I bake them for 8 – 9 minutes and turn the trays around and swap shelves then return them to the oven for a further 8- 9 minutes. The “professionals” may frown at this, but I think it’s OK. It evens out the baking and the colour. Sometimes I also give them a quick second egg wash.)

11. Cool the the baked scones on a wire rack.

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these scones. For more scone recipes click here. If you’d like to make a comment or ask a question please do, via the contact page, or have a look at the rest of my site for lots of other great sweet and savoury recipes.

Here are some more of my bakes that you might like to try:

Cherry and Walnut Rustic Scones