I almost never buy buttermilk, but a few weeks ago I had some in the fridge (leftover from making these) and was looking for ways to use it up. Scones jumped into my head because I also happened to have some lemon curd to use up, and there is practically nothing I like better than scones with lemon curd.
I picked this recipe because it was called “Our Finest Buttermilk Scones”, and that’s a name that’s hard to argue with. The scones turned out very nicely – light and flaky with a tender crumb. The recipe differs from my usual go-to scone recipe (other than the buttermilk, obviously) in that it includes an egg, which gives the scones just a little more structure, in my opinion. They leaked a bit of butter while baking, but that might have been because the butter wasn’t super cold by the time they made it into the oven.
Still, they rose up tall and tasted awesome warm from the oven and smothered in lemon curd, and later on as the vehicle for a ham and cheese sandwich. This recipe make an full dozen, which is a lot, especially as scones are best eaten fresh. Normally I would have halved the recipe or frozen half the unbaked scones for later, but I went for it and just ate scones all day instead. 😉
Mighty Fine Buttermilk Scones
Adapted from Canadian Living. Makes 12 scones.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. In a large bowl, whisk together:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
With a pastry cutter, cut in:
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
Work the butter into the flour until it is in roughly pea-size pieces (some larger, some smaller).
In a measuring cup, mix together:
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Make a well in the middle of the flour-butter mixture and pour the buttermilk-egg mixture in all at once.
With a fork, gently mix and fold the mixtures together until a rough dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead/press gently a few times, just to bring the dough together. Pat it out into a rectangle and fold it into thirds, like a letter. Pat it out again into a rectangle and fold it in half into a square. These folds will help the scones rise up nice and tall and flaky.
Pat the folded dough into a 10″ x 7″ rectangle and cut it into 6 squares. Cut each square in half diagonally into a triangle. Use a large, sharp knife and a single downward cutting motion when cutting the scones – this will also help them get nice and tall in the oven.
Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Brush them with a little bit of milk or cream and sprinkle them with coarse sugar.
Bake the scones in the preheated 400˚F oven for 12 – 15 minutes, until golden brown. Best served the day they are baked, preferably warm out of the oven (with lemon curd), but if you have any leftover the next day, they can be split in half and put in the toaster to liven them up.
These are some mighty fine scones. I know that I can never find buttermik here so I sub milk and vinegar instead.
That’s what I usually do, too!
0.0 OMG are perfect =)
Thanks Nieves 🙂
My goodness! These scones look delicious.
They were pretty good!
those scones look so fluffy and perfect, I bet they tasted amazing fresh out of the oven!
Yup, that’s definitely the best way to eat scones 🙂
“Eureka!”…I can always count on you to solve my baking problems whether you know that I have them or not (so far 100% of the time 😉 ). I have a jar full of milk kefir grains going nuts on the countertop. They LOVE the extended dry summer that we are having here in Tasmania so much more than I do. Good luck to you little guys…knock yourselves out BUT please stop making so much kefir?!!! I am vegan and don’t use it and Steve is an expat Brit who is naturally VERY suspicious about strange things that I try to initiate onto his plate (more-so than the dogs 😉 ) so I have to hide it in all different kinds of things. I have about a litre and a half of the thickening sour stuff in my fridge and had almost stooped to making labnah our of it BUT then you came along with this recipe that I can sub my kefir for your buttermilk and solve 2 problems with one stone! Mixed metaphors? “Forgedaboudit!” ;). I have your recipe and I am going to make the most delicious rich moist scones that Steve ever ate and he will be begging for them regularly (kefir overproduction problem SOLVED… my (and your) work here is DONE) 🙂
Nice! So glad to help 😉
As if the freshly-baked scones weren’t good enough, you topped them with lemon curd! This is a great recipe and serving suggestion. I never use up all of the buttermilk when I buy some for a recipe. Now I freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as needed.
That is a great tip, thanks! I usually just sub milk and a dash of vinegar whenever buttermilk is called for because I never actually need an entire carton, but that’s a brilliant idea.
I, too, love it when I have a container of buttermilk in my fridge. It seems so much nicer to pour a creamy cupful into a recipe than my old “vinegar in milk” trick. These scones are proof.. they look creamy and fluffy the way a good scone should be. I would have made the dozen myself! xx
So true – vinegar in milk is convenient, but it’s not the real deal.
this looks like the perfect breakfast bread and relatively easy to do! I have never made scones but actually they sound pretty healthy (not so much sugar added) and I love the picture with the crumb… i should have some buttermilk in the fridge too 🙂
You’ve never made scones?! That needs to change, ASAP!!
Great looking scones Korena! 🙂 I love the color and they seem so fluffy and delicious – just perfect to start a cold winter morning!
Thanks Sibella 🙂
Mmmmm…. your scones look very moist and yummy. I love lemon curd, too — a very lovely weekend snack or breakfast treat.
Good gracious those look great.
I attempted this recipe last night, but didn’t have any butter & attempted to use margarine. They didn’t come out as flaky, of course, but they still had a nice texture! I also forgot to add in the sugar (I’m such a great baker right…) Hehe, I had to make a strawberry sauce to go on top to give it the sugar it lacked. I can’t wait to retry this recipe with the butter AND sugar, I’m sure they’ll look and taste even better the second time around! Absolutely love your blog!! xo
Haha, I’m the worst for not reading a recipe properly and leaving out ingredients 😉 The strawberry sauce on top sounds pretty dynamite though! Butter makes all the difference – good luck on your next try and thanks for commenting! 🙂
I love how you presented the recipe, step by step – it will be easy to follow when I do try it!
Sounds delicious
I made these with a few changes: whole wheat flour instead of AP, brown sugar instead of granulated white, kefir, and only 7 tbsp of butter (all I had left) and they came out fantastic! They tasted so good by themselves, let alone with marmalade. Thanks for this foolproof recipe!
Glad to hear this recipe stood up so well to substitutions! Your version sounds delish 🙂