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Sour Cream Scones are the perfect cross between American biscuits and British Scones. Light and airy with a glorious crust and a touch of sweetness, they're perfect to share with your coven along with a pot of tea. It's gonna be awesome.
Friends, I think I might need to hibernate a bit longer. My Imbolc fires are burning low alredy, and all I can do is to protect the embers for the time being until I can fully recharge. The elements are against me. As I write, there's sideways rain and sleet blowing past my window. Winter is trying its best to hold on to power for a little bit longer.
But getting in my kitchen for a bit of quiet baking always helps me to recharge. There's solace in making something traditional, something you can really get your hands into. Something wholesome and simple that I can eat greedily, preferably sitting across from my love as we devour the fruits of my labor. These are the moments that bring a smile to my face.
What makes Sour Cream Scones so awesome?
These Sour Cream Scones are simple and just a little bit sweet. Rather than getting out a round cutter for these, I shape the dough into a rectangle and just cut the dough with a bench scraper or a pizza cutter. You could argue that they don't rise quite as well, but it doesn't make a big enough difference to bother me. And I think the shape makes them feel more like American scones even though the flavor is more like the British version.
This recipe uses sour cream instead of buttermilk which may be easier to find in the grocery store. I love how light and fluffy these are on the inside. On a special occasion, I'll buy clotted cream, but these are also great with just butter and jam. I like something tart like raspberry or blackberry, but go with what you love.
Make it magical
Everybody knows the best part of a coven meeting is cakes and ale, and the best part of afternoon tea is the scones with jam and cream. That's exactly what I'd make these scones for. I'd use them to invoke friendship, fun, love, and laughter.
The wheat in the flour carries feminine energy. Sugar can be called on to boost the attraction power of any spell. Eggs, baking soda and salt both have protection properties. Butter can smooth relationships, while cream is associated with motherhood. All of these ingredients combined could create a powerful spell to strengthen your female friendships.
Tips for making Sour Cream Scones
These sour cream scones are made by hand, no machines. It's a fairly traditional process of combining dry ingredients, rubbing in cold butter, then mixing in wet ingredients, in this case, sour cream, water, and an egg. I use a rubber spatula to mix the wet ingredients in, but you could do this by hand.
Once you have your ingredients combined, you'll finish things off by kneading it a few times on a floured surface. Then press the dough out into a rectangle about an inch thick. You can cut them into circle with a biscuit cutter or just use a pizza cutter to cut six squares. That way you don't have to deal with scraps.
Transfer your scones to a baking sheet and bake at high heat for about 10 minutes. They'll be beautifully risen and pale golden. Let them cool for a bit so that your cream doesn't melt all over the place. These are great at room temperature
FAQ
I like raspberry jam and clotted cream, but butter and jam is awesome as well. They're slightly sweet on their own, so you could really get creative with the toppings.
Scones usually have a bit of sugar and an egg, where as biscuits are generally just dry ingredients, fat, and buttermilk or cream.
Share these sour cream scones with people you love. I promise you'll all be happier for it. That's how magic works.
Looking for more awesome scone and biscuit recipes? Try some Pumpkin Scones or Self-Rising Biscuits.
PrintSour Cream Scones
Sour Cream Scones are the perfect cross between American biscuits and British Scones. Light and airy with a glorious crust and a touch of sweetness, they're perfect to share with your coven along with a pot of tea. It's gonna be awesome.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 12
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teasoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- ⅜ (6 tablespoons) cup cold sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons cold water
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F (200C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add your chunks of butter and use your fingers to squish the butter and flour together until you have a loose shaggy mixture.
- In a separate dish, whisk together sour cream, water, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix quickly and gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until everything starts to stick together.
- I build my scones right on my parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some flour onto the parchment, plop your dough onto the tray, and sprinkle some more flour on top to keep everything from sticking. Gently pat your dough into a rough rectangle until it's about an inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into six pieces. Gently lift each piece to spread it out a bit on the baking tray.
- Baking for abut 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm with all your favorite jam.
laura says
i was a bit confused by the recipe.. the 1-1/2? is that a sliding scale? Ive never seen a sliding scale for baking powder so i put in the whole amount. But i only used 1 cup of flour. Over all id say they were good but a bit greasy, maybe too much butter? they oozed on the baking sheet. i liked the texture and tasted great with Jam. Oh i couldnt make it work to assemble on the baking sheet there were so many crumbs i was trying to pick up and afraid they would burn. that said i will probably make agian.. the addition of sour cream gave a nice tang...
Renee says
That's one and a half. Apologies if the hyphen was confusing. There is never a sliding scale of ingredients in a baking recipe. The more precise you can be the better. If your butter was oozing, it was probably too warm. You always want to keep your butter as cold as possible in recipes like this. Maybe next time put your mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes after cutting in the butter.
Christine says
As a retired pastry chef, and not a baker.... I have not had any luck with scones.
However, I tried this recipe and had a great outcome.
These are just like my favorite Irish scones back in County Galway.
Renee says
Wow, what a huge compliment. So glad you liked them!
Gerry says
Hello - I'd like to make your Sconce recipe; can I add cranberries? it sounded like a simple good recipe. Thank you.
Renee says
I haven't personally tried it, but I think that would be delicious. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes.