These raspberry scones are buttery, tender, lightly sweetened, and irresistible. They are made with fresh raspberries and topped with a lemon glaze.
Scones, like banana muffins and French toast casserole (a.k.a. bread pudding), are one of those desserts that you eat for breakfast without anyone blinking an eye. And, with raspberry scones, you are even getting in some morning fruit!
These scones are considered American scones in that they are a little sweeter and slightly more dense than English scones (which are more like what we in the US would call biscuits).
The Secret to Making the Best Raspberry Scones
Similar to when you make pie crust or homemade puff pastry, the secret to perfect scones is getting the temperature of the butter correct.
The butter must be cold!
You don’t want the butter to fully integrate into the dough. Even when the dough is completely done, it should look a bit lumpy with little pea-sized pieces of butter throughout.
How to Make Raspberry Scones
Start by whisking together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Then cut in small pieces of COLD butter. Mix in the butter with your hands, squeezing it to smash it down as you work. Stop when the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces. You could also use a food processor – giving short pulses until the butter is the correct size. If you do this with an electric mixer, you run the risk of over-mixing.
In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest. I always add lemon zest to my raspberry scones because lemon and raspberry go so well together (think raspberry lemonade).
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a spatula or a dough whisk. Again, you want to be careful not to overwork the dough. When you are done, everything should be combined, but the batter will still be lumpy.
At this point, you could divide the dough evenly and put it into a greased scone pan – this will make the most uniform scones.
Or, you could form the batter into a circle onto a parchment or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet and cut it into sections. Unlike desserts like madeleines where the correct pan is a must, you can make perfectly respectable scones without a scone pan. This method yields less uniform scones (unless you measure your cuts), but the edges of each scone come out more crispy.
Before baking, place several raspberries on top of each scone.
Then, bake for 20 minutes at 400 F or until the top of each scone is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.
Lemon Glaze
I top my scones with a simple two-ingredient lemon glaze made by mixing together lemon juice and powdered sugar.
I use a ratio of 2 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice to 1/2 cup powdered sugar. The goal is for the glaze to be thick, but still flowy.
Raspberry Scone Variation
For a totally fun twist on these scones, I like giving them a crumb topping. (Let’s be honest, I like giving everything a crumb topping – see my apple crumble pie).
To do so, mix together 1/4 cup of melted butter, 1/2 cup + two tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons of rolled oats to make crumbs. Put the unbaked crumbs over the scone dough before baking.
Can You Freeze Scones?
Scones are best eaten within a few days, but you can freeze them in an airtight container for months.
Raspberry Scones
Ingredients
Scone Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter cold
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon
- 32 raspberries
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Scone Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut in small pieces of cold butter and mix with your hands until you can just see pea-sized pieces of butter.
- In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients a little bit at a time until just combined - the batter will be lumpy.
- Divide batter evenly between the sections of a greased scone pan. Or, press the batter into a thick circle onto a parchment- or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet and cut it into eight sections.
- Place four raspberries on top of each uncooked scone.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the scones are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
Lemon Glaze Instructions
- Stir the powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl until you have a thick but still flowy glaze. Add more powdered sugar or juice as needed.
- Drizzle over cooled scones.
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