Have you tried the scones?

Dear Reader,

Are you a fan of scones? If you are an American, you may be picturing the sweet, triangular baked goods that are often served at Starbucks or other cafes. If you are British, you may be envisioning a round, slightly-less sweet treat. Because I was running low on eggs (due to the pandemic), I decided to embark on an eggless cooking adventure which brought me to a handful of different scone recipes. Over the course of about a week, I made five different types of scones (whoops!) and only ended up using one egg. If you are interested in trying out short, simple, scone recipes, please, read on!

American Scones vs. British Scones

According to CooksIllustrated.com the biggest difference between American and British scones is the butter. While Americans naturally bake more butter into the scones, the British typically slather butter on top of their baked goods. Another difference (according to the same website), is that American scones are more likely to have add-ins like fruits, while British scones tend to be more basic (with some raisins or currants now and again). In my experience, American scones are often sweeter, dryer, harder, and are eaten “as is,” while British scones are softer (a bit more like bread) and are traditionally consumed with jam or butter. Additionally, curiously, I find that American scones are often served at room temperature, while British ones are served warm. In short, they are essentially different baked goods with the same name—but both are very good!

Apple Scones (British Recipe used)

I found this apple scone recipe on ChristinasCucina.com. Following the recipe yielded a subtly sweet, soft scone that satisfied alone, but also went well with butter.

Blueberry Lemon Scones (American Recipe used)

This recipe from JoyfulHealthyEasts.com yielded sweet blueberry scones, topped with a vegan lemon glaze. On a sweetness scale, these treats seemed a bit more suitable for an afternoon snack or dessert rather than breakfast.

English Scones (British Recipe used)

RockRecipes.com provided me with this “Proper English Scones” recipe. It was easy to make and tasted great warm with butter and jam (even though I forgot to add sugar into the batter!). My only critique is that the dough had a strange texture—chewy even.

Lemon Scones (American Recipe used)

In a search for “healthy lemon scones,” I found myself on AmysHealthyBaking.com. This was one of the first scone recipes that I tried. While the scones turned out well, the recipe seemed a great deal less healthy than the British recipes (especially considering the icing is mostly confectioner’s sugar). Either way, the taste is great!

Maple Walnut Scones (American Recipe used)

This New Hampshire Maple Walnut scone was my first attempt at scone baking—the gateway scone, if you will. It was delicious, sweet, and did not include white sugar (maple syrup for sweetener and confectioner’s syrup for the glaze). The ease and goodness that came from this little recipe is the reason why I forayed into scone-ing in the first place. So, if you have maple syrup lying around—why not give it a try!

While I prefer to bake sweet breads and cakes, making scones provided me with all of the joy of baking with the benefit of fewer ingredients and less time spent in the kitchen.

If you have 45 minutes to spare, consider trying any (or all) of the above recipes 🙂

Love,

Raven