Easy Drop Scones

These foolproof, Easy Drop Scones are a reader favorite and will soon become your favorite too!

Welcome to my blog and thanks for reading! I took a few weeks off this summer to spend time with my family.  Now I am back to share stories, recipes, techniques and tips. I write the kind of blog I would want to read myself, with easy to follow recipes you can tailor to your taste and add to your own culinary bag of tricks.

I did not start out as a good or enthusiastic cook. But I love food and entertaining, so I decided to go with my friend MB to cooking school in Dallas at the age of 47.  As a private chef, I now mainly cook for family and friends. Blogging about food and posting recipes keeps my mind (and knives) sharp. In fact, practicing and writing down recipes with clear, easy to follow instructions allows me to understand the techniques better myself.

 The main thing I learned in cooking school is: You don’t have to go to cooking school or have fancy equipment to become a good cook.  If you have passion, can read and follow instructions carefully, you can cook and bake too….

 Since I was a little girl, I have loved to bake. Muffins, brownies, cake, pie, cobblers, cookies……. you name it.

Apple crumble is my personal favorite. Since my parents and I were always counting calories, however, baked goods were reserved for special occasions. I probably craved baked goods as I kid because I rarely ever ate them! Today I say, who needs a special occasion to make drop scones?

A scone is similar to an American biscuit.  It is an individual pastry or quick bread, that is sometimes slightly sweet.

This seven ingredient recipe is for a plain scone, although you can easily mix in 1/2 – 1 cup of anything you like: dried or fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, etc… Scones made with dried currants or raisins are popular. Use this recipe as a base and add your creativity to the mix.

Make these scones to fit your needs. If you need a gluten free scone, use a gluten free all purpose flour. If you are vegan, replace the 1 cup of cream with 3/4 cup “culinary” coconut milk. No sugar?

Sugar is optional. The best part about these scones is that you don’t need a mixer, a rolling pin or even a biscuit cutter.

The less you handle the batter, the taller and fluffier the result. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to gently scoop and place the free form scones on a baking sheet. The free form scones look rustic and more “homemade” too. After baking the scones, use a butter knife to gently separate the scones and serve warm or let cool on a baking rack.

In the US, we pronounce scones with a long o sound, whereas in Great Britain and Australia, scone rhymes with the word gone, as in this little rhyme I found on Wiki:

I asked the maid in dulcet tone

To order me a buttered scone;

The silly girl has been and gone

And ordered me a buttered scone.

Make a batch for the weekend and watch them disappear!

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★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Easy Drop Scones

• Author: Dana Gerard
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 22 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 2 mins
• Yield: 12-14 1x

Ingredients

• 3 cups All Purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• *½ cup sugar (optional)
• *1 cup cream or milk of choice
• 1 cup lemonade (or sprite or ginger ale)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• *Reserve additional ¼ cup cream and ¼ cup sugar for the tops

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F or 400 F convection bake. Spray baking sheet with baking spray and line with parchment paper.
2. Measure out all dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift or just mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (optional).
3. Measure liquid ingredients. Using a two-cup or larger liquid container and a spoon, stir together cream, lemonade and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in cream/lemonade mixture. With a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, gently pull through and turn over the batter about 20 times, until batter is fairly uniform.
5. Do not over mix.
6. Rest the batter. Take a clean, slightly wet dishtowel, spray with baking spray and place over the dough. While the dough sits for 10 minutes, place baking sheet lined with parchment in preheated oven to warm up. After 10 minutes, use an oven mitt to remove hot baking sheet and place it next to the scone batter.
7. To form scones, use a lightly oiled ¼ cup measure. Scoop and place scones, one at a time, on the baking sheet against the long edge of the raised sidewalls, just slightly touching each other to help them rise. You should have 6 -7 scones against each wall. If you have more scones, just make a second row that slightly touches the scones on the first row.
8. Brush the tops of scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
9. Bake 18 -22 minutesin the top third of the oven until tops are firm and golden brown. (To make sure scones brown evenly, rotate the baking pan once during cooking, after the first ten minutes.)
10. Scones are best served warm and last about 24 hours.
11. Reheat gently, covered, in microwave or oven.
12. Variations GF or Low Carb: Use gluten free or almond flour, skip the sugar, use sugar free lemonade or sugar free Sprite.
13. Vegan: Replace cream with 3/4 cup “culinary” coconut milk.
14. Sugar Free: Replace sugar with stevia or leave sugar out. Use sugar free lemonade or sugar free Sprite.
15. Mix ins: 1/2 – 1 cup your choice of dried or fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, or chocolate chips. Or add 1 T citrus zest (lemon, lime or orange).
16. Savory: Leave out sugar and vanilla. Replace lemonade with 3/4 cup water + juice of 1 lemon. Add spice or herb of choice, such as 1 T chili powder or 1 T rosemary. Mix in cheese or vegetables.

Notes

Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen & The Internet Chef