My Grandma's Scone Recipe - Scottish Scran (2024)

Food is a huge part of travel. It’s tied to history and culture, and when we travel part of the way we experience another country is through what we eat.

So what’s that got to do with scones?

Well, scones are my grandmother’s speciality. I’ve watched her make them countless times over the years as I grew up in New Zealand. Whenever there was a family occasion, my Grandma would make scones.

The scone recipe is so ingrained in her that she doesn’t even use measurements anymore and does it all by muscle memory, look, and feel.

Whenever I bought scones out in cafes, I was always disappointed because they weren’t as good as my Grandma’s! And it’s not just me; my Grandma won competitions with her scones too.

Then I moved to Scotland.

Scones are big here, literally and figuratively. In my early days of cafe hunting in Edinburgh, I came across them almost everywhere I went, alongside treats like Old School Cake, Mars Bar Slice, Chocolate Tiffin, and Mint Aero Traybake.

But I stuck to what I knew, and it became usual for me to get the soup of the day, followed by a big, delicious scone. I know I’m not alone as I see many travellers get hooked on Scottish Scones too.

Scones are popular all over the UK, especially as part of afternoon tea, but I seem to associate them more with Scotland since I moved here! Most of the Scottish scones I’ve had are pretty good, although I still sometimes miss a good batch from my Grandma.

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Are Scones Scottish?

There are actually some who would claim that scones were invented in Scotland!

The first mention of them is in a book translated by a Scottish poet in 1513, and some even say they were named after the Stone of Destiny, also called the Stone of Scone, after where it was kept in Scone Abbey near Scone in Scotland. Sensing a theme there…

In any case, scones remind me of New Zealand, thanks to my Grandma and Scotland. So when I was speaking to my Grandma recently, I decided to take a little trip down memory lane and get her scone recipe, in the hopes of being able to re-create them for myself.

This wasn’t as easy as you might think, and involved me holding up a block of butter and milk and her estimating how much she would use. But we got there in the end!

What’s the difference between Scones and Biscuits?

I know many of you are side-eyeing me with this question because if biscuits to you are a sweet snack that comes in many varieties, you’re wondering how on earth I could confuse one with a scone.

But when I moved to the USA, I was introduced to their version of “biscuits”, which incidentally looked somewhat like a scone. Except they cover them in sausage gravy…

So for those of you wondering what a scone is (looking at you, Americans!), it’s basically like a biscuit.

When I was looking up the difference, many websites mentioned that scones have eggs in them, which isn’t true. I’ve never made a scone with egg in it before! Maybe some do, but I wouldn’t say it’s a common traditional scone recipe.

It seems like the difference is more in the fat or sugar content. I’ve also never used sugar in a scone although some people might, scones do have almost twice the amount of butter as a biscuit.

They’re also usually served with jam, cream, or butter (or all three!), unless they’re specifically a savoury scone, like the cheese scone popular in New Zealand. In the USA biscuits are usually served with a gravy or savoury dishes, more like a bread.

Anyway, if you feel like indulging in a bit of British baking, making scones is a great idea! They’re fairly simple and don’t use too many ingredients.

So here we go! I’ve laid out some tips for making this recipe with step-by-step photos and the full instructions underneath.

Making this Easy Scone Recipe

I took some photos as I made my latest batch so that you can see a step-by-step scone recipe and what it should look like at each stage. I’ve also included a few more tips!

When sifting the flour and baking powder into a bowl, my Grandma said you could use 4 “good” cups, as in don’t worry about levelling them off too precisely. I use baking powder although I do use self-raising flour which technically already has a rising agent in it.

You have to get your hands dirty when it comes to rubbing the butter into the flour. You can use some tools to help get the butter and the flour mixed together, like a pastry cutter/blender, but you’ll still likely need to use your hands.

DON’T MELT THE BUTTER. It’s tempting to think you can melt it and mix it in, but it doesn’t work. You can take the butter out of the fridge to let it soften up a bit; otherwise, you’ll need to cut it really finely in, or even grate it if it’s hard from the fridge.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips, and keep feeling around for any lumps. It should end up looking like a bit like breadcrumbs, like in the photo above.

You can add extras at this point if you like. Popular extra flavours include sultanas or grated cheese.

When adding the milk, some people use a knife, but my Grandma uses a fork. You can tip the milk in and then take the fork and sort of stir it up and try and pull it together. The mixture shouldn’t be too wet or too dry. It’s a bit of a fine line!

Once you’ve used the fork to try and bring it together, you might need to get your hands into the bowl too. Try only to use your fingertips to work some of the loose bits into the dough.

If the mixture gets really sticky, you may need to add a little more flour, or if it’s too dry and not coming together then gradually add more milk until it does.

You can work the dough a little more on a floured benchtop or mat, but you don’t want to overdo it! My Grandma definitely stressed the need only to use your fingers when working it together. You don’t need to knead it like bread.

My Grandma had a similar metal cookie cutter like this that she always used for the scones, so to me, this is scone shape!

You can just cut the dough into squares or triangles though, or even use the rim of a glass dipped in flour then pushed down into the dough to make circle scones.

If you’ve made cheese scones you can top them with a little grated cheese too.

I brushed the top of these scones with some milk and baked them in a 200C fan oven for about 10 minutes.

There is some variation based on ovens and what temperature you go with, but I usually go about 200C with ours. You’ll get to know your oven, as my Grandma says!

Usually, I serve them with either butter and jam, or jam and cream. Clotted cream is the best!

This recipe made about 18. There always seems to be one little one at the end, no matter how much mixture you make!

Can you freeze scones?

If that seems like a lot, you can actually freeze scones. Put them in a bag and squeeze out as much air as you can.

Of course, my Grandma had a special tool for getting the air out of bags too! I don’t even know if you can buy them anymore…

When you want to eat one from the freezer get it out and sit on the kitchen bench until thawed, it won’t take too long, or put in the microwave on 10-second blasts until it’s done. It’s always nice to reheat a little anyway!

And that’s my Grandma’s recipe for scones, made in Scotland!

Other Scone Recipes to Try

• Date Scones
• Marmite and Cheese Scones
• Treacle Scones

Sonja x