Scones of any sort are a huge favorite of mine. And, really, why wouldn’t they be? Just compare this traditional Irish recipe for Fruit Scones with a typical southern American buttermilk biscuit. Uh huh. Very similar, isn’t it? It’s really just a buttermilk biscuit with a bit of sugar and an egg added in. And some dried fruit for good measure.
The older I get and the more I learn and research about traditional Irish foods, the more I can see those roots in the foods I grew up with. It really makes sense because all around south Georgia you’ll find Irish surnames. Dunn (O’Duinn), Toole (O’Toole), O’Hearn (Aherne), Burke (de Burgh), Campbell, Fanning, Fitzgerald, Grady (Ó Grádaigh), Kelly (Ó’Ceallaigh), Regan (O’Riagain)…and many more. They’re everywhere. And somewhere, way back there, the people who brought those surnames and place names to south Georgia more than likely brought their food traditions with them. I like to think that those stalwart settlers would have enjoyed one of these lightly sweetened scones with a nice cup of tea in the afternoon.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. The butter is easier to incorporate if it’s nice and cold and you cut it into small cubes. You can use a pastry cutter or just “rub” it in with the tips of your fingers and thumbs. Either way works. Most of the time I use my hands just so I won’t have to wash another kitchen utensil. I’m lazy like that.
After you’ve cut or rubbed in the butter, add the raisins. You can use light or dark raisins or any other dried fruit that you like. I particularly like diced, dried apricots and have had delicious scones made with dried cherries.
Beat the egg together with the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the liquids. Stir together just until a dough forms. Do not overmix.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. At this point, it really will look like a shaggy mess. Just pat it into a 1” thick rectangle. I sometimes knead it once or twice, but no more! Kneading will make the dough tough.
Cut the dough into 12 squares. Or make a circle and cut it into triangles. Whatever you like. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet. Brush with a bit of milk or cream.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Serve with some good Irish butter like Kerrygold and a bit of jam on the side.
Enjoy!
Fruit Scones
A traditional recipe for Irish fruit scones, a lightly sweetened buttermilk biscuit with dried fruit.
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup raisins (dark or golden)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- Milk or cream for brushing tops of scones
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the raisins.
- Beat the egg together with the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the liquids. Stir together just until a dough forms. Do not overmix.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 1” thick rectangle. Cut into 12 squares.
- Transfer the scones to the baking sheet. Brush with a bit of milk or cream. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Notes
All text and photographs on Never Enough Thyme are copyright protected. Please do not use any material from this site without obtaining prior permission. If you'd like to post this recipe on your site, please create your own original photographs and either re-write the recipe in your own words or link to this post.
More scone recipes that you might enjoy from around the internet:
- Strawberry White Chocolate Scones from Budget Bytes
- Ginger Scones from Simply Recipes
- Sweet Potato Scones with Maple Cream Glaze from Brown Eyed Baker
- Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Scones from Baking Bites
- Glazed Orange Scones from My Baking Addiction
- Cream Scones Drizzled with Chocolate from She Wears Many Hats
What I was up to…
- One year ago: Strawberry Icebox Cake
- Two years ago: Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese
- Three years ago: Coconut Meringue Pie
- Four years ago: Dutch Baby
- Five years ago: Steak and Eggs and Salsa Chicken
Are these lighter than your Irish Currant Scones recipe from 2011?
Linda,
I’m not sure if they’re “lighter” per se. They’re a different type of scone. The currant scones are cream scones (they call for heavy whipping cream) and these are buttermilk scones. Buttermilk is definitely lighter in calories than heavy whipping cream.
they look like beautiful scones!
Thank you, Dina. They’re delicious, too.
I love scones! These look so good!
Me too, Marly! How could I not? They’re a little bit sweet from the sugar and a little “tangy” from the buttermilk. Perfect combination.
I love all the talk about Irish heritage here! Someone once told me that my last name once began with an ” O’ ” but I haven’t been able to find any proof of that.
These scones look super tasty! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Samantha – if you’re really interested, there are lots of Irish heritage resources on the internet where you can find out about the origins of your surname. And thanks for the comment about the scones – they are very delicious!
I love scones, and these look so amazing! I should make them more often.
Me too, Angie! If you can make a buttermilk biscuit, you can make scones!
I like the way you made it into a rectangle then cut. Seems much easier than the way I’ve always done it as a round circle then in triangles. I love scones!
The squares are lots easier, Brenda. Easier to move from the cutting board to the baking sheet, too.
I also happen to be a huge fan of scones! Yummy!
Me too, Ashley. I never met a scone I didn’t like :-)
These scones look lovely! I love making scones on the weekend….so good!
They are perfect weekend breakfast and brunch food, aren’t they? Quick and easy to make and everyone enjoys them.
These look perfect!
Thank you, Lauren.
First of all, I love the name of your blog – it made me laugh!! :)
Secondly, I love scones myself and these look PERFECT!
I lived in Ireland for almost two years and I wish they would have made yummy treats like this – no such luck ;)
Thanks, Rose. Glad I could make you smile :-)
I absolutely love scones. Thanks for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Ginny! Thank *you* for visiting and commenting.
Come right on down and make those. I have all the ingredients handy.
Miss P
I’ll be right there. Leave the back door open :-)
Your scones look perfect! I haven’t made them in forever.
Maybe it’s time to bake a batch again, Erin!
These scones look like the perfect way to start the day!
They are, Rebecca. They’re also a great snack or dessert.
Scones are so delicious, namely because the amount of butter used in them! Yours look fantastic!
Hi, Lana, these scones look delicious and you have some beautiful pix to go with it. My DIL is born and raised in Ireland and I love the foods she cooks up. :)
I have always wanted to make scones but have been intimidated by them before. They look so good!
I adore scones! I’m with you too; apricots are my favorite dried fruit. I’d definitely use them, though I’d have to come up with something fun for the second one … cherries sound yummy but I’m just not sure.
Scones are a weekend favorite. I love to bake them mostly on quiet and lazy Sunday mornings before everyone wakes up. Yours look fantastic, Lana!!
I’m not big on sweet for breakfast, so I love the dry, crumby texture of a scone with a little bit of salted butter. Mmmm…..
I realize I have never seen scone made up in a rectangle. I like it. The bits of fruit look like sweet polka dots. I like that too. But best of all I like the connection to Irish scones. No reason. It just seems to make the recipe more authentic—more ‘sconey’. Makes no sense, but it doesn’t matter when we are talking about warm scones slathered with melting butter.
These look so delicious! I’ve never made any kind of scones, but I’ve always wanted to. Yours look perfect, I’ll have to finally make some. Love the recipe!
I recently made scones and I love them especially with fruit inside. Your scones look wonderful!
After heart surgery, I like to follow the recipes, and try them out, but without nutrition information, they do us little good.
Bruce – I don’t provide nutrition information my recipes because, 1) I’m a cook, not a nutritionist and 2) there’s too much legal liability in doing so. There are several sites on the web that do nutrition analysis. You plug in the ingredients in a recipe and it gives you the analysis. You’ll get a different result from every one of them. If you’re interested, you can do a Google search to find one.