Traditional Irish Fruit Scones
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A traditional recipe for Irish Fruit Scones. Very similar to American buttermilk biscuits with the addition of dried fruit, sugar, and an egg.
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.
How to Make Traditional Irish Fruit Scones
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.
More Recipes You May Like
- Boxty – Irish Potato Pancakes
- Classic Irish Stew
- Champ for Your St . Patrick’s Day
- Irish Spiced Fruitcake
- Irish Currant Scones
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Fruit Scones
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter (1 stick )
- 1 cup raisins dark or golden
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons 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
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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.
I recently made scones and I love them especially with fruit inside. Your scones look wonderful!
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 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.
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…..
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 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.
I have always wanted to make scones but have been intimidated by them before. They look so good!
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. :)