Sour Cream and Fruit Scones Recipe (2024)

By Dawn Perry

Sour Cream and Fruit Scones Recipe (1)

Total Time
35 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(1,497)
Notes
Read community notes

The benefit of using frozen fruit in these tangy scones is in how it keeps the butter cold. Cold butter melts slowly in the oven, creating steam and tender pockets in the scones. The frozen fruit also doesn’t get smashed the way fresh fruit does. You can freeze the scones before baking for up to a month, just add a few minutes to the baking time. They are delicious on their own or with a bit of butter, but, for extra credit, split and toast the scones, then mix a spoonful of sour cream with some freshly whipped cream and sandwich inside.

Featured in: 3 Summery Sweets You Can Make With Frozen Fruit

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Ingredients

Yield:8 scones

  • 2cups/255 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
  • ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
  • 1tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½cup/115 grams cold unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 1cup frozen cherries (halved), peaches (in bite-size pieces) or berries
  • ½cup/120 milliliters sour cream or plain full-fat Greek yogurt
  • ¼cup/60 milliliters milk (preferably whole, but whatever you have is OK)
  • 1large egg, beaten

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

304 calories; 14 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 260 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Sour Cream and Fruit Scones Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the upper third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Step

    2

    Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate butter directly into the dry ingredients, stopping a few times along the way to toss the butter pieces into the flour. Use your fingers to work the butter into slightly smaller pieces. Add cherries and toss to combine.

  3. Step

    3

    In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and milk. Add to the flour mixture, and use a fork to stir until all the dry flour bits are incorporated, but the dough is still shaggy. Smoosh and knead the dough a few times until it barely holds together, then dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

  4. Step

    4

    Pat dough to a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 8 squares, transfer to the prepared sheet, and brush the tops with beaten egg.

  5. Step

    5

    Bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool slightly. Scones will keep, covered at room temperature, for 3 days. Reheat, if you like, in a toaster oven or at 350 degrees until warmed through.

Ratings

4

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1,497

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Cooking Notes

N.C. Hammer

The fruits make this dough very sticky so have extra flour for your hands and work surface. Freeze the stick of butter and use a hand grater to add it to the dry ingredients in small pea size butter balls. Add lemon zest and vanilla extract and I brush the top and sides with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar before baking to add crunch. Because the dough is sticky, don't separate them fully before baking. Cut it, bake it for 18-23 minutes, then separate fully, and bake five minutes longer.

Miriam

Is it essential to use a grater for the butter and your hands for mixing? It seems that using your hands would melt the butter. It’s so much easier to use the food processor to mix the butter and the dry ingredients.

JMac

These are the best scones I ever made! Pulsed the dry ingredients together in a food processsor. Cubed a stick of frozen butter and cut it into the flour with the processor. Turned it all into a bowl, tossed in berries and then the. wet ingredients. Didn't have frozen fruit so used fresh blueberries. Sprinkled a tiny bit of sugar over the egg wash; baked 18 minutes. Perfect. Next time I would cut them into 12 or 16 as they were huge.

Mary Burns

I've made these twice now (so good) but the first time was SO sticky i almost gave up. This time, I used a little more milk (thanks, John b).But the BIG progress was using a sheet of parchment paper--once I dumped the 'shaggy' dough onto the floured (plastic, not wooden) board, i laid the parchment paper on top and pressed down on it and all around the sides to form the rectangle, which worked wonderfully. Thin spatula to transfer to baking sheet with more parchment. No sticky hands!

Mark Israel

At Still Delicious Bakery we routinely use pure coconut yogurt in lieu of sour cream and/or yogurt. Consistency of coconut yogurt varies across different brands so overtime you may want to try different ones. Anita's is quite thick and locally made if you can locate it. Enjoy.

vaughan

Grating frozen butter is the best way there is for incorporating it in this type of baked good. Works like a charm and I won't do it any other way. I keep plenty of butter around in the freezer.I have found that freezing scones and biscuits for a bit after they are formed makes them tender. You can also make a batch of something, freeze them and bake them off as wanted.I've worked in restaurants that use frozen commercial biscuits and they go straight from the freezer to a hot oven.

john b

Excellent and just sweet enough! I found that I had to add 2-3 tablespoons more milk to compensate for dry flour.

Sconey the Scone Man

Use a rimmed baking sheet. I didn't and the butter melted and my fire alarms were uuuhhhhhh thoroughly displeased.

Diana

I wish I hadn't made these! They weren't scones. Were recipe testers used?I now see comments that matched my outcome: "tasty, but like a cross between a moist cookie and a pancake. They didn't rise at all, rather flattened out and not scone-like crumbly at all." "more "flat muffin" "missing the biscuit-like texture I expect from a scone". My family: "like an apple fritter".I'm an extremely experienced baker, followed drxns precisely, use gram scale. Maybe they need real kneading?

Sandee

Grate the butter and stick it in the freezer before doing anything else. Make sure to use fresh baking powder and to space the scones at least two inches apart on the baking sheet. (They puff up more than you’d expect.). Absolutely perfect scones!

Liz Dalton

Most delicious scones ever. Just the right balance of sweetness and butter. I used fresh blueberries. This recipe is a winner! Yummmm

LSE

Served, first time since pandemic, at small family gathering (6 all using social distancing). Used frozen mixed berries, added lemon zest and served with farm cream - it was a massive success. Will definitely be making these again.

Danielle C.

We made this recipe as written, other than grating the butter and placing it in the freezer before proceeding. We also added turbinado sugar to the top after washing with egg. They are divine and easy. Husband and I both let out a little groan after tasting.

Bellaverdi

Very tasty. Will try with other fruits. I used frozen sliced peaches, which I cut ahead then returned to freezer until time to assemble all. Good suggestion from others to get everything measured ahead. Even with that, I worried that the mixture was just going to fall apart. I kneaded a couple more times, then coaxed it all together. I left the dough a bit too thick, probably 1 1/2 inches, so needed 25 minutes to bake. Next time I will fashion dough ball in a disc and cut into 8 triangles.

Sandunes

Made with some raspberries found at the bottom of the freezer. These are wonderful! Not dry at all, like some scones. I made some slight changes in the ingredients because pandemic, but the recipe was resilient and delicious!

Brent

When using your hands to form the scones it helps to keep your hands moistened. I guess experienced bakers already know that. I didn't.

Julie

Delicious. I followed JMac’s suggestion re: food processor because grating frozen butter is a chore. Used a mix of frozen berries, cut the dough into 16 small triangles, and they came out the perfect size. They are fluffier than a typical scone - they almost had a “muffin top” consistency but I really enjoy that. Definitely going to make again w/different flavor combos, and I’ll probably add some citrus zest next time!!

Mariela

These were delicious and easy to make. I did not use the box grater, simply cut the butter into tiny cubes and mixed with my hands. I also skipped the last step to place the dough on the counter and cut into squares. I simply mixed in a bowl and formed squares with my hands. I ran out of eggs and skipped that step also.I used frozen peaches.

Jim B

These are a huge hit at our house for weekend breakfasts and the leftovers last in the fridge all week long. A few tips I’ve learned along the way: Wet your hands before you pat out the dough into a rectangle to make it less sticky. Use chocolate milk with the sour cream to make it extra rich and delicious. Add a little flaky salt on top of the scones right before you put them in the oven to balance out the richness.

mMLW

This is a super easy and delicious scone! I really enjoyed reading comments and will definitely try some suggestions. I used blueberries and sour cream, and the dough was very loose and dry. I was afraid I needed to add more liquid. However, I just used it as is and formed the scones as directed (except I made 12 instead of eight) and they were absolutely beautiful! I am in Colorado at about 6000 feet.

Chris

This is a great scone recipe. Straightforward, adjustable, flexible. And simple! I cut it in half and made a batch of 6 wedge shaped scones, filled with lots of fresh strawberries and orange peel, and coated with a thin orange glaze. The perfect base recipe for creativity and using what is on hand.

triciaj

Followed the recipe (with scale for weights) and I know our oven is calibrated, but these did not work for me. The batter was very sticky and they spread *a lot* so I followed someone’s tip to cut again and separate partway through the baking (at 18 minutes). Flipped at 22 minutes and cooked for 5 more minutes with convection on but they were still a wee bit gummy in the center. They taste good but texture is weird. (Reduced sugar to 80 grams; cut into 12 pieces instead of 8.)

Yaronit

These are so good!! Usually I do not prefer scones because they seem dry and unappealing. These are far from dry. I used plain whole milk yogurt that I strained overnight to get extra water out, whole milk, some frozen mixed berries I had in the freezer and some diced fresh peaches I froze overnight. I think the deeply frozen fruit required these to be baked longer. Also, I cut into 12 squares and found them to be the perfect size. Could the sugar be reduced??

Leggy

I made these with frozen halved bing cherries and added a teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for flavor enhancement. I have made scones many times before and I grate frozen butter and take care not to overmix the ingredients. Compared to other scone recipes this mixture seemed dry. To help the dough come together I squished some of the cherries. After cutting the scones there was enough “dry edges to mix together for a 9th scone. After baking they were flaky and moist.

Rachelita

As others commented, this didn’t turn out like a scone - mine melted all over the parchment- but it did resemble a delicious peach cake of some sort. I followed the directions exactly and it refused to remain firm in baking. So, while not a scone exactly, the end result did taste great.

Jennifer

These are the best scones I’ve ever made. I used fresh, halved cherries and used whipping cream since that was the only milk I had on hand. More calories but oh so worth it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

Aleta McGhee

Add 2 more tbsp milk, or mixture is too dry. A dough scraper to mix the butter into the flour, and then the rest of the ingredients keeps mixture cold. Have wet ingredients ready before grating the butter. I added 1/2 tsp vanilla and some lemon rind. Have made with sour cream and with yogurt, both came out very flaky, due to doing everything possible to keep the butter cold. If yours don't rise or the butter melts out while baking, your butter got warm. Cut cherries into quarters

JAA

I have made better scones. I made them as per the recipe with blueberries and found that they didn’t rise as much as I would have liked and were rather tasteless. I will not be making them again.

Lauren b

I use buttermilk instead of regular milk and they come out incredible every time. My go to is blueberry (with frozen berries).

Mike

Prepared according to the recipe: to die for.

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Sour Cream and Fruit Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones? ›

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

What not to do when making scones? ›

Just a reminder: Don't overwork the dough or the scones will turn out rubbery – or worse, bullety and hard. Cut out your scones cleanly. Twisting the cutter can impair the rise. If you use a fluted cutter, you can't twist it.

Why put sour cream in dough? ›

When you add sour cream, you add moisture that is surrounded by fat. Both the fat in the butter and the fat in the sour cream help keep water molecules away from protein molecules, resulting in a more tender pie crust.

Is milk or cream better for scones? ›

Cream is higher in lactose (a natural milk sugar) than butter, which helps the scones brown in the oven. I cut that richness with a splash of milk to hydrate the dough. Using 100% cream would make a dry but rich dough that's golden and tender, but far too crumbly and dense.

What kind of flour is best for scones? ›

We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein.

How to get scones to rise higher? ›

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Keep scone dough as cold as possible. To avoid over-spreading, I recommend chilling the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. In fact, you can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning! Bake until golden brown.

When not to use sour cream? ›

Yes, but be cautious of homemade sour cream going bad. It should not be consumed if it develops an off smell, molds or becomes yellow or discolored.

How does sour cream affect baking? ›

Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.) shortens gluten strands, which essentially leads to the most tender baked goods," she adds.

Is it better to bake with sour cream or milk? ›

Baking with Sour Cream: The creamy texture of sour cream makes baked goods more moist than if you used milk. This makes sour cream an excellent choice for recipes that are known to have drier results, like sponge cakes.

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

Is heavy cream or buttermilk better for scones? ›

You could use buttermilk instead of heavy cream in this recipe if you prefer. Its acid reacts with the baking powder to keep the dough tender. But since we use heavy cream and an egg, this dough is richer than traditional biscuit dough and doesn't need much tenderizing.

Do you put cold or hot butter in scones? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

Why aren t my scones light and fluffy? ›

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture. The trick is to use light pressure and only the work the dough until it just comes together.

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