Mini Chocolate Chip Scones – My Recipe Reviews (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.

Why Are My Scones Flat? Expired leavening agents. Your baking powder and/or baking soda could be expired. Most scone and biscuit recipes call for quite a large amount of leavening, and if either are expired, your scones simply won't rise to beautiful heights.

Just as in old times, today's scone recipes don't include eggs, but there are some rare recipes that do. Eggs may change the texture of the scone, which should be golden on the outside and airy inside. RELATED VIDEO: Video Player is loading.

Know what flour you should use! 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.

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.

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.

Place pan of shaped scones into the freezer for up to 30 minutes before baking. This short rest relaxes the gluten, making scones more tender; and cold chills the fat, increasing flakiness. Make scone dough up to three days ahead.

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.

In general, scones should be baked at a higher temperature than most other pastries. Using too low of a temperature will prevent the scones from rising. If the recipe called for a lower temperature, try baking the scones at 400°F (205°C) next time, and see if that helps.

You could make the dough in the morning and cut out the scones and refrigerate them before baking.

How do you know when scones are done? ›

Just before cutting your dough, lift the pastry up and place back down to allow air in. This will help with the rise of the scones. Take care not to let the basting milk run down the sides of your scones as this can hinder the rise. Place your scones close together in the oven as this will help achieve a better rise.

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

Remove the baked scones from the oven, and cut them up.

Too hot, and the scones tend to crumble around the edges. Too cool, same thing: they crumble at the edge. Just right – warm, but not piping hot – you can slice through scones with minimal crumbling.

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

Add some extra baking powder/soda, they might not have raised enough. If your scones barely rise in the oven, reconsider the amount of water you've added. You might want to add more. Otherwise, increase the amount of baking powder/soda.

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.