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An easy Strawberry Scones recipe using fresh strawberries! They have a tender, moist texture and a turbinado sugar finish for extra crunch and sweetness!
Inspired by the soft British scones of my youth, this recipe makes soft, buttery strawberry scones, with the perfect moist, crumbly texture. The sugar, heavy cream, and a dash of vanilla make this breakfast treat into something decadent. They are rich, thick and chewy and each bite has strawberries and a hint of lemon! The tops are crisp with a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar. Perfection!
A sweet, rich scone is the best breakfast and can double as a dessert if paired with some homemade ice cream. I often rotate between these, my sourdough cinnamon rolls, carrot cake scones, and another strawberry favorite: Classic Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream.
Table of Contents
Why you will love these strawberry scones:
- Perfect British scone texture. No dry, cakey, or puffy scones here. These beauties are moist with a rich texture that matches their sublime taste!
- Refreshing flavor. Natural sweetness from the strawberries and bright lemon combine for fresh flavors of spring and summer!
- Professional recipe. This recipe has been tested rigorously by a pastry professional, so the instructions are detailed and the results are consistent.
What is the secret to making good scones?
- Blot your strawberries dry. Just like any baked good with fresh strawberries, the dough around the strawberries is a little more moist. Even though I obsessively blot my strawberries dry with a paper towel, there’s still a hint of gooeyness around some of the strawberries from their juices. If that bothers you then use blueberries or dried fruit instead.
- Cut cold butter into the dry ingredients completely. Years of making giant batches in restaurants has proven to me that this makes the most tender, moist scones. It also means you need fewer wet ingredients to make a cohesive dough, which equals less gluten development!
- Whisk together all the wet ingredients. In larger batches, I use an immersion blender but a whisk does just fine here! You won’t have to mix your dough while the eggs incorporate. Less gluten development equals more tender scones!
- Don’t skip brushing on some heavy cream before baking. Get a beautiful finish to your scones and lock in their moisture by brushing them with heavy cream just prior to baking. I add a little turbinado sugar for an added crunch.
Ingredients
- Strawberries: It’s best to choose fragrant, red, in-season strawberries for these and my strawberry rhubarb crumble. Out of season strawberries will have less flavor and more water. If strawberries aren’t in season try freeze dried strawberries instead!
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream adds just enough liquid to make a moist, tender scone. You can substitute with ⅓ cup Greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons of milk if you don’t have heavy cream on hand.
- Whole Eggs
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla Extract adds a beautiful flavor itself but it also boosts other ingredients around it.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a flaky texture that is not tough. You could also use pastry flour for extra cheap insurance.
- Sugar
- Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder reacts instantly when mixed with an acid. It reacts a second time when heated. Because the baking powder is double acting, it has a slower, more stable rise than baking soda alone. This will also allow you to make the scones ahead and freeze.
- Kosher Salt
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. Butter shortens the gluten strands as it coats them during the mixing process. This keeps them from forming a strong network that would lead to overly tough scones.
- Lemon Zest: Be sure to zest only the bright yellow parts of the lemon peel for the most concentrated flavor and to avoid the bitter white pith.
- Turbinado sugar
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Cinnamon or chocolate chips: Go in a completely different direction and substitute the strawberries for chocolate chips or cinnamon chips like I did in these chocolate chip scones or cinnamon scones. Or make a mixture! Let me know in the comments how they turn out!
- Add a glaze: Make a quick glaze with lemon juice and powdered sugar, and you’re in for a treat. I would quite happily recommend you drizzle on this strawberry glaze made from homemade strawberry jam in my recipe for Strawberry Lemon Cake Donuts!
- Use seasonal fruit: Rotate scone recipes through the year, depending on what’s in season! Check out these Spiced Apple Scones and Blueberry Scones in preparation.
How to Make Strawberry Scones
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Make the scone dough:
Step 1: Dice strawberries and blot them dry with a paper towel.
Step 2: Combine the cream, egg, and vanilla in another bowl with a whisk or fork. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients with the paddle or by hand just enough to distribute the ingredients.
For a more pronounced lemon flavor, zest your lemon directly into the sugar. Give the lemon time to infuse the sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips to start releasing the oils. If opting to do this, add the sugar in during Step 5 instead!
Step 4: Add cold butter and mix on low to cut it in. Continue to mix until the butter is no longer visible and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the largest chunk of butter is the size of a pea.
TIP: You could also use a pastry blender like I do in this pie crust tutorial!
Step 5: Add strawberries and lemon zest to the flour mixture. Toss to coat with flour and distribute evenly.
Step 6: With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture and mix until almost incorporated.
You could alternatively do this by hand by making a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the cream mixture. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix until the dough is moistened. There will be some straggling flour/butter mixture in the bottom of the bowl. Fear not, this will get incorporated during the next step.
Step 7: Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead it together (gently, with love!).
Portion and bake:
Step 8: Press the dough out to about a 1 inch thickness. Using a floured bench scraper, sharp knife, or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 6 equal triangles. Place them 1” apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Really nail the scone texture by chilling the dough completely before baking. This will take around 2 hours. You can also wrap it very well and freeze it. It is entirely possible to bake this scone recipe from frozen!
Step 9: Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Step 10: Brush scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.
Step 11: Bake scones in the preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes or until golden brown around the edges, puffed, and the centers provide a little resistance when touched gently.
If the scones feel firm, then they are overdone. You can also insert a cake tester when baking your scones and it should come out clean.
Step 12: Cool completely on baking sheets or eat them warm!
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Kneading method matters! Gently gather the dough into a ball and knead the dough by gently pressing the dough away from you with the heels of your hands and then folding it on itself at least 5-7 times or until it is a cohesive ball. Turn the dough a quarter turn after each fold. There can be some remaining crumbs, because you don’t want to overwork the dough or the scones will be tough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store baked scones in an airtight container at room temperature, refrigerated or frozen. Scones are best the day they are baked, so I prefer to freeze the cut dough and bake them as they are needed. Alternately, scones will keep 3 days at room temperature, 7 days in the refrigerator or 3 months pre-baked and frozen.
Avoid at all costs improper mixing methods. You want to cut cold, cubed butter completely into the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients separately before adding them to allow for quick incorporation. You want to be wary of overdeveloping your gluten, so that you can maintain tender scone texture!
The most common reason scones are hard is because they are overbaked. Scones can also be dry because there isn’t enough fat in the dough. It could be possible that the butter wasn’t cut into the flour enough to cut the gluten strands. If you avoid those mistakes, it’ll help keep your scones from being dry.
If you want a classic strawberry scones pairing, you and I both know you need some clotted cream! Softened butter or maple butter would be a simple option, as would some easy strawberry jam or easy peach preserves! For a little tag add a dollop of easy lemon curd, which would really complement a mug of your favorite tea.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Strawberry Scones
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh strawberries washed, hulled, chopped and blotted dry
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut in small cubes
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 large lemon, only the bright yellow parts!
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Turbinado sugar
Instructions
Make the scone dough:
- Dice strawberries and blot them dry with a paper towel.
- Combine the cream, egg, and vanilla in another bowl with a whisk or fork. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients with the paddle or by hand just enough to distribute the ingredients.
- Add cold butter and mix on low to cut it in. Continue to mix until the butter is no longer visible and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the largest chunk of butter is the size of a pea.
- Add strawberries and lemon zest to the flour mixture. Toss to coat with flour and distribute evenly.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture and mix until almost incorporated.
- Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead it together (gently, with love!).
Portion and bake:
- Press the dough out to about a 1 inch thickness. Using a floured bench scraper, sharp knife, or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 6 equal triangles. Place them 1” apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Brush scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.
- Bake scones in the preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes or until golden brown around the edges, puffed, and the centers provide a little resistance when touched gently.
- Cool completely on baking sheets or eat them warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed scones recipes!
My first scones ever, I made them with homemade vanilla extract and vanilla butter, and they were outstanding. Thanks for this recipe.
These strawberry lemon scones were delightful! I made them to bring them over to a dinner party at my friend’s, and all the guests fell in love.
So fresh and delicious. Can’t beat a classic recipe like these scones. Love the pop of brightness from the bits of strawberry!
These are so good and easy to make. I was concerned my berries would add too much moisture to the dough but your trick of tossing them in flour worked wonders. I also added more zest than specified but I love a lot of lemon flavor. Will make again.
Hi Elizabeth! It’s a great trick! Thank you for coming back and commenting 🙂
The strawberry and lemon flavor combination in these scones is truly delightful.
Hi Lisa! I couldn’t agree more!
These scones look amazing! Strawberry and lemon are the perfect combination! I like the crunchy sugar top 🙂
Thanks, Shiran!
These scones look absolutely gorgeous! Love the freshness with the strawberries and lemon!
Thanks, Pamela! They were really fresh and satisfying!
Scones are one of my favorites too. When not checked, I can eat two or three at a time! Love this flavor combo!
Me too! It’s a problem! These had to be re-homed ASAP! Because they aren’t exactly Starbucks mini vanilla scones where you can eat two and still feel like you are dieting 😉