Best Vanilla Cream Scones

Vanilla cream scones are probably what started this blog. When it comes to scones, I am very picky. I think anyone who loves scones, and who has had an actual good one is too. Once you have had a good one, nothing else compares or will do. Spoiler alert, the ones at Starbucks.. not good. I’m sorry Starbucks, some of your treats are just fine but not the scones. So, I spent A LOT of time working on and tweaking this recipe. I probably tested it about 50 times. Changing the amount of butter or flour or cream, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot. Trying to see what created the best texture, rise, and flavor.

What is a Scone?

The definition is going to vary depending on where you have had one but for Americans (which I am), it’s sort of like a sweet biscuit. Not the doughy/flaky pull apart layers type but the buttermilk drop biscuit style. There are layers though, which you will see in the finished product.

To me, a good scone isn’t overly sweet, or overly dry. It’s kind of the texture of if a muffin and a biscuit had a baby. Buttery, a little flaky and crumbly, a little bit sweet. It’s not too sweet, you want to be able to taste the buttery component but without sugar it more or less becomes a biscuit.

There are a lot of variations on how to make them: butter only, cream only, milk instead of cream, etc. My scones use both cream and butter, as well as an egg to help prevent it from being too crumbly.

Now, while these vanilla cream scones are delicious on their own, I fully recommend topping them with jam, or curd, or a glaze. I’d recommend my Lemon Curd, it’s my favorite to enjoy with these.

Scones Zone – Tips for Success

• Cold. Cold. Cold!
  Premeasuring all your ingredients and having everything ready is a big key to success when making scones. You want everything to stay cold, to help the butter stay cold. When the butter melts in the oven it creates steam which creates lift and rise in the scones. It makes sure your scones go up and don’t spread out.
  
  Keep everything as cold as possible. I often measure my cream, and put it back in the fridge. Beat the egg, back in the fridge. It allows me to work quickly and keep everything chilled. I don’t preheat my oven, but place the scones in the freezer while it does. This lets the butter cool back down after having been worked.
• Use a grater
  You can use a pastry cutter or knives to cut in your butter, but for me a coarse cheese grater works best. You get flattened small pieces of butter throughout your dough. Plus, when you freeze the butter it is easier to grate.
• Use the good stuff.
  If you can find local heavy cream, it probably tastes better than mass produced. Use that. Use the good butter with higher milk fat content. These small things produce just much better tasting scones.

If you bake these vanilla cream scones and love them and want to try another version (or you want to try something with a different flavor profile) I’d recommend:

• Cinnamon Cream Cheese Scones w/Brown Butter Glaze
• Colorful Birthday Cake Scones
• Rich Chocolate Orange Scones

Baking Tips/FAQ

Can I freeze scones? Yes you can! It’s easiest to freeze scones before baking them. I usually put them on a baking tray in the freezer, cut and separated (do not put cream and turbinado sugar on top of the vanilla cream scones) and freeze them for about an hour. At that point they will be pretty much frozen solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag. They will keep for about 6 months and you can bake one at a time or all of them when you’re ready.

When you’re ready to bake, I’d take them out of the freezer and then preheat your oven. Normally you start the oven at a much higher temp and reduce but because they are frozen this can result in the bottoms getting a little overdone. Instead, just heat up the oven to 350 and bake for about 25 minutes.

You can also bake your scones and then freeze them. After baking, allow them to come completely to room temperature and then place on a baking sheet into the freezer for an hour. Then transfer to a freezer bag. To defrost them, I would either place them in the fridge overnight to let them defrost, or allow them to come to room temperature on the counter for 60-90 minutes. You could also pop them in the microwave on defrost for probably about 2 minutes. Then wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in the oven or air fryer at 325 for about 7-10 minutes.

Can I substitute milk for cream? Can you do it? Yes. Will this recipe be close to the same? No. Unfortunately heavy cream is going to lend to a richness that milk just cannot. Heavy cream has at least 36% fat content, while whole milk is about 3.25%. That is a HUGE difference, which will affect the texture and the flavor dramatically. After all, these are called Vanilla CREAM scones.

How long will these last? These vanilla cream scones are best eaten pretty much right out of the oven. Let them cool a little bit, but then enjoy them. Same day is best, next day is still pretty good. After that, while they might still be perfectly fine in the sense they aren’t moldy or stale, they just don’t taste as great.

Vanilla Cream Scones Key Ingredients

• Butter – Butter is one of the key flavors so, if you can afford the top shelf butter, get it. I like to buy European butter with higher butterfat percentage but even just a good brand like Tillamook is also great.
• Heavy Cream – Just like with the butter. The good stuff. Better cream = better scones. If I can find local cream, I always buy that. It’s always amazingly rich and delicious.
• Turbinado/Demerara sugar – These sugars are minimally processed with large granules that will not melt when baked. I love the slight amount of sweetness and crunch that this adds to the top of the scones. It allows them to be enjoyed thoroughly without any glazes or toppings.