How to Make Scones Just As Good As Any Bakery

Lisa KaminskiUpdated: Mar. 20, 2019

Skip the cafe or bakery and learn how to make scones in your own kitchen. The technique is simple and the flavor combos are limitless!

Most weekends I follow the same routine—I visit a local bakery and cafe for a latte and a pastry. I do love my fancy coffee house drinks, but the star of the show is always a scone. To me, scones are bakery treat, like a good donut or croissant. But it turns out making your own scones at home is super simple. If you can make a biscuit, you can make a scone.

Soon, you’ll be experimenting with all sorts of scone recipes from chocolate-hazelnut to ham and cheese. (I can be convinced to try a savory one once in a while!)

How Do You Make Homemade Scones?

First, you combine your dry ingredients, like flour and salt, then cut in any butter if your recipe calls for it. Just like biscuits, the butter should be kept cold. Same goes for your wet ingredients, like cream and eggs, which you add last. You’ll want to stir these all together until just combined.

With the dough together, turn it out onto a floured surface and shape into a round (or two—depending on the size of your recipe). From there, you cut the scones into their trademark wedge shape. After they’re shaped, it’s as simple as giving them a good bake.

**How Do You Make the Best Scones?**

With the basic scone method down, you can tackle any one of our favorite scone recipes. Today, though, I’ll walk you through how to bake these amazing savory parmesan scones.

To make this recipe you’ll need:

2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Additional grated parmesan, optional

How to Make Scones

Step 1: Prep the ingredients

The first step to making these cheesy scones is to finely chop your onion and mince your garlic. Sauté in a skillet with two tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Once cooked, you can set these aside.

Step 2: Make the dough

In a mixing bowl whisk together your flour, baking powder, salt and parmesan cheese. Once combined, stir in the heavy cream until just moistened. Remember, the more you work this dough, the tougher it gets—so keep the mixing to a minimum. With that combined, stir in the garlic and onion mix.

Next, turn out the dough onto a floured surface. You can knead this together a few times just to be sure that all the ingredients are incorporated. This is a lot like making biscuits—learn how to make Joanna Gaines’ best biscuit recipe here.

Step 3: Form the scones

Once your dough is blended together well, divide it in half. Form each half into a six-inch round. From there, cut the disc into six pie-shaped wedges. Separate them and bake on a greased baking sheet at 400º F for 12-15 minutes. If you want to add a little extra cheese (and who wouldn’t?), sprinkle with shredded or grated parmesan in the last few minutes of baking.

Major cheese-lover? Try these recipes next.

The Cheesy Results

These cheese and onion scones are best served warm. (Aren’t all baked goods the best fresh from the oven?) If you want to up the flavor even more, try one of these flavored butters on top.

Put your scone technique to work

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Blueberry Scones

I love serving this blueberry scone recipe to visiting friends and family. I always make sure a have a few in the freezer. Just pop a frozen scone in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. —Joan Francis, Spring Lake, New Jersey Go to Recipe

Chocolate Chip Scones

These chocolate chip scones are delicious warm, served with butter, when the chips are melted and gooey. —Diane LaFurno, College Point, New York