Almond Scones
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Oct. 24, 2024
Soft, moist, and buttery, these Almond Scones are the perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, or snacks. They always turn out super tender and moist; never crumbly or dry!
In This Article
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Why This Recipe Stands Out
So my family has always loved scones, but only our homemade ones. That’s because almost all other scones are dry and crumbly – but not this one. Get ready to add this Almond Scones recipe to your list of Favorite Sweet Breakfasts! Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Extra Tender, Never Dry – We use plenty of moisture in this recipe, meaning super soft, never dry scones.
- Fragrant Almond Flavor – The pleasantly sweet, nutty flavor of almonds is impossible to miss in these scones. Almond extract is mixed into the dough and glaze – nothings beats it.
- Change it Up – Just like these Pumpkin Scones, as long as the base stays the same, this recipe can be adjusted in so many ways!
- Friends and Family LOVE it – We love recipes like these Brown Sugar Cookies and Almond Biscotti that make tons of servings. This recipe makes 16 scones and can easily be doubled for brunches.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Butter – 2 whole sticks of frozen, salted butter gives these scones that characteristically buttery flavor and flaky texture.
- Dried Cherries – We love the little bursts of color and tangy sweetness that dried cherries add to Almond Scones. You can use other types of dried fruit or omit.
- White Chocolate Chips – Melty white chocolate chips blend perfectly with the almond extract. You can also use other chocolate chips.
- Sour Cream – We use a generous portion of whole sour cream in this recipe to create a soft, tender crumb.
- Eggs – Eggs hold our scones together and are brushed on the outsides of the scones for a golden exterior.
- Almond Extract – Almond Extract is the key ingredient that sets these scones apart from the rest.
- Almond Slices – Almond slices make our scones look amazing and add some crunch.
- Almond Glaze – Powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract are combined to make a simple glaze to drizzle over this sweet treat.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are some of our favorite variations to White Chocolate Almond Scones:
- Change the Fruit: Try replacing the dried cherries with dried blueberries or cranberries. You could also use any fresh berry (like blackberries or raspberries) as we do in this recipe for White Chocolate Raspberry Scones.
- Go with Dark Chocolate: Craving dark chocolate? Swap the white chocolate chips for semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips and replace the almond glaze with this Hot Fudge Sauce for an extra-decadent scone.
- Substitute the Sour Cream – If you don’t have sour cream on hand, here are a few substitutes you can use. We prefer full-fat Greek yogurt.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.
- Grate frozen butter into dry ingredients and mix until it resembles crumbs.
- Mix in chocolate chips and dried cherries.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, and almond extract.
- Incorporate sour cream mixture into flour mixture until combined. Form dough into 2 balls and chill if necessary.
- Flatten each dough ball into a disc and cut 8 wedges. Place wedges on parchment lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash; sprinkle on almond slices. See photos we took for these pumpkin scones – it’s the same idea.
- Bake at 400F for 14-17 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Here’s how we prep Almond Scones in advance so we can enjoy them on even the busiest of mornings:
- Combine Dry Ingredients: The dry ingredients for this recipe can be measured and mixed several days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to bake.
- Make Dough the Night Before: To make the dough the night before, simply mix everything together and chill the 2 balls of dough overnight. They’ll need a little extra time to soften the next morning. Just continue as you normally would for super easy Almond Scones.
- Freeze the Dough: These scones actually bake really well from frozen. We like to prepare the scones up to when we slice them. Then, store the individual wedges in an airtight container in the freezer until we’re ready to bake. Just note that they’ll take a few minutes longer in the oven.
- Freeze Baked Scones: Once they’re baked and cooled to room temperature, wrap them airtight and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw and reheat.
Commonly Asked Questions
If you’re fortunate enough to have leftovers, you can store the scones in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Otherwise, you can also freeze them for up to 1 month. Reheat in the microwave 30 seconds at a time or 5-10 minutes in the oven at 350F.
Using frozen butter and grating it into the dry ingredients allows you to quickly mix everything together before the butter warms up. Extra cold butter is necessary for that light, flaky texture that we’re going for.
One big culprit for tough scones is over mixing. Make sure NOT to knead your dough. Once the sour cream mixture is incorporated into the flour and butter mixture, gently roll it into balls and let it sit. It’s totally fine to have some lumps in your dough. Another thing that may cause tough scones is over baking. So, keep a close eye on the scones and make sure the exterior is just golden when you take them out.
Sour cream is key for making these scones extra-moist and tender. If done wrong, scones can have a reputation for turning out dry and crumbly. Full fat sour cream makes this undesirable outcome nearly impossible.
Almond extract, surprisingly, doesn’t taste just like almonds. It has a much sweeter, wonderfully fragrant flavor and a heavenly aroma when baking. Once you try almond extract in your baking, you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life!
Did you make this?
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Almond Scones
Ingredients
For the Scones:
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cups white sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp table salt
- 2 sticks salted butter, 16 TB, frozen
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup whole sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 egg + 2 tsp water, lightly beaten together (for egg wash)
- sliced almonds for garnish
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 TB whole milk
- ½ tsp pure almond extract
Instructions
Make Scones
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using large holes of a box grater, grate frozen butter into the flour. Use fingers to work in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in dried cherries and white chocolate chips.
- In separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, and almond extract until smooth and incorporated.
- Use a fork to stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large clumps form. Then use hands to form dough into two even sized balls. As you work the dough, it will come together and form balls.
- If dough is sticky and needs to firm up a bit, wrap dough balls tightly and chill until it's easier to work with, about 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set oven to 400F, with rack on lower-middle position.
- On a lightly floured, flat surface, pat each dough ball evenly into an 8-inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick each. Using a very sharp knife, cut each circle into 8 triangle wedges.
- Place triangles on lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Brush the egg wash on top of each triangle. Sprinkle tops with sliced almonds.
- Bake one sheet at a time, about 14-17 minutes or just until tops are light golden. Do not over bake. Allow scones to cool on wire rack.
Make Glaze
- Combining glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth and glossy. Add a tiny bit more sugar if you need it thicker; add a tiny more milk if you need it thinner.
- Drizzle glaze onto scones. Serve immediately, or store in airtight container for up to 2 days. Baked scones are best within first 24 hours. If they are just ever-so-slightly underbaked, they will stay moist longer.
Notes
- You can omit the dried cherries or white chocolate chips, if you want plain almond scones.
- Feel free to substitute with other dried fruits such as dried blueberries or cranberries.
- You can also substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips or any other flavored add-ins, if you prefer.
- If my kitchen is particularly cool, sometimes I don’t need to chill the dough – your dough just needs to be cool or cold.
- If you want to make the dough ahead of time, simply wrap the two dough balls in cling wrap and chill up to 2 days in fridge. Then, shape and bake as directed.
Nutrition (per serving)
More To Bake And Eat
- Award Winning Almond Bars – These creamy, buttery almond bars are so good, they won first place at a local baking contest.
- White Chocolate Cranberry Scones – Fresh cranberries and melty white chocolate make these scones festive for the holidays.
- Pumpkin Scones – These ultra-tender pumpkin scones are one of our go-to fall breakfasts. The spiced glaze sets them above the rest!
- Almond Biscotti Recipe – Crisp almond biscotti with chocolate chips is perfect dipped in coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.