After trying over a dozen scone recipes, I finally found this one from Julia Child — and it’s perfect. These scones are buttery, tender, and not very sweet. The cold butter and buttermilk create the perfect flaky texture, and you can add dried fruit or fresh blueberries if you like. A brush of melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar (sometimes mixed with cinnamon) give them a beautiful golden finish. They’re super quick to make and always a hit.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons dried fruits (optional)
- ½ sick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
- ¼ cup sugar, for dusting
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the small pieces of cold butter and use a pastry blender (or your fingers) to cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
Pour in the buttermilk, lemon zest, and fruit. Stir gently, then knead just until the dough comes together into a slightly shaggy ball — be careful not to overwork it. Divide the dough into two disks and cut each into 6 wedges.
Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. For extra flavor, you can mix a little cinnamon into the sugar.
Bake for about 12 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and the bottoms are crisp.