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Jump to recipeFreezer scones. Scones are best fresh from the oven, & this makes that possible even on the busiest morning. A basic recipe ready for you to make your own.
People have opinions about scones.
Should they be dense, like a compact, sweeter version of a biscuit? Tall and cakey? Buttery and shortbread-like? Round? Triangular? Free-form?
Regardless of how one describes their perfect scone, one thing is agreed upon: scones must be enjoyed fresh from the oven. Scones are notorious for going stale, becoming heavy and doughy. Gone is the crisp, buttery exterior…the tender crumb.
We don’t have to stand for that! We can have perfect scones whenever we want!
These scones are equally delicious baked immediately, or flash-frozen to be individually baked up for a warm, fresh treat anytime.
Freezer Friendly Scones
Let me tell you where I weigh in on the scone debate. I prefer a denser scone, rich with butter and a little crumbly. And as for shape…there is something oddly satisfying about breaking off the crunchy corners of a triangular scone first, I find.
I like all kinds of scones. Fruits. Nuts. Dark chocolate. White chocolate. Speckled with vanilla bean. Glazed. Sugared. Plain or adorned with cream and jam.
These are vanilla, white chocolate chip scones. I thought about adding fresh raspberries to them, and if I were the only one eating them, I would have…but my kids are weird. And since they’re the ones that are most likely to bake and eat the frozen scones for breakfast, I play nice mom and make something they enjoy too.
Making the Scones
I use my pastry blender to cut cold butter into the mixture of dry ingredients, just like when I make biscuits. Before adding the liquid, I stir in the white chocolate chips (or other dry mix-ins). The reason why I do that is because of the most important part of scone making: don’t overmix the dough!
Overmixing scone dough is what creates a chewy, bread-like product. Big mistake.
If you have wetter mix-ins (like if I’d have used fresh raspberries, for example), you can very carefully mix them in right at the end.
You want to start with a smaller amount of liquid and then add more as needed. The dough will still look quite dry. Take a small handful and gently squeeze, when it sticks together into a ball, it’s ready.

Dump your mixture out onto the counter and pat it into a large oval, pressing it together gently. Cut into 8 triangles. This makes pretty large scones. Alternately, you could pat into a square/rectangle and cut into squares, and then each square in half to make small triangles.
Now you can either bake them right away, or set on a wax paper lined pan and flash freeze them. After a few hours in the freezer, pack them in a Ziploc bag or other freezer-safe container and label with cooking instructions.
Click here for lots of other recipes to stock your freezer!
If you bake them from frozen, there’s no need to thaw. Just brush them with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar and pop in the oven. (If you bake the scones immediately after making them, you’ll brush and sprinkle, too. But what you don’t want to do is brush and sprinkle before freezing… the sugar melts into the milk and doesn’t come out nice). This is optional, of course, but I really like the crunchy sugar top. You could also skip the sugar and instead mix up a little powdered sugar icing to drizzle on cooled scones. Yum!
You’ll want to add a few minutes to the cooking time when baking from frozen, too.
What would you add to your freezer scones?
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon)
- 6 Tablespoons cold butter
- 1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk (+ more as needed)
- 1 1/2-2 cups mix-ins (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruit, etc.)
- 2 Tablespoons milk and sugar for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine dry ingredients
- Cut butter into small pieces and, using pastry blender or fingers, cut into dry ingredients
- Stir in dry mix-ins
- Combine milk and yogurt, add to bowl and stir gently
- Add extra milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time as needed until dough just comes together
- Stir in fresh fruit, if using
- Dump mixture onto counter and pat into circle
- Cut into 8 wedges
- To bake: Place wedges on baking sheet, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown
- To freeze: Place wedges on wax-paper lined baking sheets and freeze until firm (at least a couple of hours). Bake from frozen (do not thaw), following instructions above, adding 5-10 minutes to baking time.
I love scones and practically anything you can put in them. My favorites lately have been Orange zest with chopped pistachios and dried cranberries with toasted almonds and adding a little almond extract in place of the vanilla. I will try your scone recipe next time I make them. I like the idea of using yogurt in them.
Those combinations sound YUM! I’ve been drinking a lot of orange and spice tea lately, and the orange zest and pistachio version would be a fantastic pairing!
I definitely need to try these! Especially as so many people are trying new recipes during this “Stay-at-home” order.
It is a great time to try new recipes. Good to know I’m not the only one practicing “baking therapy”!