The Famous Lemonade Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why did my lemonade scones not rise? ›

Overmixing: Overmixing the dough is the most common mistake people make with scones. It can lead to tough scones that don't rise well. Mix the ingredients until just combined. Using flat or expired lemonade: Fresh and fizzy lemonade helps with the rising process.

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

The first scones

Scones are thought to have originated in Scotland in the early 1500s and the first known print reference was made by a Scottish poet in 1513. Scones were originally made using oats, shaped into a large round and scored into four or six wedges.

The secret is using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. It's lower in protein and makes for ultra-tender scones. If you don't have any on hand, you can easily make your own using all-purpose flour and cornstarch (see the FAQs below). For a kid-friendly twist, don't miss my chocolate chip scones.

Keep scones cold before putting them in the oven: For best results, chill the mixture in the fridge before baking, this will help to stiffen up the butter again, which will stop your scones from slumping as soon as they hit the oven's heat.

Too much baking soda will result in a soapy taste with a coarse, open crumb.

My scones have a dense, heavy texture and poor volume

You may have used too little raising agent or over handled the dough before it was baked. The oven may have been too cool.

Not really. Not with the same results, and not the same taste, and not with all recipes. For example, if you used yeast instead of baking powder in scones, and didn't wait for it rise, you'd get some dense things that might remind you of hockey pucks.

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Get Flaky Scones with COLD Butter

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

How thick should scone dough be? ›

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

British scones are more closely related to American biscuits. While a British "biscuit" is what we would call a crunchy cookie! Sometimes made with raisins or sultanas, British scones are on the plain side compared with American scones, which are typically heavily flavored and topped with a drizzle or glaze.

The last piece of the puzzle, an American biscuit is a crumbly leavened quick bread similar to what we call a scone in the UK.

Placing a dough in a cool oven that then slowly heats up actually affects the rising agent. Make sure your oven is at the right temperature you will be baking the scones at before you put them in. Also having an oven that is too hot or too cold will affect the baking of your scones immensely.

Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

A mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, or baking powder (which is a ready paired mixture of the two) are used as the raising agent in scones.