Fluffy & Flavorful Strawberry Scones: The Ultimate Recipe for Tender, Irresistible Treats

There’s nothing quite like a freshly baked scone, and these Strawberry Scones are truly in a league of their own. Bursting with the vibrant taste of fresh berries and complemented by the subtle richness of chocolate chips, they evoke the delightful flavor of a chocolate-covered strawberry in a perfectly baked pastry. These scones are an absolute favorite, especially for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day brunch, but they are equally wonderful any day you crave a touch of sweetness and homemade comfort.

What sets these scones apart is their exquisite texture. Each bite reveals a pillowy soft, tender center, beautifully contrasted with a satisfyingly crisp exterior. The secret to this delightful crunch lies partly in the generous sprinkling of extra chunky sanding sugar on top. In my humble opinion, this isn’t just an optional garnish; it’s an essential ingredient that elevates the scone from great to absolutely exceptional. The coarse sugar crystals caramelize slightly during baking, adding a sweet, sparkly finish and an irresistible textural dimension that makes these homemade strawberry scones truly unforgettable.

Beyond their amazing taste and texture, these scones are surprisingly simple to prepare, making them an ideal baking project for both seasoned bakers and beginners. The careful selection of ingredients and a few key techniques ensure consistent, bakery-quality results every time. Whether you’re planning a romantic breakfast, a cozy afternoon tea, or simply treating yourself, this recipe promises a batch of scones that will impress and delight.

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Essential Ingredients for Perfect Strawberry Scones

Crafting the best strawberry scones begins with a foundation of classic baking ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. While these are typical staples, it’s the specific quality and thoughtful inclusion of other elements that truly makes this recipe shine. Each component plays a vital role in achieving that coveted scone texture and rich flavor profile.

The standout ingredient in this recipe, and what truly elevates these to THE BEST scones, is undoubtedly the sour cream. Far from being a mere addition, sour cream acts as a magical tenderizer within the dough. Its acidity helps to break down the gluten in the flour, preventing it from overdeveloping. This means you can gently work the dough, fold it a few times to create beautiful, flaky layers, without worrying about the scones becoming tough or dense. Instead, you’ll be rewarded with a remarkably supple and tender crumb that melts in your mouth.

• All-Purpose Flour: The structural backbone of our scones. Using a good quality all-purpose flour ensures a tender crumb.
• Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness and helps with browning. It balances the tartness of the strawberries beautifully.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These leavening agents work in harmony with the sour cream to give the scones their characteristic lift and airy texture.
• Kosher Salt: A touch of salt is crucial for enhancing all the other flavors, making the strawberries and chocolate taste even brighter.
• Large Egg: Adds richness and helps bind the dough, contributing to a stable and moist scone.
• Sour Cream: As mentioned, this is the star! It provides moisture, richness, and its acidity tenderizes the dough, leading to incredibly soft and flaky scones. Ensure it’s full-fat for the best results.
• Unsalted Butter (Frozen and Cubed): Cold butter is paramount for flaky scones. As it melts in the oven, it creates pockets of steam, separating the layers of dough. Freezing and cubing it beforehand makes it easier to incorporate without overworking and helps it stay cold longer.
• Fresh Strawberries (Diced): The heart of our scone flavor! Use ripe, sweet strawberries for the best taste. Dicing them ensures even distribution throughout the dough.
• Chocolate Chips: A fantastic complement to the strawberries, adding a touch of decadent sweetness that mimics the classic chocolate-covered strawberry.
• Heavy Cream (for brushing): Brushed on before baking, it helps achieve that beautiful golden-brown crust and promotes even browning.
• Sanding Sugar or Large Crystal Raw Sugar: This isn’t just for looks! It provides a delightful crunchy texture and a sparkling finish, making each bite even more enjoyable.

Carefully selecting and preparing these ingredients ensures you’re on the path to baking truly exceptional strawberry scones.

For precise ingredient measurements and detailed, step-by-step instructions, use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or simply scroll down to the bottom to find the full recipe card.

Crafting Your Homemade Strawberry Scones: Step-by-Step Method

Creating these delightful strawberry scones is a rewarding process, and with a few careful steps, you’ll achieve bakery-quality results right in your own kitchen. The key lies in handling the dough gently and ensuring all ingredients are properly incorporated.

Preparing the Basic Scone Dough

Begin by combining all your dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Give them a quick mix on low speed for about 10 seconds to ensure they are well combined. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the sour cream and egg until just blended. This liquid mixture will be added later.

Next, add the frozen, cubed butter to the dry ingredients in the mixer. Start mixing on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-low until the butter is fully incorporated into the flour mixture. You’re looking for a texture where the butter clumps together when you squeeze a handful, resembling coarse crumbs. This process should take a few minutes, ensuring the butter remains cold, which is crucial for flaky scones.

Once the butter is worked in, add the sour cream and egg mixture to the bowl. Pulse the mixer for about 30 seconds, just until the dough begins to come together in a shaggy mass and barely clings to the paddle. It’s important not to overmix at this stage; we want a tender scone, not a tough one.

Adding Berries and Shaping the Dough

Now, gently fold in the diced strawberries and chocolate chips. Mix for only about 10 seconds—no more! Overmixing at this point can cause the strawberries to release too much liquid, resulting in a wet and potentially discolored dough. The goal is just to distribute them evenly.

Turn the shaggy dough out onto a generously floured surface. To create those desirable flaky layers, gently fold the dough 3-4 times. This isn’t kneading; it’s a light pressing and folding motion that helps develop the structure without activating too much gluten. Divide the dough into two portions for easier handling.

For uniform shapes, press each dough portion out to a thickness of approximately 1 to 1¼ inches. From this flattened dough, you can use cookie cutters to create fun shapes, like hearts for Valentine’s Day. Alternatively, if you prefer classic scone triangles, simply form each dough portion into a round disk and cut each disk into 6 wedges. This yields 12 perfectly sized scones.

Chilling and Baking for Perfection

Once your scones are cut and shaped, arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This next step is critical for achieving light and tall scones: chill them in the freezer for 30 minutes. This firming period helps the butter solidify again, preventing the scones from spreading too much in the oven and ensuring maximum rise.

Just before baking, brush the tops of the chilled scones with a little heavy cream. This helps them achieve a beautiful golden-brown color. Then, generously dust them with chunky sanding sugar or sugar in the raw. This adds that essential extra crunch and a lovely sweet sparkle to the finished scones.

Bake your scones in a preheated oven until their edges are beautifully golden brown and the centers are set – a gentle prod should reveal no jiggle. The baking time will vary slightly depending on your oven, so keep an eye on them. Once baked, let them cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve them warm for the most delightful experience. And if you’re enjoying them for brunch, a glass of bubbly is a truly perfect compliment!

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 12 scones

Strawberry Scones

Prep Time:
10 minutes

Cook Time:
20 minutes

Chill Time:
30 minutes

Total Time:
1 hour

These Strawberry Scones are a tasty treat for Valentine’s Day Brunch, they have the flavor of a chocolate-covered strawberry in a baked treat.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
• ½ cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, Morton’s
• 1 large Egg
• ½ cup Sour Cream
• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) Unsalted Butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
• 1 cup Strawberries, diced
• ½ cup Chocolate Chips
• 2-3 tablespoons Heavy Cream, for brushing
• ¼ cup Sanding Sugar or Large Crystal Raw Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Mix on low for 10 seconds just to combine.

Lightly whisk together the egg and sour cream. Set aside.

Add the cold butter to the mixer bowl and run on low speed to start, then work up to medium low until the butter is worked in and holds together when squeezed in your hand.

Pulse in the egg/sour cream mixture until just before the dough forms a ball, 30 seconds. It should just start to cling to the paddle.

Place the strawberries and chocolate chip in the bowl, and pulse for 10 more seconds, just until mixed in but not smashing the strawberry pieces.

Divide the dough in half and place one dough portion on a well floured surface. Fold it a couple of times to bring it fully together.

Press it into a 6-inch round, about ¾ to 1 inch thick.

Cut the round into 6 wedges. You can also pat all the dough out into a 12-inch rectangle, cut some into hearts using cookie cutters if you like, then press the leftovers into a disk and cut into wedges.

Arrange the wedges in the round, about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Repeat with the second dough portion.

Place the tray of scones in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, till firm, or freeze till fully set, on the pan, then place in a zip top bag for later use.

Brush the scones with some heavy cream and dust with the sanding sugar.

Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. 

Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Serve the scones warm or at room temperature. Optionally with a spoon of fresh whipped cream and a berry as desired.

The scones are best eaten the same day. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up 3-4 days.

Cut scones can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and baked from frozen, they make take an additional 2-3 minutes to bake.

Notes

Notes & Tips

If you gather and prep all of your ingredients before you start to make this recipe, it should only take about 5 minutes to mix together. And while you could make it totally by hand, this mixer just speeds up the process so greatly, it’s worth it. I mean, you’ll have to wash a bowl either way.

You can quickly overwork the dough once the wet ingredients are combined and the strawberries so tread lightly. It should only take 30 seconds to blend in the egg/sour cream, and 10 seconds once the strawberries have been added.

Once you have turned the dough out of the bowl, press it out and fold it in half, 3-4 times. This is why you don’t want to overwork the dough in the bowl, and it creates fluffy layers in the scones too.

I like to cut this particular recipe into hearts because I tend to really only make them to celebrate valentines day.

But you can make them any time and still cut hearts for loved ones, or simply cut the dough into two balls. Press them out into rounds, and cut the circle in 6, giving you 6 triangles. You can then bake them in the round, or separated, whichever you prefer.

Once baked, these scones are really best the day they are cooked and the next day. But after 24 hours, because of the fresh berries, they should be stored in the fridge. Reheat them in a toaster oven or 350˚F oven for about 5 minutes to make them like fresh from the oven.

If you will not eat 12 scones before they are no longer at their peak, after the 30-minute chill in the freezer, you can place the cut scones in a zip-top bag and freeze until ready to eat. Follow the same baking instructions, but know they may take 2-3 more minutes to bake.

Substitutions

If you would like to make these scones gluten-free, I like this alternative flour best for baking.

While sour cream is the best option for making scones, the best substitution if needed is to use plain yogurt. Not Greek yogurt, but just plain yogurt.

If you’d like to leave the fruit out of this recipe and make plain, or just chocolate chip scones, add ¼ cup of sour cream to the recipe. The recipe is also great perfumed with any citrus zest you like.

I use clear sanding sugar for the topping because I bought a big container of it and always have it around. But you could also use sugar in the raw that has a bit of a brown color to it if you have it around. The large-grain sugar is all that is important.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• Shun Cutlery Classic Paring Knife, small, black silver
• John Boos MPL1812125G Chop-N-Slice Select Maple Edge Grain Cutting Board, 18 Inches x 12 Inches x 1.25 Inches
• OXO Good Grips 2 Cup Adjustable Measuring Cup
• Silpat Half Size 11.6 x 16.5 Inch Nonstick Baking Mat for 13 x 18 Inch Pans, Set of 2
• Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet (3 Pack)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 323Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 269mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 4g

This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.

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