Raspberry Almond Buttermilk Scones

This is my favorite scones recipe with buttermilk, juicy raspberries, flavorful almond extract, toasty almonds, and raspberry icing. These raspberry almond buttermilk scones are crumbly, yet moist and perfect for brunch, tea parties, bridal showers, Mother’s Day, and so much more! For best results, follow all my scone success tips.

This is the best time of year for baking! All the fresh fruit, especially berries, are beginning their peak season after the cold weather months. Kevin and I usually eat berries so fast that there’s none leftover for baking, so there’s been major restraint with all this recent berry dessert business.

And then there was a batch of raspberry scones. LIFE IS GOOD.

This recipe is in partnership with Driscoll’s. We all know their berries, we all love their berries! Today we’re making scones with their beautifully plump, premium raspberries and tangy buttermilk. Let’s complete this scone experience with toasty almonds, a splash of almond extract, and pastel raspberry glaze. Do you know what this all means? Flavorful fruit scones + baking with buttermilk + texture + pink. All the favorites in one place!

All Scones Begin with my Master Recipe

I’ve been on a scone mission for the past couple of years. While “delicious” all depends on your tastebuds, I can honestly say that I have one REALLY GOOD master scone recipe. With virtually any add-in (chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones, pumpkin scones, etc), we can all make a new variety every weekend. It’s the kind of versatile and satisfying coffee treat that makes us jump out of bed each morning.

I usually make the scone dough with heavy cream, but decided to use tangy buttermilk to pair with the raspberries and almonds. The centers are even more tender and the taste is even more buttery. They’re bright-flavored and rich on the inside while the exterior is golden brown and crisp– delicately crumbling as you take that first berry bite.

Scones are one of those treats that if you do it right, they’ll have a permanent (and frequent) spot in your breakfast rotation. But if you mess up along the way, you’ll end up with sad rock cakes instead of tender sweet goodness. It’s all hard to swallow, literally. But let me help!

Scone Success Tips

• The secret to making delicate scones is handling the dough as little as possible. That’s why I prefer to make scones by hand, not in the food processor.


• Over-handling the dough will cause the delicate raspberries to break, making your dough much too wet. Always handle with care.


• The way to get that crumbly, crisp texture on the edges is to use very, very cold butter. In fact, use frozen.


• To ensure the scones don’t spread out too much in the oven and so they keep that crumbly-edge texture, refrigerate the scone dough for 15 minutes before baking.


• You can even refrigerate your dry ingredients for 15 minutes before mixing with the wet ingredients.


• Cold scone dough = successful scone dough.


• Shaggy looking scone dough = successful scone dough.


• A brush of buttermilk makes your scones shimmery and even more crusty on top.


• High oven temp ensures that irresistibly golden brown crust.


• Pink raspberry glaze > boring white glaze.

Video Tutorial

If you’re interested, I have a 5 minute video demonstrating the scone recipe. I’m making blueberry scones in this video, but the base recipe and process is the same.

Frozen Grated Butter

Frozen grated butter is key to scone success. As with pie crust, work cold butter into the dry ingredients. The cold butter coats the flour, creating tons of flour coated butter crumbs. When these crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam. This steam creates all the delicious flacks inside while the exterior is crumbly, crunchy, and crisp.

Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients. I recommend grating the frozen butter with a box grater.

Fresh Raspberry Icing

Let’s talk about this pastel pink icing! Make the raspberry icing with raspberries, heavy cream (or any milk), and confectioners’ sugar. All you do is mash the raspberries with a little sugar– to help release the juices– then strain away any lumps. Use a fine mesh sieve. Then just whisk the crushed raspberries into the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Takes about 5 minutes, tops.

Delicious on their own, but these scones are even better with the fresh raspberry icing. Embrace the pink seeping into all the cracks and crevices. 🙂

More Favorite Berry Recipes

• Raspberry Streusel Bars


• Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake


• Strawberry Shortcake


• Raspberry Danish Twist Bread


• Mixed Berry Galette


• Lemon Blueberry Scones

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Raspberry Almond Buttermilk Scones

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 30 minutes


• 
  Cook Time: 25 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 1 hour


• 
  Yield: 8 scones


• 
  Category: Breakfast


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

These flaky, sweet, and tender raspberry almond buttermilk scones are a must for breakfast. Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading. Feel free to replace the raspberry icing with vanilla icing.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface


• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar


• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


• ½ teaspoon salt


• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, frozen


• 1/2 cup (120ml) + 2 Tablespoons (30ml) buttermilk, divided


• 1 large egg


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract


• 1 package (6 ounces; 170g; 1 and 1/4 cups) raspberries


• 1/3 cup (37g) sliced almonds

Fresh Raspberry Icing

• 1/2 package (3 ounces; 85g; or about 1/2 cup) raspberries


• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar


• 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar


• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) cream or milk

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Instructions

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.


2. Whisk 1/2 cup buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the raspberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.


3. Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.


4. Brush scones with remaining buttermilk and top with sliced almonds. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)


5. Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.


6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).


7. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).


8. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.


9. Make the icing: Toss the raspberries and granulated sugar together. Vigorously stir to break up the raspberries. Allow to sit for 5 minutes as the raspberries let out their juices. Strain the raspberries through a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Use a spoon to press them through, extracting all the juices. You’ll have about 3 Tablespoons of juice. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Add a little more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more milk to thin, if desired. Drizzle over warm scones.


10. Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

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Notes

1. Special Tools: Glass Mixing Bowls, Box Grater, Pastry Cutter, Baking Sheet, Silpat Baking Mat, Pastry Brush, Fine Mesh Sieve


2. Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.


3. Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, top with icing.


4. Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.


5. Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a rubber spatula.


6. Raspberries: It can be difficult to avoid smashing the raspberries as you work with the dough. That’s OK! Handle the dough with care and always use floured hands and a floured work surface.

Keywords: raspberry almond scones, raspberry scones, scones

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