Almond Scones

Tender Almond Scones filled with almond paste pair perfectly with a morning coffee or an afternoon tea. These scones are soft and fluffy, with a simple yet complex flavor that is absolutely irresistible.

These Almond Scones have been a family favorite since the first time I made them. They start with a base of delicious buttermilk scones, stuffed full of chopped almond paste. The scones are soft and fluffy, with a simple yet complex flavor of almond extract.

The recipe calls for premade almond paste for simplicity, but making homemade almond paste is really easy and takes just 5 minutes. If you are obsessed with almond paste like we are, you need to try these recipes too:

• Apple Tart with Almond Paste Filling – the almond paste is spread on top of the pie crust, then sliced apples are layered over it, a mixture of cinnamon sugar gives it a finishing touch.
• Rugelach with Almond Filling – not traditional for sure, but an amazing twist to a typical rugelach recipe.
• Almond Croissant French Toast Bake – if you have leftover almond paste, this recipe is perfect for it since it doesn’t use up the whole batch.

How to make Almond Scones

Almond scone ingredients and substitution notes

The ingredients below do not represent the full list of ingredients for this almond scone recipe, refer to the actual recipe card for the full list. But I will be addressing some common questions and specific questions that readers have asked.

Flour

All purpose flour is called for in this recipe. You can substitute:

• White whole wheat flour
• Regular whole wheat flour
• Half all-purpose + half whole wheat, I’ve made these scones with half all-purpose + half white whole wheat before.
• If you’re planning to substitute almond flour, I will note that almond flour is gluten free and will not result in the same texture. I don’t recommend it but if you must, use half regular flour and half almond flour.

➤ All-purpose flour is my preferred choice and will yield more tender scones, so substitute at your own risk.

Leavening agents

Both baking powder and baking soda are used in this recipe. Baking soda will react with the buttermilk in the recipe, if you plan to replace buttermilk with regular milk, cream or plant based milk, you can omit the baking soda.

➤ Learn more about baking soda vs. baking powder.

Unsalted butter

I always bake with unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt added to the recipe. You can use salted butter if that’s all you have. In this case, reduce or omit the salt called for in the recipe.

Buttermilk

You can replace buttermilk with homemade buttermilk, cream, regular milk, plant based milk, whatever you have in your fridge at the time. But if you’re not using an acidic liquid like buttermilk or homemade buttermilk, you will need to omit the baking soda.

➤ Read more about buttermilk and how to make homemade buttermilk.

Almond extract

If you don’t have almond extract, just increase the amount of vanilla extract in the recipe. But if you want the full amazing flavor of almond, you shouldn’t replace or omit almond extract.

Almond paste

The only good substitute for almond paste is marzipan, but marzipan is much sweeter so you may want to reduce the sugar in the recipe to ¼ cup or less depending on your taste and whether you will serve the scones with jam or something sweet.

Making the scone dough

1. Mix together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add cold cubed butter, toss to cover the butter in flour. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, or simply use the tip of your fingers to press the butter. If using your fingers, work as quickly as you can so you don’t melt the butter, just until the butter is about pea and bean size.

3. In a measuring cup, add an egg and enough buttermilk to fill it to the 1 cup mark. Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, reserving 2 tablespoons or more to use as egg wash.
4. Fold until a shaggy dough forms.

Shaping the almond scones

5. Roll out the dough into a sheet. Spread the chopped almond paste over the dough as evenly as you can.
6. Roll and tuck it into a log as you would a cinnamon roll.
7. Pat the log down to about 1” – 1 ½” thick. Cut it up into 8 scones and place them on a baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze for about 15 minutes before baking.

The method for shaping these almond scones is a little bit more involved but it ensures even distribution of the almond paste. If you don’t want to bother, you can add the chopped almond paste straight into the dry ingredients mixture after Step 2 above and skip the rolling.

Baking the scones

8. Brush the reserved egg wash over the scones. Sprinkle sliced almonds and granulated sugar on top.
9. Bake until golden brown.

Baker’s Tips

• I like to use my insulated baking sheet for scones and biscuits because they bake at high temperature and this baking sheet keeps the bottom from getting scorched.
• If you don’t have an insulated baking sheet, that’s okay. Use a lighter color baking sheet or just watch the bottom edges to make sure they don’t burn during the last few minutes and take them out a little earlier if necessary.
• Refrigerating or freezing the scones before baking will help them keep their shape and rise taller instead of spread during the baking process.
• This almond scone recipe yields 8 generous size scones, or you can make a dozen smaller scones. Bake the smaller scones at the same oven temperature but reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.

My scone dough is too sticky, what did I do wrong?

• Did you measure the flour correctly? I’ve given the exact gram measurement I used in the recipe card. Using a kitchen scale will give you more accurate measurement. If you used less flour, this could result in wetter stickier scone dough.
• Did you save some liquid to use as egg wash? If you add too much liquid, the scone dough can be wetter and stickier as well.
• Sometimes flour just absorbs liquid differently and can cause slight variation in texture, hold back some liquid while making the dough to ensure you get the desired dough texture.
• If you already have a very sticky dough, use extra flour while shaping and rolling it to keep it from sticking. But make sure don’t add too much flour so that the dough turns out too dry, a wetter dough will yield softer scones.
• Using a bench scraper to scrape and lift the dough up can mitigate the stickiness while you’re shaping the scones.

Storing almond scones

Baked scones can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped well individually for 3 – 5 days.

Can I freeze almond scones?

You can freeze baked scones for up to 6 months. Thaw completely at room temperature and reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 5 – 7 minutes for crispy scones, or simply microwave for 20 seconds.

You can also freeze the unbaked scones for up to 6 months and bake them up whenever you want fresh scones for a snack. You can bake them straight from frozen at the same oven temperature, but you’ll need to increase the baking time by 2 – 4 minutes.

Love almond? Try these recipes

• Plum Tart with Frangipane
• Peach Cobbler with Almond Streusel
• Almond Croissants
• Almond Shortbread Cookies
• Almond Pancakes
• Almond Spritz Cookies

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, send me a photo, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!

4.95 from 38 votes

Almond Scones

By Trang Doan

Tender Almond Scones filled with almond paste pair perfectly with a morning coffee or an afternoon tea. These scones are soft and fluffy, with a simple yet complex flavor that is absolutely irresistible.

Servings: 8 scones

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 22 minutes mins

Total Time: 49 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Insulated Baking Sheet
• Pastry Blender
• Pastry Brush
• French Rolling Pin
• Bench Scraper

Ingredients 

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• ▢ 2 cup all-purpose flour, 274 g
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder, 13 g
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 67 g
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 4 oz unsalted butter, cold & cubed, 113 g
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ⅔ - ¾ cup buttermilk, or enough to fill 1 cup including the egg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
• ▢ 7 oz almond paste, or 1 batch of homemade almond paste
• ▢ 2 tablespoon sliced almond
• ▢ Extra sugar for sprinkling
• ▢ Extra flour for rolling

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Instructions 

• Chop the almond paste into small chips, store in a bowl and set aside.
• Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, add kosher salt and sugar, whisk to combine.
• Add cold cubed butter to the flour mixture, work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry blender until all the butter pieces are about pea and lima bean size.
• Add egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract and almond extract to a measuring cup to fill 1 cup, whisk to combine. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture, reserving 2 tablespoons to use as egg wash later. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, pat the dough out to about 1/2” thick and fold it over itself. Do this a few times to create layers. Shape into a rectangle.
• With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4” thick and 12” - 14” long. Sprinkle the chopped almond paste evenly over the dough. Roll the dough into a log starting at the long edge. Then pat it down to about 1” - 1 ½” thick. Cut into 8 triangles.
• Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Before you put the scones into the oven, brush the top and sides with the reserved egg wash, sprinkle with some sliced almonds and a little bit of granulated sugar for shine.
• Bake for 21-22 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet 5 - 10 minutes before transferring the scones to the wire rack to cool completely. Best served warm.

Video

Notes

• Use an insulated baking sheet or a lighter color baking sheet to avoid the bottom of the scones getting burned.
• Refrigerating or freezing the scones before baking will help them keep their shape and rise taller instead of spread during the baking process.
• This almond scone recipe yields 8 generous size scones, or you can make a dozen smaller scones. Bake the smaller scones at the same oven temperature but reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 108g, Calories: 357kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!

This post was originally published on 12/20/2014. The recipe has been updated and republished on 7/22/2020 with the latest improvements, extra tips, and a video to help you in the kitchen.