Whole Wheat Apple Pecan Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make scones rise and not spread? ›

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.

Perhaps there wasn't enough liquid, or it could be that the dough was overworked and / or the scones were overbaked. If you're measuring the liquid in a jug, make sure you check the amount at eye level. The dough should be handled gently and feel moist. If there are any crumbs in the bowl it will need a spot more milk.

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.

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

*The secret to the flakiest scones is to use cold. ingredients: cold butter/ margarine, cold eggs , cold. milk .

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.

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

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).

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.

You could use buttermilk instead of heavy cream in this recipe if you prefer. Its acid reacts with the baking powder to keep the dough tender. But since we use heavy cream and an egg, this dough is richer than traditional biscuit dough and doesn't need much tenderizing.

What is better for scones buttermilk or heavy cream? ›

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Arrange scones side by side on the baking tray, so that they are just touching each other. This will help keep the sides straight and even as the scones cook. They will also rise higher than scones that are baked spaced apart.

The most likely reason I can think of is that you omitted the leavening, or what you used was flat. Another reason might be that your dough was too warm when you baked it, so it spread more while baking. Of course, scones are not yeast products, so they shouldn't rise as much as bread would.

Are you greasing your baking sheets? Don't do that. Scones tend to spread if you set them on greased sheets. Turn to parchment paper or a baking mat instead.

Use a 5 cm (2 inch) fluted cutter to stamp out the dough by pushing the cutter straight down into the dough (as opposed to twisting the cutter) then lift it straight out. This ensures that the scones will rise evenly and keep their shape.