What's the difference between scones and biscuits?

"Scones are typically made using a quick bread method with a higher ratio of liquid to flour, and sometimes no butter at all," says Snyder. In contrast, biscuits have a high ratio of butter, and the lamination process needed to achieve flaky layers is a key differentiator to scones .

Are scones healthy or unhealthy?

ANY TYPE OF SCONE Although convenient and tasty, scones are a complete loss . They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

Why are American scones called biscuits?

The reason scones are called biscuits in America is likely because the recipe to make Southern biscuits is similar to those used to make hardtack . Hardtack is a dense cracker or biscuit made of similar ingredients, but no dairy.

Why do Brits call biscuits scones?

A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.) Both baked goodies use flour, fat, liquid and a leavening agent. The main differences are that scones tend to have less butter (because you'll add butter to it when you eating it — or else, clotted cream or jam) while American biscuits tend to have more butter and light layers.

Are scones healthier than biscuits?

Biscuits are often slightly healthier than scones because they use less butter and sugar than scones. Both biscuits and scones contain flour, fat, dairy, and baking powder. Both of these treats fit into a healthy diet in moderation.

Are scones supposed to be hard or soft?

It should be dry and soft like a bread, not dry and hard like a biscuit/cookie. Because scones are short breads they can become dry and crumbly, and I have asked chefs in top restaurants their scone secrets, but I think they were a bit coy with their answers.

Everything Bagel Spice Scones Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Bake

by: Posie (Harwood) Brien

January27,2016

6 Ratings

Everything Bagel Spice Scones Recipe on Food52 (1)

Makes 10 scones

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

If "everything spice" tastes good on bagels, it should taste even better on other carbs...like these buttery, flaky, tender scones. And it does. I made them to accompany Progresso's Garden Vegetable Soup, but they do well sopping up other soups and stews, too.

Use the ratios of spices to make extra spice blend and sprinkle it on everything from roasted vegetables to polenta. —Posie (Harwood) Brien

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

450 gramsall-purpose flour
3 teaspoonsbaking powder
3 ¹/₂ teaspoonskosher salt, divided into 2 teaspoons and 1 1/2 teaspoons
2 eggs
8 tablespoonsmilk or heavy cream
4 teaspoonsdried onion
2 teaspoonsgarlic powder (or 4 teaspoons dried garlic)
4 teaspoonssesame seeds
4 teaspoonspoppy seeds
150 gramsvery cold butter (about 2/3 cup)

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together the dried onion, garlic powder (or dried garlic), sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Taste the blend! If you prefer one flavor, you can easily adjust the ratios to your liking. Set your spice blend aside.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. (NB: If you find your scones are not moist enough for your liking, add 1 teaspoon of sugar here. It won't make them sweet at all but will help keep them moist.)
Add 2 tablespoons of your spice blend and whisk to combine.
Cut your cold butter into the flour mixture using a fork, pastry cutter, or your fingers. Continue until the butter is in small lumps, the size of peas or smaller. Be careful not to overwork the dough; you don't want to touch it more than you need to or the heat of your hands will warm the butter too much.
Whisk together the eggs with the milk or cream and add this to your flour mixture. Stir with a fork or wooden spoon until the dough comes together. It will be dry, but it should stick together when you pinch it. If it's too dry, add a drizzle of milk or cream.
Turn the dough out and knead it very gently with your hands to bring it together into a cohesive ball. Flatten the dough into a disc about 1 1/2" high. Using a 2" (or slightly larger) biscuit cutter or sharp glass, press down firmly into the dough (do not twist!).
Place your dough circles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each scone lightly with water or milk and sprinkle a generous amount of spice blend on top of each one.
Bake the scones for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Tags:

Bread
Quick Bread
Grains
Milk/Cream
Sesame
Bake
Breakfast
Snack

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Emily Love
mrslarkin
Posie (Harwood) Brien
X

Popular on Food52

10 Reviews

X February 7, 2016

Made these without the salt in the topping, and cut back on the salt in the dough. (Really don't want all that sodium). Added toasted sunflower seeds to the topping.They were really good served with beer/cheese chowder. Also good with scrambled eggs and grits the next morning.

Carol February 6, 2016

Can anyone translate 450 grams of flour to cups?

Posie (. February 7, 2016

One cup of flour is 120 grams so 450 grams is just under 4 cups (4 cups minus 2 tablespoons would be about right). If you can weigh the flour I really recommend it and if you don't have a scale, weigh carefully by spooning the flour into your measuring cup so you don't over measure. Too much flour will make the scones dense and heavy and they won't be as flaky!

Carol February 7, 2016

Thank you! Can't wait to try this recipe!

See Also

Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Cake Recipe

Emily L. February 4, 2016

am I the only person who thinks these look like/are biscuits? (delicious looking biscuits)

Posie (. February 4, 2016

Totally right! There are pretty subtle differences between the two actually (well, Brits call cookies biscuits and American biscuits scones so it's all confusing!)...typically, we see American scones shaped in triangles, but classic scones are often shaped in circles. Generally the difference between the two is that scones have egg (and often a bit of sugar) and biscuits don't. Scones tend to be richer and more dense, often including heavy cream whereas biscuits will be lighter and airier than a recipe like this one. But there's quite a fine line between the two, especially depending on where you live.

Emily L. February 4, 2016

I had no idea! thanks for the follow up :) Will definitely be attempting these they look amazing!

mrslarkin February 1, 2016

Yay! I love everything scones! I put caraway seeds in my mix. I like to put a little sugar in the dough, so you get that savory/sweet thing going on.

Posie (. February 1, 2016

Totally going to try caraway, love the idea of doing an entire bagel shop/Jewish deli line of scone variations, ha! I usually do add sugar to savory scones (mostly just a touch to keep them moist) and I have to say I tried it with these and didn't notice a difference oddly! I also felt like the onion and garlic flavor was so pronounced that it didn't benefit as much from the sweet/savory, as say, cheese scones.