Irish Scones Buttermilk

Learn how to make scrumptious Irish Scones with buttermilk, perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner, or your next tea party!

Whether you’re looking for a delicious way to round out your St. Patrick’s Day meal, or you’d like to switch up your usual afternoon tea routine, these Irish Buttermilk Scones fit the bill!

They’re delicious spread with Devonshire cream and jam, or melty butter and a drizzle of honey.

Okay, let me walk you through how to make these Irish soda scones in your own kitchen!

Video Tutorial

Here’s a video overview so you can quickly get an idea of the process! As always the written tutorial and printable recipe are below!

Ingredient Notes:

First, let’s go over the simple ingredients you’ll need:

• Flour: I use organic unbleached all-purpose flour, but any all-purpose flour should work here.
• Baking Soda: Make sure your baking soda is fresh so it will interact with the buttermilk to raise these scones.
• Baking Powder: My favorite brand at the moment is Field Day.
• Salt: I use unrefined sea salt, so if you use regular table salt you’ll want to reduce the amount slightly.
• Sugar: These scones have just a tablespoon of sugar to give them only a touch of sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter scone, you can double the sugar.
• Butter: I like to use salted Kerrygold butter in these scones (seems fitting to use Irish butter in Irish scones), but any good salted butter will work! If you opt for unsalted butter, you’ll want to reduce the amount of salt by 1/8 teaspoon. And make sure to use cold butter, not softened!
• Raisins or Dried Currants: This is optional, but you can add 1/2 cup of raisins or currants if desired. I haven’t always been the world’s biggest fan of raisins, but I find that I actually enjoy them in these scones! If you’re using raisins, you can chop them finer to be closer to the size of currants. And you could even try substituting another dried fruit if you prefer.
• Buttermilk: I love the flavor that the tangy buttermilk lends to these scones. While I highly recommend using actual buttermilk if you can get it, you can also substitute milk mixed with vinegar or lemon juice, or yogurt/sour cream mixed with milk.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Getting Ready:

Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit (204° Celsius). Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Mixing the Dough:

Next, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.

Pulse until the dry ingredients are well combined.

NOTE: You can also whisk everything in a large mixing bowl if you don’t own a food processor.

Cut the butter into chunks and scatter them over the flour mixture.

Pulse until the mixture resembles sand or breadcrumbs/coarse crumbs. You don’t want there to be any large pieces of butter. As a general rule, the more you cut the butter in, the less buttermilk you’ll need.

If you don’t own a food processor, you can cut the butter in with a pastry blender (AKA pastry cutter), two knives, a fork, etc. Just make sure to get the butter pieces quite small!

Pour the flour/butter mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the center with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Pour the buttermilk into the well in the flour/butter mixture.

Mix with the wooden spoon just until a dough forms. You may need to add a bit more buttermilk if there are dry patches.

DO NOT OVER MIX!!

If you want a soft dough and tender, fluffy scones, it’s important to not overwork it. Otherwise your scones can end up tough.

Shaping the Scones:

Flour your work surface and scrape the dough out onto it.

If you’re adding raisins or currants, you can scatter half of them across the dough. Or you can mix them into the dry ingredients after cutting in the butter. This is actually easier, but I forgot to add them during that step.

Fold and gently knead the dough a few times, adding in the rest of the raisins. This helps to create the layers while baking.

Gently pat the dough out to about a 1 inch thickness.

Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out small scones and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can simply slice them into squares using a sharp knife.

Keep in mind that if you make large scones, they will bake at a different rate.

Gather any leftover dough, gently knead and pat it back out into a 1-inch thick circle, and cut out more scones.

This is optional, but you can brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream or an egg wash (using a pastry brush) to help them brown in the oven.

Baking

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms are golden brown.

Transfer your lovely scones to a wire cooling rack to cool a bit while you get your tea ready.

Serving

There are several ways to serve these Irish scones:

• Spread with butter or clotted cream (AKA Devonshire cream).
• Top with your favorite jam. Strawberry jam or raspberry jam are delicious. Really any jam would work here though!
• Add a dollop of lemon curd or orange marmalade on top.
• Drizzle on some honey or spread on some honey butter.
• The texture of the scones is similar to a buttermilk biscuit, so you could totally serve these alongside soups or stews!

And of course a cup of tea is nearly a must for serving scones! I haven’t tried them myself (I must remedy that someday!), but apparently Barry’s, Lyons, and Bewley’s are popular tea brands in Ireland.

Storing

Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can rewarm the scones in an oven or toaster oven if desired.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is the difference between Irish and British scones? While British and Irish scones are quite similar, Irish scones might contain less leavening, which makes for shorter scones. They can also be a tad less sweet than English scones, and can be cut into smaller circles. Now of course a truly traditional Irish recipe will look a bit different than our modern day version, and recipes can vary from family to family. These are only some general differences that you might observe. Side note: you may notice that American scones use more butter than their Irish cousin.
• What does buttermilk do to scones? The buttermilk reacts with the baking soda, which helps to raise them and make them fluffy. Some say that the buttermilk can also break down the gluten in the flour, which would help to keep them tender. And it lends such a lovely flavor.
• What’s the Secret to Making Good Scones? Some of the most important factors when it comes to making the best scones are using cold ingredients (don’t soften the butter!), cutting the butter in well until it resembles sand or breadcrumbs, not overworking the dough, and not over baking the scones.

So that’s my Irish scone recipe! Make sure to check out my other, less traditional scone recipes below!

More Scone Recipes:

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