If you’re looking for the perfect scone recipe look no further! These Irish soda bread scones are great for St. Patrick’s Day, but they can be ideal for any day of the year.
Irish soda scones are essentially a tweaked, Irish soda bread recipe. This one uses raisins, but you can exclude them if you don’t want to use the raisins. You’ll end up with a nice basic soda bread scone. Perfectly flaky. Perfectly golden. Perfectly delicious.
Authentic Irish soda bread scones are usually round muffin shape, but you can also cut them into triangles as this recipe does. You’re gonna have to adjust your cooking time depending on the shape of your Irish soda scone. To check if it’s done, watch for the golden exterior and then use a toothpick to make sure the inside is finished cooking.
Looking for a scrumptious St. Patrick’s Day recipe? Try Traditional Irish Soda Bread or Guinness Cake Pops!
What You’ll Need
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon orange or tangerine zest
- 1 stick salted butter (cold)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup raisins
- 1 egg
How to Make Irish Soda Bread Scones
First, preheat your oven to 425°.
In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk or a spoon to combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and use a pastry cutter or fork to combine it into the flour. When you cut the butter, the flour mixture will still be fairly dry and that’s totally OK. 
Next, add cold buttermilk, orange zest, and raisins and use a spatula or spoon to combine until all the flour is just moist. Don’t over work it!
Dust a flat surface and your hands with flour and gather the dough onto the surface. Knead about 5 – 10 times and then loosely shape the dough into a ball.
Use a rolling pin to flatten to about a half inch to an inch like a thick pizza. Then, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into 8 or 10 pieces, depending on how large you’d like your scones.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the scones on the baking sheet, leaving ample space between them. Whisk the egg (optional: add a splash of milk) and brush the scones with it to create a glaze. Sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top for texture.
Bake the scones for about 14 minutes or until the are just golden brown.
Serve them warm with butter, jam or honey. You can keep the leftover scones in an airtight bag at room temperature or in the refrigerator  for 2 to 4 days. 
Looking for a unique and tasty scone recipe? Try:
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Pastry cutter
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon orange or tangerine zest
- 1 stick salted butter (cold)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup raisins
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and use a pastry cutter or fork to combine it into the flour. Add buttermilk, orange zest, and raisins and use a spatula or spoon to combine until all the flour is moist.
- Dust a surface and your hands with flour and gather the dough onto the surface. Knead about 5 times and then shape the dough into a ball. Use a rolling pin to flatten to about a half inch to an inch. Then, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into 8 or 10 pieces, depending on how large you'd like your scones.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the scones on the baking sheet, leaving ample space between them. Whisk the egg (optional: add a splash of milk) and brush the scones to create a glaze. Sprinkle with granulated sugar for texture.
- Bake the scones for about 14 minutes or until the are just golden brown.
- Serve warm with butter, jam or honey.