The first time I made these scones without butter a friend of mine was coming to visit and I really wanted to make some scones. But I realized I didn't have any butter. How was that possible?! But I did not give up and made really good scones!
It might seem that a recipe for scones without butter will not work (or have a decent result) but I ended up with the most delicious and fluffy scones I've ever made. This is now my to go recipe for scones!
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🧈 What can I substitute for butter in scones?
Altough I thought that I could use oil instead of butter in my basic scones recipe, that was not an idea I wanted to persue. I make a Brazilian Carrot Cake using butter instead of oil because it tastes so much better - and has a much better texture - so that was scratched right away.
I had no butter, but did have heavy cream. If you can make butter from heavy cream, I could try right?
But no, I did not make my own butter. Not this time at least. I used the heavy cream in the place of the butter and milk in the recipe.
How to make scones without butter
This is a very straightforward and easy recipe for scones. I'm not sure I could even call it a trick, but the key step for baking scones without butter is to not overwork the dough.
It might seem impossible to blend all ingredients in a manner that the dough is not overworked, but with the help of a pastry scraper (or a spatula) it is easy to do.
Making scones without butter
- Mix dry ingredients
First add dry ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.
- Add wet ingredients
Then add the heavy cream to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (some dry ingredients will be on the loose).
- Fully incorporate ingredients
Turn mixture on a working surface, and with the help of a pastry scraper (or spatula), gather any dry ingredients and fold over, until fully incorporated.
- Shape and cut
Shape dough into a circle of about 1 1/4 inch (3cm) thick then cut in 8 wedges, like a pizza.
- Transfer to baking sheet
Carefully transfer each scone to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush each scone with a little of heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool and serve
Remove from oven, let cool for a couple minutes and serve.
This recipe is for scones without eggs too
Yes, that's right. If for any reason you do not eat eggs, this is a delicious recipe for scones without eggs.
Is this recipe vegan?
Nope. Althought this is a scone recipe without butter or eggs, it is not vegan, as it has heavy cream.
We have not tried yet to make it vegan. We´ll let you know when we do.
Recipe
So, here is my scones recipe without butter.
Scones without butter
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Add dry ingredients to a medium bowl amd mix.
- Add heavy cream to dry ingredients and mix.
- Drop the dough on a working surface and, with the help of a pastry spatula, mix dry ingredients that might have remained separated.
- Shape dough into a 1 1/4-inch-thick circle and cut scones as a pizza. Cut the circle in half across, that crossways and then each quarter in half.
- Transfer scones to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush scones with a little of heavy cream and then place in the over.
- Bake for15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes then serve.
At what temperature does one heat the oven??
Hi Katya, at 350F - 180C
There must be a typo as 2 cups flour and 1.5 cups liquid is just a soupy slurry mess ... To salvage this I added another cup of flour, another Tbl sugar, should have increased the salt but didn't. I flattened the dough to about 1/2 thick, covered one half with 3/4 cup blackberries, folded the other half of dough on top. Cut this into about 10 pieces, brushed them with cream and sprinkled lavender sugar on top (happened to have this). I cranked the oven temp to 400 degrees (who cooks scones at 350?) and cooked for about 20 minutes. The bottoms were brown, the tops anemic-looking. I give them 1 star because they rose nicely and have a good texture and I like the option without butter.
Hi Laurie
What a disaster! Well, I make them quite often and they always turn out perfect!
Thanks for the recipe. It’s so close to mine, which I can’t find. One thing I do different is add the cream a little at a time. Keep some in reserve. Then brush the tops and sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
Thanks for the tip!
This is interesting without butter. I just do the ratio of 2c flour to 1/2c of half & half creamer & it comes out fine, also less fat. Scones can get tough if overmixed, so try to just bring it all together & then that is it. Also, I put them in the freezer after mixing for 12-15 minutes, this helps relax the gluten, they rise better, & makes them tender & flakier. I always do scones @ 425f for 12-13 min. turns out perfecto.
Thanks for posting this one, way healthier.
Thanks for the tips!
Amazing!