If the word scone make you think of dry, crumbly bakery-case sadness, My Strawberry Scones with Strawberry Glaze are here to fix that. The rosemary is optional, but highly recommended because it just makes the strawberries taste more like strawberries, which is an especially good thing. These are tender and buttery, with juicy berries, a pretty strawberry glaze, and enough bakery experience behind them to back up every bite.
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Consider me your Strawberry Scone expert. At every bakery where I have worked, I was the scone girl. I made so many scones. At my first job, I made dozens of scones before the store even opened at 7 a.m. I thought that was a lot. No no no. At my next bakery job, I sometimes made hundreds of scones every weekend. In addition, I made, on average, 48 pounds of scone mix, which is dry ingredients cut with butter, for the coming week. I know scones, and strawberry is my favorite.
My mother-in-law had a dry scone decades ago and she talked about it all the time. She said she swore them off forever. This is the scone recipe that changed that for her. A moist, cravable scone that even my scone-suspicious mother-in-law loved.
My regular buttermilk scones have become so popular that I decided it was time to give these strawberry scones the same classic treatment: a traditional American wedge-shaped scone, packed with fresh strawberries and a little herbal touch, baked until golden, and finished with a pretty strawberry glaze. It's just a vibe.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Classic scone shape - The dough is shaped into a round and cut into eight wedges for that traditional bakery-style scone look.
- Fresh strawberry flavor - Diced strawberries are tucked right into the dough, giving you juicy little pockets of berry in every bite.
- Not dry or boring - Heavy cream, egg, cold butter, and a light hand keep these scones tender and flaky instead of dusty and disappointing.
- Optional rosemary - Fresh rosemary adds a subtle herbal note that makes the strawberries pop without making the scones taste savory.
- Pretty strawberry glaze - The glaze can be made plain, or you can add freeze-dried strawberry powder for a light pink drizzle and more strawberry flavor.
These homemade strawberry scones are easy enough for a regular morning, but pretty enough for brunch, tea, Mother's Day, Easter, or any day you want to pretend you casually run a tiny bakery out of your kitchen.
Ingredients & Substitutions
There are no fancy ingredients in these scones. If you don't have something at home right now, you can easily find it at your local Mega Market. Just a few notes on some of the ingredients:
- All-purpose flour - All purpose flour has just the right protein content to give these scones good structure. You can use cake flour if that's what you have, but they will be softer. And I'm not mad at that.
- Fresh rosemary - This is optional, but highly recommended. Finely chop it so it disappears into the dough and gives you a gentle background flavor instead of surprise pine needles. Please skip dried rosemary here. It is too brittle and bossy for tender scones.
- Unsalted butter - Use very cold butter. Grating it makes it easier to work into the flour quickly so you get those buttery little flakes throughout the dough. If you only have salted butter, leave out the added kosher salt.
- Fresh strawberries - Fresh berries work best because they hold their shape and flavor. Frozen strawberries release too much liquid and can make the dough wet and sticky.
- Heavy cream - You can substitute with an equal amount of buttermilk if you like.
- Freeze-dried strawberry powder - Optional, but gorgeous. It gives the glaze a soft pink color and boosts the strawberry flavor without adding extra liquid.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Variations
If you want to use frozen diced strawberries, add them while still frozen. If you want to make blueberry scones, substitute with blueberries. You could even do raspberries with a tiny splash of almond extract and almonds on top instead of a glaze.
Do you love strawberries? Try my Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake made with juicy strawberries and tangy yogurt whipped cream on top of fluffy cream biscuits!
Weighing your ingredients makes a difference!
I include both volume (cups) and weight (grams) for most of my baking recipes, but I personally always measure by weight. I used to just scoop my flour and go, but my baking results were never consistent.
When I went to work in professional bakeries, they all used a scale for weighing major ingredients, with much more consistent results. If you try one of my baking recipes and it doesn't turn out just right, chances are that our measurement of a "cup" is just a little different.
When you measure by weight, 100 grams is 100 grams every single time. Accurate measurements lead to consistently good baked goods. My favorite scale is accurate and inexpensive.
Cynthia's Recipe Review
The number one test of a good recipe is to ask myself "Would I make them again?" Absolutely. This is the strawberry scone recipe I want for brunch, tea, and standing over the cooling rack pretending I am only going to eat half.
Quick Recipe Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making scones and making buttermilk biscuits use almost the exact same techniques. Except for the addition of an egg and some vanilla, if you can make a biscuit you can make us a scone.
Follow along with the pictures and you'll be eating scones before you know it! Start by lining a large sheet pan with parchment paper and setting it aside.
Step 1: Dice the strawberries and spread them on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Cover with another paper towel and another sheet pan, then set aside while you mix the dough. This helps wick away extra moisture so the scones bake up tender, not soggy.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and finely chopped rosemary, if using. Add the cold grated butter and work it in with your fingers, or a pastry cutter, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some small buttery pieces throughout. (you can also do this part in a food processor)
Step 3: Add the diced strawberries and gently toss them in the flour mixture so they are coated. This absorbs any remaining surface moisture.
Step 4: In a measuring cup, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the cream mixture into the dry ingredients and gently stir together with a spatula or fork until you have a shaggy dough.
Step 5: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to gather the loose bits together. Sprinkle your hands and the top of the dough with a little bit more flour.
Step 6: Gently shape the dough into a disk about 1 inch thick, dusting any sticky parts lightly with flour.
Step 7: Use a sharp knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, dusting the knife with flour between cuts if the dough gets sticky.
Step 8: Transfer the wedges to a prepared baking sheet and pop into the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the tops with egg wash made from one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown on top.
Step 9: Place the baked scones on a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, whisk together powdered sugar, optional freeze-dried strawberry powder, and milk until smooth and drizzly. Add a tiny splash more milk if it is too thick, or a little more powdered sugar if it is too thin.
Step 10: Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones with a spoon or whisk.
Finish: Let it set for a few minutes, then serve and accept the compliments and thank yous. You deserve them.
Cynthia's Helpful Tips
- Pat the strawberries dry - Fresh strawberries are delicious, but they are also little juice bombs. The paper towel step helps remove surface moisture before the berries go into the dough. If it isn't strawberry season and you have to use frozen berries, do not thaw them first.
- Keep the butter and cream cold - Start with cold ingredients. Scones and biscuits are some of the only baked goods that ask you not to use room temperature ingredients. Cold butter is what gives scones their tender, flaky texture. Popping the shaped scones into the freezer while you preheat your oven helps to chill the butter again.
- Don't overmix - Mix just until the dough comes together. A shaggy dough makes a better scone than a perfectly smooth dough.
- Use a floured knife - Strawberry scone dough can be a little sticky, so dusting the knife between cuts helps you get cleaner wedges.
- Let them cool before glazing - Warm scones will melt the glaze right off. Delicious? Yes. Pretty? Not so much.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. The rosemary is optional, but I really love it here. It does not make the scones taste savory. It just gives the strawberries a little something extra and makes your strawberry scone stand out from the crowd.
Technically the answer is yes, but with any cut fruit, even if you are freezing your shaped scones, I find it they release too much moisture during baking, turning into soggy scones with some doughy parts. I wouldn't recommend it.
Absolutely. The freeze-dried strawberry powder adds color and extra strawberry flavor, but the glaze is still delicious with powdered sugar and milk.
Store cooled scones loosely covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Because fresh strawberries release moisture, do not wrap them too tightly or they will soften.
Did you try this recipe?
Please consider leaving a comment with a ⭐️ rating below and tell me all about it! It helps me to continue to improve my content and lets others know what you think!
I appreciate it so much!
-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Fresh Strawberry Scones with Strawberry Glaze
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
For the scones
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped - optional but highly recommended
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter grated
- 1 cup (150 g) strawberries fresh diced
- ½ cup (119 g) heavy cream cold
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
For the strawberry glaze
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberry powder optional
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) milk plus more as needed
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Add the diced strawberries in a single layer, cover with another paper towel, and top with another sheet pan. Set aside while you make the dough.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and rosemary, if using.
- Add the cold grated butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly with small pieces of butter throughout.
- Add the diced strawberries and gently toss to coat them in the flour mixture.
- In a measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the cream mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix until a shaggy dough forms. The dough should hold together when pressed, but should not feel wet or loose. If there are a few dry bits at the bottom of the bowl, use your hands to gently work them in as you shape the dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to bring it together and shape it into a disk about 1 inch thick.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, dusting the knife with flour between cuts if needed.
- Place the scones on the prepared sheet pan. If you have time, place into the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Whisk together the egg and water, then brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, optional freeze-dried strawberry powder, and milk until smooth and drizzly. Add more milk a tiny splash at a time if too thick, or more powdered sugar if too thin.
- Drizzle or spoon the glaze over the cooled scones and let it set for a few minutes before serving.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Video
Notes
- Fresh strawberries work best in this recipe. Frozen strawberries release too much moisture and can make the dough sticky and wet.
- If you want a stronger pink color and more strawberry flavor in the glaze, use the freeze-dried strawberry powder. If you leave it out and out of splash of vanilla extract. The glaze will still be delicious, just more classic and vanilla-sweet.
- Storage: Store leftover scones loosely covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Do not cover tightly because the fruit and glaze will make your scones too soggy.
So easy & tasty! I did not have the strawberry powder, so I added a little lemon juice to the powdered sugar glaze & they turned out great!
Just made these on a snowy day and omg it's so good! My husband said this is probably the best thing I've ever made. Also appreciated that it's fairly simple to make!
That's fantastic! Your husband must have impeccable taste!! 😂❤️
Absolutely delicious! Crunchy exterior and tender interior... great flavor! Would 100% make again.
Yay!!! I'm so thrilled you like them!