🍢 SNACK
Irish Scones
Tall, tender white scones rubbed with cold butter, bound with egg and milk, glazed and baked in a very hot oven, split warm with butter and jam for the cup of tea.
Irish · easy · serves 10
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~261 cal · 7g protein · 38g carbs · 9g fat · 1g fiber · 4g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Scones are part of the rhythm of the Irish day. They are baked at home for visitors, sold in every café, bakery and hotel lounge, and eaten mid-morning or in the afternoon with a pot of tea, split open while still warm and spread with butter and jam, sometimes with a spoon of whipped cream as well.
The Irish scone is a quick bread with no yeast: flour, a little sugar and baking powder, cold butter rubbed in with the fingertips, and a liquid of eggs and milk, or buttermilk in the old soda-bread way. Darina Allen, the Ballymaloe cook who has done more than anyone to keep Irish home cooking alive, grew up on her mother's version and made it famous on her first television series.
The rules are the same in every kitchen: keep the butter cold, handle the dough as little as possible, cut straight down without twisting, and bake in a very hot oven. As the Irish Times put it, a scone should be eaten within a few hours of baking, and preferably still warm.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 10
- 450 g plain white flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 25 g caster sugar, plus extra for the tops
- a pinch salt
- 75 g cold butter, diced
- 2 eggs
- about 200 ml milk
- 1 beaten egg, to glaze
- as you like butter and jam, to serve
Instructions
- 1Heat the oven to 230°C and put a baking tray in to heat.
- 2Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a wide bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
- 3Whisk the eggs with most of the milk, make a well in the flour and pour it in. Mix with a fork or your hand to a soft, slightly sticky dough, adding a little more milk if it is dry.✎ Chef’s noteStop the moment it comes together. The less the dough is handled, the lighter the scones.
- 4Tip onto a floured surface, pat gently into a round about 2.5 cm thick and cut out scones with a 6 cm cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Press the trimmings together once for the last few.
- 5Brush the tops with beaten egg, dip them in a little sugar and set them on the hot tray.
- 6Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until well risen and deep golden. Cool briefly on a rack and serve warm, split, with butter and jam and a pot of tea.
Irish home baking, after Darina Allen.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Munster. Ireland's Munster cooks hearty comfort, soda bread, stews, and superb dairy and seafood along the Atlantic. Cork's butter and pork traditions run deep in the province.
🗺️
Ireland. Irish cooking is honest and comforting, soda bread, stews, colcannon, and a great tradition of dairy, seafood, and cured bacon. Modern Irish kitchens now celebrate superb local produce alongside those hearty roots.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Ireland
Irish StewA gentle, honest stew of lamb, potato, and onion slow-simmered into pure comfort.
Full Irish BreakfastThe great fry-up: eggs, sausage, rashers, black and white pudding, beans, tomato, and soda bread.
BoxtyA soft potato pancake made from both grated raw and mashed potato, griddled golden, an Irish comfort classic.
Browse all Ireland recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Irish Scones?
Tall, tender white scones rubbed with cold butter, bound with egg and milk, glazed and baked in a very hot oven, split warm with butter and jam for the cup of tea.
Where does Irish Scones come from?
Irish Scones is an Irish dish from Munster, Ireland.
Can Irish Scones be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Irish Scones recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Irish Scones safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Irish Scones take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 10.
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