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Old fashioned sour cream scones are perfect slathered with jam, butter, or clotted cream!

There’s a restaurant in Arlington, VA that has the most amazing Sunday brunch spread. I went there for the first time with an old roommate to celebrate getting a new job and fell in l.o.v.e. Who doesn’t fall in love with $1 mimosas? Crazy people, that’s who. They had these super moist, crumby scones that they served with jams and fresh fruit. Holy cow. I almost didn’t make it to the rest of the spread I ate so many scones. Almost. I took my mom there for Mother’s Day brunch the following year and she concurred. The scones were top notch.

After that scones were one of those things that for the longest time I had relegated to the fancy restaurant brunch only to be had on special occasions. I only made them when I was entertaining friends or felt like getting all fancy schmancy on a Saturday. You guys. Scones are so. freaking. easy. Like ridiculously easy. The first time I made them I may have been a little annoyed with myself that I had deemed them “fancy food” for so long.

I’ve shared brown sugar scones and apple pie scones here before but when I was searching the archives the other week i couldn’t believe I hadn’t shared just my base scone recipe with you! Whaaaaat?! I make this recipe all the time and use it as a base for so many other flavors too. Like these ham and cheese scones I made for my friend Byron. Change up the sugar level depending on whether you’re going for sweet or savory and you can put just about anything in these babies.

I prefer to bake my scones with the sides touching so they’re nice and soft and don’t form a crust. Somewhere Paul from The Great British Baking Show is wagging his finger at me because Paul demands that crust all the way around his scones but that’s ok. I still think he’s cute. If you prefer crunchy, crusty sides separate your scones on the pan and bake away. You’ll be making these scones over and over anywhere so you might as well experiment!

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Sour Cream Scones

Yield: 8 scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• cup ⅓ sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• tsp ¼ baking soda
• tsp ¼ salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
• cup ½ sour cream
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a fork, pastry cutter, or your fingers cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and mix sour cream and egg until smooth. Fold in the dry ingredients with a fork or your fingers until dough comes together.
3. Pat out dough directly onto your lined or greased baking sheet into an 8 inch circle and cut into 8 equal triangles.
4. Leave scones touching in a circle for soft sides or separate for crunchy ones and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown.