How Long To Cook Mini Mincemeat Tarts

This post may contain affiliate links. See my privacy policy for details.

This is my scone recipe for the best scones ever – buttery, crispy on the outside but velvety on the inside perfection! These scones are simple to make and will have you baking them weekly for your weekend breakfasts.

Slather these with clotted cream for the perfect combination!

buttery scones with raisins on blue background — scones

The Best Scone Recipe Ever

I have been baking these scones for as long as I can remember. I think, sometimes, that my husband married me for my baking. Not all of it, but some. He has admitted, in a sugar-induced haze, that he married me so he could savor my butter tarts every Christmas. Now, don't go getting all excited, I mean butter tarts, there are no sneaky innuendos or double meanings implied there. My family's recipe for butter tarts. Yup. Savor them he does. Or is the word inhale?

And then that evolved to my mincemeat tarts. And then my shortbread. Now the past few years, its my scones.

I guess baking is cheaper than a divorce in any case, right?

Do Scones Have Eggs?

This recipe does and I think that's what really sets it apart from all others. I use sour cream AND an egg to make the ultimate rich scones. Really, just read all of the raving reviews below from readers that have made these – I don't call anything the best unless I REALLY think it is!

Sour cream is what sets the best scones apart from all others, it yields a tender crumb inside while the butter in the recipe makes the outside crispy and snappy, the perfect scone in my opinion. This recipe is one of the oldest on my website and has been updated many times over the years with new photos and even a new how-to video- but never a new recipe!

Recipe Video

Simple, Easy Scones Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup of sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups of flour
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of blueberries or raisins, or whatever fruit you want.
1 cup of margarine or butter
1 egg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.

Step by Step How to Make Good Scones

Get all of your ingredients ready to use! It's easier when you have everything ready to go, or "mise en place" as chefs say, which translates to "everything in it's place."

ingredients needed for scones in red and white bowls on wood board — ingredients needed for scones

More pretty.

close up of blueberries for scones in a white bowl — bowl of blueberries for scones

Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda. It makes it poof up. That's my well-educated explanation of the chemical reaction that happens. It poofs up.

adding the baking soda to a bowl of sour cream in a white bowl — sour cream in a bowl

It…poofs…up.

a spoon in bowl with sour cream — sour cream in a bowl

Ok, throw those 4 cups of flour into a big mixing bowl. I brought out my Big Steel Baddy for this job. He can handle it.

flour mixture for scones in a large stainless bowl, sour cream mixture in a small white bowl on the back — flour mixture for scones recipe

Add your cup of sugar.

adding a cup of sugar to the flour mixture for scones recipe — flour mixture for scones recipe

Add in your baking powder.

baking powder on a small red bowl — baking powder

And your salt.

pinch of salt in a red small bowl — salt

And whisk them all together, or sift. If anyone out there owns a sifter you can go ahead and feel free to use it. Don't be intimidated by my whisk, and the fact that it can kick your sifters hiney, then come back and fluff my ingredients right up, then come back for a second helping of kicking hiney on your sifter. Just saying.

a whisk on dry mixture for scones in a large stainless bowl — dry mixture for scones

Ok, butter time. And even though there are some scone purists who may clutch their pearls and fan themselves rapidly with their cookbooks, I have used margarine in this recipe, and it tastes great as well. Choose your poison.

salted butter in a red small bowl — salted butter

Now, this is one kitchen do-hickey I cannot live without, my pastry blender. Can you believe that I used two knives scissor style for years? And for the gold cookie award, does anyone want to guess who gave me this for Christmas one year? Leave your answer in my comments, I am sure you can guess correctly.

cutting the butter using pastry blender into the dry mixture — cutting butter into scones dry mixture

Cut the butter in until your arms ache, and it looks like this. If your arms aren't aching, it ain't cut in enough!

butter blended into the dry mixture — cutting butter into scones dry mixture

Hello world. Meet egg. I love this picture because it shows how I am loathe to wash more dishes than I have to. See the little salt sprinkles on the front edge? I just re-used the closest dirty bowl to me.

beaten egg in a small red bowl — beaten egg

Beat the egg slightly.

Take your poofy sour cream and your egg and add them in.

adding the beaten egg into the dry ingredients mixture — beaten egg in orange container

Mix it well, and then add your fruit. With fresh fruit, you have to be oh so careful not to squish it in too much. Raisins are amazing in this recipe as well, they make a sweeter scone than the blueberries do. Raisins, you can pound the heck outta the suckers and you won't even make a dent. Blueberries are a delicate fruit to use, but worth it in the end.

Be gentle.

blueberries added into the mixture for scones on a large stainless bowl — how to mix blueberries into scones

Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches).

three equal size circles of scone dough — how to cut scone dough

See? If you look at the front, even I squished the berries. After I had the gall to lecture you. Serves me right. Later I will show you what it looks like all baked up, don't even sweat it if you squish some.

close up of a circle scone dough — how to cut scone dough

Cut each circle into 6 pieces.

3 pieces of circle scone dough cut into 6 pieces each — how to cut scone dough into 6 pieces

Lay your beautiful little pie-like pieces onto your very well greased baking sheets. Blueberries like to stick.

Pop them into your preheated 350 degree oven and bake until the bottoms are nice and brown, and the tops are slightly browned.

little pie-like pieces of scones on a baking sheet — scones on baking sheet

So here is a squished one, see how it just shoots little blue veins through the dough? No big deal, in fact, fairly attractive looking.

a piece of a pie-like baked blueberry scone — baked blueberry scone

These are great plain, better with margarine or butter, and fantastic with jam.

More Scone Recipes

Here are a few more tried, tested and true recipes here on The Kitchen Magpie!

Glazed Meyer Lemon Scones
Christmas Cherry Scones
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones
Pumpkin Spice Scones

close up of scones with raisins on blue background — scones with raisins

Best Scones Ever Recipe Tips & Tricks

Use cold butter ( even frozen) and grate it into the scones if you have a grater. Don't fear however if you want to make these and you didn't have time to freeze the butter, cold from the fridge works great as well!
Try not to overwork the dough if you can. The heat from your hands will soften the butter. IF you think you did over work the dough, you can refrigerate the scone triangles before you bake them to get the butter hard again.
Make sure to read my Step by Step How to Make Perfect Scones. It will totally help you with cutting the scones up!

Happy baking!

Love,

Karlynn

Pin this recipe to your Breakfast or Desserts Boards and Remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!

Scone Recipe: The Best Scones Ever! Crispy, perfect scones! #scones #recipe #dessert #baking #blueberry #raisin #tea #teatime #British

Thanks to ads on this website, readers of The Kitchen Magpie are now sponsoring 2 families a month through the Edmonton Food Bank. Learn how you can help here.

Learn to cook like the Kitchen Magpie

The Prairie Table

Suppers, Potlucks & Socials: Crowd-Pleasing Recipes to Bring People Together

Learn More

▢ 1 cup of sour cream
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ 4 cups of flour
▢ 1 cup of white sugar
▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 1 cup of butter
▢ 1 egg
▢ 1 cup of blueberries or raisins or whatever fruit you want.

Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.
Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda.
Whisk together the flour, sugar,baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, until the butter is broken into pea sized morsels in the flour.
Beat the egg and mix in into the sour cream.
Add the sour cream mixture into the dry mixture, working it in.
The dough can be a bit dry, but if you use your hands to combine it, it will be perfect. If needed add milk until it's combined. The secret to a good scone is a drier dough, not gluey.
When the dough is combined, mix in the fruit. I fold in delicate berries by hand.
Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches). Cut each circle into six equal triangles.
Bake on a well greased or parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are browned nicely on the bottom and slightly on the top. Watch them carefully!
Serve and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

Use cold butter ( even frozen) and grate it into the scones if you have a grater. Don't fear however if you want to make these and you didn't have time to freeze the butter, cold from the fridge works great as well!
Try not to overwork the dough if you can. The heat from your hands will soften the butter. IF you think you did over work the dough, you can refrigerate the scone triangles before you bake them to get the butter hard again.
You can substitute in currants for a very traditional scone!
Make sure to read my Step by Step How to Make Perfect Scones. It will totally help you with cutting the scones up!

Serving: 1 g , Calories: 287 kcal , Carbohydrates: 39 g , Protein: 3 g , Fat: 13 g , Saturated Fat: 8 g , Cholesterol: 42 mg , Sodium: 306 mg , Potassium: 176 mg , Fiber: 1 g , Sugar: 11 g , Vitamin A: 410 IU , Vitamin C: 0.6 mg , Calcium: 49 mg , Iron: 1.6 mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

Made this recipe?

Share a photo of what you made on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thekitchenmagpie or hashtag it #thekitchenmagpie.

Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!