Afternoon Tea Scones Recipes for Your Next Tea Party

What is the Difference Between British Scones and American Scones?

Here's the difference...

Andrea Geary lived in Scotland for eight years. When asked about the difference between American scones and British scones, she said,

"It's really about the butter. When I lived in Scotland it became clear that a true British scone is not as buttery. Not because the Brits are nutritious, but because in Britain you don't put a lot of butter in because you slather butter on it when you eat it! By the same token, you don't put a lot of sugar in it but you pile jam on top. They're probably equally injurious to one's diet but in different, equally lovely ways."

Scones vs Biscuits?

Some have asked, "What's the difference between scones and biscuits?"

Dawn Perry, writing for Bon Appetit, humorously explains...

"Point being, a biscuit is not a scone. Sure, they're made up of almost the same stuff-flour, leavener, fat, dairy-but they are two altogether different things and you better not try to trick me into thinking one is the other."

And then distinguishes between the two...

"Biscuits should be light-airy even-with well-defined flaky layers. Tender, yes, but sturdy enough to support or be dragged through gravy, a runny egg yolk, or a generous serving of maple syrup. A scone should not flake like a biscuit. It can have layers of course, but they should err on the side of crumbly. A scone is slightly dryer than a biscuit and yet, when done well, not dry at all. Scones are intended to be consumed with a hot beverage of your choice after all. And clotted cream, or butter, or jam."

I'll let you decide which recipes are biscuit-y and which are not. To me... they're all incredibly delicious!

We've separated the scone recipes into two groups: traditional cream-style scones and specialty scones. But first...