Travel to the Emerald Isle with these tender and flaky Irish butter scones. The BEST breakfast for that “all things Irish” holiday, or a perfect treat for any weekend morning!
I asked my daughter, Dylan, what comes to mind when I say the word, “scones.”
“Mmm. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside- and they taste like butter.”
Yes, indeed.
One could almost argue that a truly great scone is merely a vehicle for eating butter. This is a good thing, for as much as my daughter would like it, eating butter alone may not be the best idea:)
But baked up in a flaky biscuit, slathered with a sticky jam, and with a dollop of soft whipped cream, the simple buttery flavor carries through- and it is heavenly.
So how does Irish butter differ from the what we typically find?
Two ways.
Irish butter contains more butterfat, which makes it creamier and easier to spread than American butter. (Stateside, our typical butter has a higher water content.)
And that bright yellow color is an indication that it comes from grass grazing cows – in this case, from cows enjoying the lush Irish landscape. Grass is full of beta carotene, which in turn provides that distinctive hue. (Corn fed cows produce butter that is lighter in color.)
Irish (and English)- style scones are much more like our biscuits than our scones. Best served warm from the oven, they are tender, not dry or crumbly, and are usually made plain or simply with currants.
Bake up a batch, pour yourself a cuppa tea, and enjoy the morning!
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Irish Butter Scones with Jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons Irish butter such as Kerrygold
- ½ cup buttermilk see note
- 1 large egg
- Your favorite fruit jam for serving
- A little freshly whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425. Line a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, and add it to the dry mixture. Use your fingers, or a pastry blender, to cut the butter into the flour. You could also do this in a food processor. The mixture should look like coarse cornmeal, with a few pea sized lumps.
- Mix the egg and buttermilk together, then pour into the flour mixture. Stir until it just comes together, adding a little more buttermilk if it is dry, but be careful not to add too much. It should just hold together.
- Transfer to a floured board and pat into a circle roughly 1 inch high. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut out the scones, transferring to the prepared baking sheet. Gather the scraps and cut out remaining biscuits.
- Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through, until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve with fruit jam and whipped cream if desired.
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