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Gluten-free scone cooling on a wire rack.

Gluten-Free Scones

These gluten-free scones are lightly sweet, tender, and easy to make. Turn them into blueberry, lemon, or chocolate chip scones by following the variations listed below.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8 scones

Ingredients

  • 2 cups gluten-free flour (10 ounces; 283 grams)
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar 2 ⅓ ounces; 65 grams
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces (3 ounces; 85 grams)
  • ¾ cup buttermilk or heavy cream, plus more as needed (6 ounces; 170 grams)
  • 1 large egg (2 ounces; 56 grams out of shell)

Instructions

  1. To mix the dough by hand: Combine the gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.

    Add the butter and stir to coat it with the gluten-free flour mixture. Quickly cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Look for the mixture to look coarse with small and large pieces of butter throughout the flour. Proceed to step three.

    Gluten-free flour with small piece of butter in a glass bowl.

  2. Food processor directions: Place the gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse food processor, about 20 seconds each, to combine.

    Remove the lid and add the butter. Pulse the food processor, about five times, to incorporate the butter into the gluten-free flour.

  3. Add the buttermilk and egg. Stir until the dough comes together. If dry flour remains in the bowl, add a tablespoon more buttermilk. If the dough is very wet and sticky, add an additional tablespoon of gluten-free flour.
    Gluten-free scone dough in a bowl.
  4. Dust your counter with gluten-free flour. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead it until almost smooth.
  5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough in the center of the pan. Pat it into an 8-inch round. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a dry towel. Chill for 30 minutes.
    Gluten-free scone dough pressed out on a piece of parchment.

  6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Gently separate the scones. (For round scones, see the variations in the notes below.) Sprinkle with sugar. (optional.)

    Gluten-free scones cut on a baking sheet. Scones are not baked.
  7. Bake scones until the bottoms are lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Let the scones cool on the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
    Gluten-Free scones cooling on a rack.
  8. Store the scones wrapped at room temperature for up to two days.To freeze: allow scones to cool. Place them into a freezer bag or container. Freeze up to three months. Thaw the scones in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

Dairy-Free Variations.

Butter. Replace the butter with an equal amount of dairy-free baking spread or coconut oil. If using coconut oil, you want it firm but not brittle.

Buttermilk or cream. Replace the buttermilk with full-fat coconut milk. Whisk the coconut milk until smooth before using.

Egg-Free Variation.

Replace the egg with a ¼ cup of additional buttermilk, cream, or coconut milk.

Flavor Variations.

Blueberry Scones. Stir 1 cup of fresh blueberries into the dough.

Lemon Scones. Add the zest of one large lemon.

Chocolate chip scones. Add 1 dark or milk chocolate chips. Top scones with a sprinkle of coarse sugar.

How to Make Round Scones.

Pat the dough into an 8-inch square. Cut the dough with a small round cookie cutter. Don’t twist the cutter. Doing this seals the edges and the scones won’t rise as high. You can gently knead the remaining and cut into rounds. Bake time depends on the size of the cutter you use. A 3-inch scone takes about 15 minutes to bake.