Want the perfect breakfast treat? Date & Spice Scones are delicious, easy to make and completely addictive.

When I baked for a British tea shop I made hundreds of scones each week. Raisin, lemon and cherry scones were always on the menu, and I would also make a “special scone” each week. The special might be seasonal like Gingerbread Scones, or whatever I dreamed up that week. The special flavors were always a variation of my Raisin Scone recipe. That recipe produces a scone that’s not too sweet and is meant to be topped with butter, jam or clotted cream.

And Now for Something Completely Different…

These Date & Spice Scones are made from a completely different recipe than the Raisin Scones. Compared to the Raisin Scones, this recipe has more sugar, more butter, more liquid and a little more baking powder. So of course these scones are a little sweeter, lighter and moister than the raisin scones. Because the dough is so soft it’s easier to form the dough into a disc and cut the scones as wedges rather than using a biscuit cutter for rounds.

This dough comes together in mere minutes and bakes in under 30. Less than an hour after rolling out of bed you can have warm Date & Spice scones for breakfast. No need to slather on the butter or clotted cream, these babies are perfect au naturale.

Date & Spice Scones

Yield: 8 wedges

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (9 oz, 260g) all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 cup (6 oz, 170g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 oz, 115g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (1oz, 35g) raisins
• 1/3 cup (2 oz, 55g) Dried Chopped Dates
• 1 cup (8 oz, 200 ml) milk
• 1 egg for egg wash
• Demararra sugar for top

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar in a mixer bowl.
3. Using either your fingers or a paddle attachment on your mixer, cut in the butter until the bits are the size of a pea.
4. Toss the raisins and dates into the mixture.
5. Add the milk all at once and mix just until the flour is moistened
6. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 times to bring the dough together.
7. Pat the dough into an 8" round.
8. Score the round into 8 wedges.
9. Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with Demararra or granulated sugar.
10. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (see note).
11. Allow the scones to cool for 5 minutes then use a serrated knife to cut into wedges.

Notes

If the bottom is browning too much you can slide another sheet pan under half way through baking.

You might also like:

Fresh Corn Scones

Classic Raisin Scones

Gingerbread Scones

Scone Mix

Sunflower Crunch Muffins

Buckwheat Banana Bread