These Cardamom Vanilla Cream Scones are perfect for serving with afternoon tea or Sunday brunch. No mixer needed, ready in under 30 minutes!
Why is it that when a big snowstorm is on the horizon, people flock to grocery stores to stock up on milk, bread and toilet paper? What is it about these items that are so important?
Especially the toilet paper? Can someone please explain the logic of this one to me? Does the thought of snow make people so nervous that their stomachs act questionably?
You know what we stock up on? Nothing. I hate going to the grocery store when people are freaking out. We have wine, ramen and peanut butter. Assorted perishables and non-perishables. Vodka. Chocolate.
So, I guess I feel that even if we get hit with the 1-2 inches of snow being forecast for DC tonight, things are going to be ok. I stand behind my decision to not stock up on additional milk, bread and toilet paper. More for you!
These cardamom vanilla cream scones. They’re pretty good! I recommend serving them warm with butter but in the event of an emergency, they’re also tasty at room temperature.
Love scones? Be sure to also check out my cranberry goat cheese scones!
Cardamom Vanilla Cream Scones
Ingredients
- 15 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup light cream (half-and-half may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and use the flat side of a paring knife to scrape out the seeds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, vanilla seeds, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger pieces scattered around.
- Add the cream and vanilla to the bowl and use a spatula to mix the ingredients until they are just combined. The dough will look like it’s barely coming together. Kneed the dough in the bowl until it comes together. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two round discs, about 7 inches in diameter. Cut each disc into 6 pieces. Brush melted butter on top of each piece.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Serve warm.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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I love this scone recipe and the flavor combo is awesome.
Thanks! Cardamom and vanilla is one of my favorite combos.
These look too darn good and the flavor. ..yummz!
Thanks, Gerry, they were pretty darn good!
Stay safe, and I know you’ll be well fed…chocolate,vodka, and scones sounds like a pretty good way to weather out a storm to me :)
Chocolate, Vodka and Scones sounds like a good blog name, doesn’t it?
Wine, vodka, PB, chocolate… that’s my kind of emergency stash! :) Love these pretty scones!
Thanks Laura! We try to stock up on the essentials ;)
You don’t mention the vanilla extract in the directions. Is it added with the cream?
Good catch! Yes :)
Thanks! Sounds delicious!
Yes, seriously!!! The lines for the grocery store were absolutely crazy today. I walked right on by =) These scones look WONDERFUL!
Thanks Joanne!
Yep, cardamom and vanilla are a heavenly combo! And the texture of these scones looks awesome…
I don’t know about stocking up on TP for a major storm… I am more concerned about stocking up on baked goods before the power goes out – like THESE!! these look positively fluffy!
Hi ! Since they look wonderful, I’m going to make these on sunday, and I was wondering if i might either make the dough the day before and let it rest in the fridge overnight, or shape the scones, freeze them and bake them in the morning ? Is it a thing that works ? I’ve been looking around on the internet and there are both people who say the scones turn out perfectly good, and other who say that is a thing to absolutely never do … So I thought I’d ask the author for advice.
Thank you !
Hi Marie,
It’s hard for me to say for sure whether freezing or chilling overnight will change the final results since I’ve never tested either method. I always bake them immediately so I just can’t say for sure. If I was going to pick one over the other to experiment with, I’d leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight. I think freezing is more likely to change the overall structure of the dough.
Hello again !
In the end I was too scared so i just prepared as much as i could ahead and made them this morning, and they were delicious (the only thing i did differently was that i used half chestnut flour because I love chestnut flour.) I halved the recipe, but i think maybe next I won’t, and I’ll try freezing the other half for another morning before baking and see if they turn out ok. Which means that I’ll be making these scones again soon yes (possibly next week, maybe, perhaps.)
chestnut flour!!!! That sounds amazing.
Last update ! I did make the full recipe and freeze half the scones, and baked these frozen scones this morning, and they turned out just as good as the fresh ones ! the tops perhaps cracked a little bit more, but they held together fine when we cut them in half. (And although they don’t take much time to prepare, it is even nicer to just pop them out of the freezer and into the oven.) Voilà !
Last update ! I did make the full recipe and freeze half the scones, and baked these frozen scones this morning, and they turned out just as good as the fresh ones ! the tops perhaps cracked a little bit more, but they held together fine when we cut them in half. (And although they don’t take much time to prepare, it is even nicer to just pop them out of the freezer and into the oven.) Voilà !
I need to put you in charge of testing all of my recipes. Thank you for the updates!
I need to put you in charge of testing all of my recipes. Thank you for the updates!
I need to put you in charge of testing all of my recipes. Thank you for the updates!
These are the best scones I’ve ever made–and I’ve made a lot of scones. I didn’t have any open sticks of butter, so I brushed them with vanilla almond milk. I also made 16 smaller scones. These are beautifully moist and crumbly. Thanks!
These scones were so delicious! Haha, I actually made them since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand on day 4 of being stuck inside from the storm in January. We loved them so much that I added them to my daughter’s birthday menu.
Add a bit more salt and double (?) cardamom (if old). Nice texture even with spelt flour but increase cooking time to brown.
Well…the first time you ever get snowed in with minimal to no TP you’ll understand. I don’t know where you’re located, but here in New England, it’s a pretty real threat xD
Can’t wait to try these scones reading all the rave reviews. Still haven’t found that perfect base scone.
Love the flecks of vanilla bean and cardamom here. Perfect for any time of day!
These scones are SO dreamy!