Scones and tea are natural partners, so why not bake your tea right in? With its distinctive flavour, floral Earl Grey adds a delicate but delicious note to this Earl Grey scone recipe. And because Earl Grey is always best with lemon, a lemony glaze completes the treat.
This lemon-glazed Earl Grey scone recipe is a tasty way to enjoy tea and a perfect addition to a Mother's Day breakfast, brunch, or other special occasions. You can also try more scone recipes. We love these blueberry scones or lavender scones, too.
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Why You'll Love These Scones
- Simple Ingredients: You can make Earl Grey scones with basic pantry and fridge staples; no fancy ingredients needed.
- Elegant Flavor: Earl Grey tea scones have a subtly floral, citrusy flavor with delicate hints of bergamot, adding a refined twist to the buttery, tender crumb. Their aroma is comforting and sophisticated with the ultimate indulgence in every bite.
- Not too sweet: This recipe has just a small amount of sugar.
- Allergy friendly: Although this recipe can easily be made with all-purpose flour, this version is made with gluten-free flour. Using plant based milk makes it non-dairy, too.
- Easy Technique: My scones recipe doesn't require a food processor, hand mixer, or electric stand mixer - just your hands and a pastry cutter!
Ingredients
Ingredient quantities and detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Scones
- All-purpose flour: I developed this delicious scone recipe before I was gluten-free, and used all-purpose flour. I now use a gluten-free all purpose flour. I've tested this recipe with Cup4Cup, and with Bob's Red Mill, both 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour blends. Both blends are perfect, and nobody can tell these scones are gluten-free. If you use a gluten-free flour blend, be sure that it contains xanthan gum.
- Earl Grey tea bags: While my Earl Grey scones recipe uses bags of tea, loose tea leaves work, too.
- Sugar: White sugar is best in scones recipes for its simple, neutral sweetness. You can use regular granulated sugar or finer caster sugar.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Earl Grey tea scones use baking soda and baking powder to rise properly and have a light, tender texture. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients like the buttermilk, while baking powder provides extra lift for a fluffy finish.
- Butter: Using very cold butter yields fluffy scones with flaky layers. I used unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, omit the added salt from the recipe.
- Buttermilk: The acidity in buttermilk reacts with the leavening agents to help make the dough rise and stay moist while baking. While real buttermilk creates the best results, you can create your own in a pinch. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a one-cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with regular or non-dairy milk. (I use almond milk).
- Large egg: An egg sets scones apart from biscuits, which do not add eggs with the liquid. It helps bind the ingredients together.
Lemon Glaze
- Icing sugar: Also called confectioner's sugar, icing sugar dissolves best in the lemon juice to create a smooth glaze. I recommend sifting the sugar before mixing with the lemon juice to prevent clumps.
- Lemon juice: You must use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Add the lemon zest for an extra lemon boost. Orange zest and juice would complement the Earl Grey flavor, too.
How to Make Earl Grey Scones
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, tea, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until crumbly.
- Whisk the buttermilk and egg in a small bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir swiftly until a shaggy dough forms.
- On a lightly floured surface, gently pat the dough into a 9x6-inch rectangle. Trim the edges, then cut each rectangle into three. Cut each piece into 2 squares.
- Cut each square into two triangles.
- Place the triangles on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- In a separate bowl, combine the icing sugar and lemon juice.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
Helpful Tips
- Use cold, not room temperature, ingredients. Make sure that your butter, eggs, and milk are cold straight from the fridge. The butter should melt in the oven, not during mixing. This will result in flaky, tender scones, which is the goal.
- Mix the dough by hand. You can quickly overwork scone dough when you blend the ingredients in a food processor, so I highly recommend you use a pastry cutter and wooden spoon instead. You could also freeze the butter and shred it with a cheese grater or box grater.
- Chill the dough. Again, for the same reason, if your kitchen is warm, chill the shaped scone dough in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.
- Shape the dough with your hands, not a rolling pin. It's easy to overwork the dough if you roll it out, so I always pat it gently with my hands until it's the right shape and thickness.
- Use a pizza cutter. Cutting the triangle scones with a pizza cutter is much easier and neater. A sharp bench scraper would also work.
- Achieve the best texture. A good scone will have a nice rise, with a crisp, golden exterior, and a tender, slightly cakey interior.
- Brush the scone dough with an egg wash, buttermilk, or heavy cream. This is optional, but it will create a deeper golden brown color on the tops of your scones.
- Don't use old tea. Although tea doesn't go bad, it loses flavor over time, especially if the tea bags are not individually packaged. If the tea is too old, the scones won't have much flavor.
- Let the scones cool before glazing. The glaze will melt and slide off hot scones, so the scones need to cool first.
- Adjust the consistency of the glaze. If you want a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice.
- Add lavender. Lavender is a delightful combo with lemon and Earl Grey. Add a teaspoon of culinary lavender to the dry ingredients, or make a lavender glaze by adding it along with the lemon juice.
- Storage. Scones are always best eaten freshly baked. If you must store them, do so in an airtight container or individually wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Freezing. Unglazed scones freeze very well. There are two ways to freeze scones: baked or unbaked.
- To freeze baked scones: Allow them to cool completely, then flash freeze them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes. Pack the semi-frozen scones in airtight freezer bags or containers until you are ready to use them. Remove them from their container or bags to defrost so they don't get soggy. You can also wrap the scones individually for freezing, which is convenient if you just want one or two at a time.
- To freeze unbaked scones: make the dough, cut it into shapes, and flash freeze on a baking sheet. Then transfer the unbaked frozen scones to a freezer bag or container. When it's time to bake the scones, put the frozen scones on a baking sheet while the oven preheats. Bake the scones from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Serving Suggestions
The obvious pairing with Earl Grey scones is a cup of tea, of course! Enjoy with a steaming mug of Earl Grey tea, classic English black tea, or a floral herbal tea like lavender tea. For a frosty summer beverage, enjoy your scones with a refreshing glass of lavender lemonade or blueberry iced tea.
Slather your scones in lemon curd or clotted cream and jam. Or make these scones a part of your afternoon tea party. Serve with finger sandwiches, smoked salmon on toast points, and fruit like fresh blackberries or blueberries. Along with your favorite tea, of course.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Earl Grey Scones - Lemon Glazed
Earl Grey tea infuses these tender scones with a delicate but delicious flavour note, and a lemony glaze completes this tea time treat.
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Servings: 12
Calories: 229kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups flour all-purpose
- 3 tablespoon Earl Grey tea approximately 6 tea bags, cut open
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- .5 cup cold butter cubed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or dust with flour
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, tea, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Using a pastry blender, cut cold butter into the flour mixture until crumbly
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla
- Add buttermilk mixture to the dry mixture. Stir swiftly with a fork until dough comes together.
- On a lightly floured surface, lightly pat dough into a rectangle, about 9" x 6"
- Trim the edges of the rectangle to straighten, then cut the rectangle into three equal pieces.
- Cut each piece of dough into two squares. Cut each square diagonally into four triangles. Transfer the triangles to the prepared baking sheet.
- Transfer the triangles to the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the center of oven 18-20 minutes until golden.
- Transfer to a rack and allow to cool
Lemon Glaze
- In a bowl, combine icing sugar, and lemon juice.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
Notes
- Use cold, not room temperature, ingredients. Make sure that your butter, eggs, and milk are cold straight from the fridge. The butter should melt in the oven, not during mixing. This will result in flaky, tender scones, which is the goal.
- Mix the dough by hand. You can quickly overwork scone dough when you blend the ingredients in a food processor, so I highly recommend you use a pastry cutter and wooden spoon instead. You could also freeze the butter and shred it with a cheese grater or box grater.
- Chill the dough. Again, for the same reason, if your kitchen is warm, chill the shaped scone dough in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.
- Shape the dough with your hands, not a rolling pin. It's easy to overwork the dough if you roll it out, so I always pat it gently with my hands until it's the right shape and thickness.
- Use a pizza cutter. Cutting the triangle scones with a pizza cutter is much easier and neater. A sharp bench scraper would also work.
- Achieve the best texture. A good scone will have a nice rise, with a crisp, golden exterior, and a tender, slightly cakey interior.
- Brush the scone dough with an egg wash, buttermilk, or heavy cream. This is optional, but it will create a deeper golden brown color on the tops of your scones.
- Don't use old tea. Although tea doesn't go bad, it loses flavor over time, especially if the tea bags are not individually packaged. If the tea is too old, the scones won't have much flavor.
- Let the scones cool before glazing. The glaze will melt and slide off hot scones, so the scones need to cool first.
- Adjust the consistency of the glaze. If you want a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice.
- Add lavender. Lavender is a delightful combo with lemon and Earl Grey. Add a teaspoon of culinary lavender to the dry ingredients, or make a lavender glaze by adding it along with the lemon juice.
- Storage. Scones are always best eaten freshly baked. If you must store them, do so in an airtight container or individually wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 2 days.
-
- To freeze baked scones: Allow them to cool completely, then flash freeze them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes. Pack the semi-frozen scones in airtight freezer bags or containers until you are ready to use them. Remove them from their container or bags to defrost so they don't get soggy. You can also wrap the scones individually for freezing, which is convenient if you just want one or two at a time.
- To freeze unbaked scones: make the dough, cut it into shapes, and flash freeze on a baking sheet. Then transfer the unbaked frozen scones to a freezer bag or container. When it's time to bake the scones, put the frozen scones on a baking sheet while the oven preheats. Bake the scones from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Nutrition
Serving: 1scone | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 289IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg
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Ashley c wood says
The texture was great, soft and fluffy, but there was absolutely no tea flavor at all!
Colleen says
Hi Ashley, I'm sorry to hear this. This recipe definitely has an Earl Grey flavor. The only thing I can think of is about the freshness of your tea bags. If they aren't fresh or aren't stored correctly, they can lose their flavor.
Kristin says
These were pretty good! I think tea is sort of a difficult flavor to get exactly right. I felt like the dough itself needed a bit more flavor, and I really like lemon, so if I made them again I would probably replace some of the milk with lemon juice.
Colleen says
Hi Kristin, I'm happy you liked the scones, and appreciate your feedback!
Beth Webster says
I'm absolutely obsessed with scon and my go-to recipe is sour cream scones. but about 2 years ago I made Earl Gray scones and I think it might have been from this recipe and they were delicious! I have the most luscious loose leaf Rose black tea.. I used my coffee grinder to grind it so it was the texture I needed for these scones and enjoyed a rose tea latte with the leftovers from the steeping for the glaze. also instead of Buttermilk I went ahead and used half sour cream half whole milk and it is so good! highly recommend as a buttermilk substitution. I have written this down on one of my recipe cards and it's going in the recipe box. thanks for a great recipe!
Colleen says
Hi Beth, I LOVE your sour cream sub for the buttermilk! Thank you for sharing that. And also, great idea to enjoy a latte with the leftover steeped tea. Your comment is very appreciated. Cheers!
Kelly Neil says
I love Earl Grey! I just made cookies with Earl Grey glaze and I want to put it in everything lol. These scones look great! Pinned for later.
Colleen says
Hi Kelly, those cookies sound great! Enjoy.
Sabrina says
I absolutely love the bergamot flavour in early grey tea and it works so good in these scones! Great tips for such a great texture, thanks!
Terri says
Earl Grey tea in a scone is the perfect combo! I can't wait to make these!
Colleen says
Hi Terri, it really works and the lemon glaze is a must. Enjoy!
Cynthia at Cynful Kitchen says
I love how you provide tips for freezing! I have never attempted scones but will give it a whirl with your detailed steps.
Colleen says
Hi Cynthia, Scones are pretty easy, so I know you'll have success. Enjoy!
Kristen says
I would never have thought to make earl grey tea flavoured scones, but what a fantastic idea and perfect for brunch!
Colleen says
Hi Kristen, these are delicious and perfect for brunch. Enjoy!
NANCY @Instanomss says
love the use of earl grey! This would be make a great morning snack with my tea!
Colleen says
Hi Nancy, yes! Enjoy your tea. 😀
Vanessa says
Tea and scones are the perfect pairing so this is genius to incorporate the tea directly into the scone!
Colleen says
Thanks, Vanessa. They are delicious, too!
Krissy Allori says
Earl Grey tea is such a classic. I can just imagine how good it tastes in these scones. I haven't made scones in quite some time. You have made me decide to make these this coming weekend. Thanks!
Colleen says
Hi Krissy, I think you're going to love these! Enjoy.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Earl Grey Tea is my favourite. I cannot wait to add a spin to my scones recipe with Earl Grey Flavors.
Colleen says
Sandhya, if you love Earl Grey Tea, I know you're going to love these scones!
Jessica Formicola says
Earl grey is my absolute favorite tea, and I can't wait to taste that flavor in a scone! Thanks so much for sharing!
Colleen says
You're welcome, Jessica. Enjoy!
Emily Liao says
These earl grey scones are delicious! Love the flavoring in it and the texture was perfect!
Colleen says
Hi Emily, I'm so happy you enjoyed these scones!
Sharon says
The perfect tea time treats made with tea! It would be great for a springtime brunch too.
Colleen says
Hi Sharon! Absolutely, I'm making these again for Mother's Day brunch.
SKCheok says
When do you add the steeped tea to the rest of the ingredients? Please enlighten me. Thanks
Colleen says
Thanks for your question. The steeped tea is for the glaze, and the instructions for that is in the recipe card. Please let me know if the instructions are unclear and I will try to clarify it better.
Joyce says
Was looking for a scone recipe for Mother's Day and this just may be it! We also happen to have a lot of Earl Grey tea. This is perfect!
Colleen says
These are perfect for Mother's Day, Joyce. Enjoy!