Scones are awesome. Light and fluffy insides. Crunchy golden tops. Served warm. Dripping in Butter. OMG currently drooling. So YUM!
But, thanks to the gazillion scone recipes on the world wide web. Scones.
Well scones, got complicated…
Add lemonade. No buttermilk. The secret ingredient is unicorn dust with a pinch of glitter. Okay, so I made that last one up. But, you get the picture?
But people. I have good news! Delicious buttery scones don’t need to be complicated.
These beauties? Just 3 simple ingredients. – self raising flour, butter and milk. They’re light and fluffy, but crunchy where they need to be. Totally sugar free. Amazingly easy. And best of all. Incredibly delicious!!
It was the way my Mum always made them. And Mums *always* knows best, right?
Save this one for later guys. Because it is the only simple scone recipe that you’ll ever need. And, if you try them out, I’d love to know what you think.
3 Ingredient Super Simple Scone Recipe
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 scones 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Australian
Description
Light and fluffy insides. Crunchy golden tops. This 3 ingredient super simple scone recipe is the only scone recipe you will ever need
Ingredients
- 3 cups of self-raising flour
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place the flour and butter in a mixing bowl and then use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until the mixture forms fine breadcrumbs.
- Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add 1 cup of milk. Mix until the mixture forms a soft dough, adding an extra dash of milk if the mixture is dry.
- Lightly flour your bench top. Transfer the dough to the floured surface and knead until smooth. Pat the dough down with the palm of your hand until it’s about 2cm thick. Use a round cutter or a glass to cut out scones. If there is dough leftover, pull it together and repeat the process. You should end up with 15 scones.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the scones have risen and the tops are golden. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.
Notes
- Scones are traditionally served with jam and cream. If you’re looking for a sugar free alternative try making chia jam. It’s so easy and totally delicious. The recipe I use is from Ali at Gimme Some Oven. I prefer fructose free sweeteners, so I switch out the honey/maple syrup for rice malt syrup.
- Pimp yo’ scones. Try adding cheese and herbs for a tasty savoury snack, or something sweet like dried fruit or even chocolate for a sneaky treat.
P.S – Now you’ve got you afternoon treat sorted, get dinner sorted too. Grab your FREE quick and easy weeknight dinner plan right here.
Hi, I'm Rani! 
Superb and so easy!
Thank you so much Bee. It’s the exact recipe my Mum has always used to make scones. And you know what they say…mothers always know best.
Really appreciate you stopping by to leave a comment.
Rani x
So easy to make. Great recipe. Will be writing this in my cookbook to hand done to my girls.
Thank you ♥️
Oh wow Lee. What an honour! This recipe was passed down to me from my Mum, so its very special to me. It makes my happy to know your family will also enjoy it for years to come.
Is the butter melted, or softened or what?
Hey there Jessica
The butter can go straight into the mixing bowl without being melted or softened (in fact the recipe won’t work if the butter is melted). Because you use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour the warmth of your hands softens the butter pretty quickly – if you start with room temperature butter this process will be a bit quicker.
Thanks so much for your question.
Rani x
Best scone recipe EVER! Thank you!!!
You are SO welcome! It always makes my heart full when readers tell me they love this recipe, because it is such a family favourite. Thank you so much for stopping by. Rani x
So easy…I added pinch of paprika, chopped chives and a few spoons of parmesan…delicious treat
I love the idea of making these savoury – I’m drooling at thought!
Excellent recipie ,
Thank you – it’s an oldie but a goodie! Thanks for checking out YTGT.
How long do you have to bake at the 200 degree mark? My scones have been baking for almost 40 minutes and they haven’t browned or raised. So I turned the oven up to 350 do I’ll see how that works.
Hi Joanne. I’m Australian so the temperature for the recipe is in Celsius. I’m so sorry if this wasn’t clear. I’ve juts done the conversion and 200C is the equivalent of about 390F. They scones only need 15 to 20 minutes in the oven at this temperature. Good luck! Rani x
This recipe worked so well, and I am someone who usually fails at anything baked! I replaced the milk and butter with dairy free versions and it worked brilliantly, thanks so much xx
Yay! That’s awesome Laura. Thank you so much for the feedback. I am so glad they worked just as well with dairy-free alternatives. Here’s to many more scones in your future!
Thank you so much. I wanted to try but family member has dairy allery. What milk alternative do you suggest
Hi there – I think you should be right with any alternative milk. Think soy, almond or oat. I’d love to know how you go. And thank you so much for checking out the recipe.
I tried,but it didn’t totally raised and became too hard after taking out from the oven:( ,how long should I knead it? Thinking that’s maybe the problem why it didn’t raise at all.Thanks!Appreciate your immediate reply.
Rowena
Thanks
Hi Rowena. Firstly, I am so sorry to hear that your scones didn’t rise. Let’s try and work this out. I generally knead the dough for 3-4minutes until the dough becomes just smooth. Also the temperature in this recipe is in Celsius (I’m from Australia) rather than Fahrenheit. This caused some confusion for another one of my readers. The only other thing I can think of is the type of flour (I recommend self raising which has the rising agent pre-added)rather than plain flour. I hope that helps. Again, I’m so sorry your scones didn’t work out. I wish I could bake a batch for you. Rani x
Excellent recipe, these scones are wonderful! Thank you very much!
Hi Michelle. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed the scones. It’s a family recipe, so it means so much when people tell me they love this recipe. Rani x
Fantastic recipe, Rani.
Absolutely delisicious.
I tried the recipe out using the new oven.
Hunky dory. Perfect.
Taste tested by the family, served with fresh homemade whipped cream and strawberry jam.
Thumbs up all round.
Excellent!
A whole lot more to be made. Together with clotted cream.
Thank you SO much! It makes me so happy to hear that you enjoyed these with your family. This was my Mum’s recipe and I have so many happy memories of sharing these scones with my family too. I hope you enjoy many more. Rani
Hi, do you have the recipe also in grams/ml?
I really want to try it.
Thank you very much.
Hi Andreea, Firstly I am so sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I have put thee ingredients into an online converter and this is what it shows for grams/ml:
375g self-raising flour
75g butter
250ml milk
Unfortunately, I haven’t tested the recipe using these measurements. If the mixture seems to wet add some extra flour or to dry some extra milk. I hope that helps!
Rani
Super easy and tasted great! Such a good simple recipe with ingredients that you mostly have in the pantry. Didn’t take long to make either
Thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know that you loved the scones. It’s one of my favourite recipes too. In fact, I think you’ve inspired me to make some tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
In your recipe you mention 3 cups of flour / 1/3 cup butter .
What amount is a CUP
Hi John. Thank you, that’s a great question. Its a reference to a measuring cup. I’m in Australia so it’s a metric measuring cup which is 250ml. I hope that helps. Best Regards Rani
Definitely my go to scone recipe.. I love 3 ingredient recipes, always seems to work.. Thank you for sharing..
You are so welcome Valerie. I really appreciate you taking the time too leave a comment. It was originally my Mum’s scone recipe, and to think that it’s now the go to in other families is so heart warming. Thank you!
These are so easy and not fussy to make so easy to make the real think.
I am so glad to hear that. It’s one of my family’s favourite recipes handed down from my Mum. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed the recipe. Rani x
Awesome and simple recipe, thanks!!
Thank you SO much! It’s an old family recipe, so it makes me so happy to hear that you think it’s awesome too.
Ehat is the cream recipe?
Hi Christian – thanks for visiting YTGT. I don’t have an actual recipe for the cream, but it’s super easy. Just start with some heavy whipping cream in a bowl and blend with a hand mixer until it forms stiff peaks. You can add some maple syrup or vanilla to the cream before you blend if you’d like a sweeter taste. Enjoy your scones!
will this work for savoury scones? 375 g S.R.flour, 75 grams rendered beef or lamb dripping, 1 Tab spoon powdered milk, 1 cup soda water. Salt.
Hi Lorraine
Thanks so much for stopping by. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to say, as I have never cooked scones using those ingredients. But, it does sound like you have all the right elements to make a scone. Good luck! Rani
About what diameter round biscuit cutter is used??
A 3-inch biscuit cutter will do the trick!
Thanks for stopping by.
Rani x
I have loved scones ever since my husband was stationed there while in the US military. But never learned how to make them. Does the flour need to be sifted. and are the measurements you give the same as US measurements? Looking forward to giving this a try.
Thank you for South Carolina.
L
Hi Lea! So glad you found us, all the way in South Carolina. The good news. There’s no need to sift the flour. You probably could if you wanted too, but I never do and the scones turn out just fine. Unfortunately the measurements in the recipe do use Australian cups and measuring spoons. But hopefully this website will help with the conversion: https://recipeland.com/how-to/australian-cooking-measurements-142
I hope you enjoy your scones. They are definitely a family favourite of ours.
Rani
These were very good. However, to be fair, if you used self-rising flour it contains baking soda or powder and salt to make it rise. So really, it’s a 5 ingredient recipe. Still good.
Thank you for your feedback. So glad you enjoyed the scones Elaine.
This is America we use Fahrenheit not centigrade
Hi Lornie
Thank you for checking out You Totally Got This. We are actually based in Australia, that’s why the recipes are in centigrade. Having said that I want to make it as easy as possible for anyone around the world to cook my recipes, so will try to provide the fahernheit conversion in future recipes. Thanks for the feedback. Rani x
so so good!!!!! best scones i’ve ever had, i have tried them once with butter and they were 5 star also tried with a mix of butter and yogart because we didnt have enough butter and they turned out awesome!!!! thanks for making this recipe rani
You are so very welcome!!! It’s my Mum’s receipe – she will be so happy to hear that you enjoyed them. And great to know they work with a mix of butter and yoghurt – I might have to give that a try myself. Thank you for reaching out, your feedback is much aprpeciated.
Rani x
Made these for my grandmas bday and I dipped them in chocolate and damn those are good!
Okay so you offically have me drooling and asking ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ Dipping the scones in chocolate is genius. Glad you enjoyed them and happy birthday Grandma – I hope you had a fun time celebrating.
I’m in New Zealand and the choice of scone recipes here is daunting! As I’m not a baker, I needed something simple, and this recipe got my attention. Wow! Easy! The result was a batch of scones that reminded me of my childhood. Fabulous!
Oh Bettina my scone recipe is a family recipe, so the fact they reminded you of the scones of your childhood makes my heart so happy! Thank you so much for checking out my website and trying one of my recipes.
So so many recipes online and this is the EASIEST. Everything you’d have in your house & so cost effective compared to other recipes.
Also love that there is no need for any extra products with sugar & salt.
I halved this recipe and did small scones for a work breakfast. Saved me so much money too considering 6 at the shops are $6-$7. Thanks a bunch!
Yay!! This makes my heart so happy. So glad you enjoyed them.
Rani x
Good morning Rani.As I stumbled across your east recipe,I am literally going to make them in a few minutes,I’ll send feedback later..Peggy in South Africa
Hi Peggy! Thanks for visiting you totally got this all the way from South Africa. I hope you enjoyed the scones, they are one of my families favourite recipes. Rani xo