This is the very first recipe I developed for my cookbook. It came as an accident — you would think that someone who spends as much time shopping for groceries as I do wouldn’t constantly run out of flour and cream mid-recipe but I’d surprise you — but I immediately fell in love with it and knew it needed a home in print. Over the last year, I made them whenever I’ve had an excuse and a few times that I didn’t. They fit so squarely within the vision I had for the book that when everything else felt impossible I’d think, “It’s okay. I’ve still got those whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones.” They made me happy.
I just read that back to myself and realize how weird it sounds. It’s been a weird year.
And then, just as quickly as I fell in love with them, I cast them aside for something else. One day in June, a day when I was playing around with breakfast recipes long after I promised I’d cut myself off, I made a new scone and without even blinking, swapped it in and kicked these to the curb. Poor scones; it’s not their fault they’re not the prettiest. They’re a bit craggy and their final shape is always hard to predict. The dough is messy — you cut raspberries right into it, like butter, but don’t worry, there is also butter — and it needs to be treated with a gentle hand. I had my reasons to give it the boot but still.
Raspberries showed up at the market last week and I realized how much I’ve missed these scones. We’ve talked a bit about ricotta this month but I can assure you, I used supermarket stuff for these. The homemade stuff is almost too awesome to tuck inside anything else. So, you’re looking for a soft, fairly moist ricotta (if you do make your own, don’t strain it as much). Some cream thins it out further. There’s half white flour, half whole wheat and enough butter that you don’t need to feel too austere. Mornings should at least a little bit indulgent and lazy.
One year ago: Peach Blueberry Cobbler and Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons
Two years ago: Best Birthday Cake and Arugula Potato and Green Bean Salad
Three years ago: Chocolate Sorbet
Four years ago: Red Bean Chili and Double Chocolate Layer Cake
Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones
The trickiest thing about these is the dampness of the dough. Yet that same trickiness is they bake into something that seems impossibly moist for a scone, and especially a whole wheat one. Keep your counter and your hands well floured and you won’t have any trouble getting them from bowl to counter to oven to belly, which, after all, is the whole point.
1 cup (120 grams) whole wheat flour
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 cup (136 grams or 4 3/4 ounces) fresh raspberries
3/4 cup (189 grams) whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup (79 ml) heavy cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.
With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.
Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.
Both methods: Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough. This is a pretty thing.
With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more. I know, way to be a big meanie, right?
Do ahead: Scones are always best the day they are baked. However, if you wish to get a lead on them, you can make them, arrange them on your parchment-lined sheet and freeze them. If you’re prepping just one day in advance, cover the tray with plastic wrap and bake them the day you need them. If you’re preparing them more than one day in advance, once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Bring them back to a parchment-lined sheet when you’re ready to bake them. No need to defrost the froze, unbaked scones, just add 2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.
What a perfect use for raspberries! I keep seeing them pop up at the local farmers market. Delicious!
I love raspberry anything. Do you think these would be ok with whole wheat pastry flour?
Jessica — I think whole wheat pastry flour would work. Please report back if you try it. Thanks!
I’ve used whole wheat pastry flour and it worked perfectly.
I love the idea of using ricotta in a scone – it must make it so moist and delicious. I’m definitely going to go and hunt out some raspberries. These would be a perfect Sunday morning breakfast for tomorrow. Thanks Deb – if this got left out of the cookbook, I can’t wait to see what made it in!
Scones are definitely my stand-by when it comes to morning breakfast. I can totally relate to running out of things to make them though. I am always surprised how well they turn out when I make substitutions, like yogurt for cream. They really are quite flexible. My absolute favorite is raspberry though. I’ll be giving these a try as soon as ours are in season.
Butter, ricotta, and raspberries…sounds perfect!
I’m a sucker for moist flaky scones. I’ve had enough dry, hockey puck-like ones in my lifetime.
i love, love, love scones. easily one of my favorite things to bake, since they’re so simple and satisfying. these seem pitch-perfect for summertime.
also, in response to Jessica’s question, i make scones using whole wheat pastry flour all the time, and i always have wonderful results. the crumb is light, delicate and flaky; plus i feel slightly better about myself since i’m using whole wheat :)
Wow! I love the square shape, a nice change. Fresh cheese in scones, I bet they are wonderful – I can’t wait to come across some fresh berries!
These sound awesome! I love raspberries and the ricotta is a great idea.
I’m very comfortable working with wet difficult doughs so I’ll be trying these for sure! I love a good moist scone and I have some raspberry honey black tea in my cupboard that’s perfect to match with it.
Great and simple recipe, I’m going to try it. I bet it would work with Greek Yoghurt… I’ve got some straining, maybe I will give it a go. If it’s a flop I won’t hold you accountable! ; )
Very interesting way to incorporate raspberry. As a result the scones look really nice, probably better looking than regular scones.
I can’t wait to make these! The raspberries make them so, so pretty. I will give them a try with white whole wheat flour, one of my favorites because it’s still light enough on its own and rarely needs to be mixed with all-purpose (as opposed to whole wheat). Thanks for the recipe, Deb!!
These sound so yummy! I love this idea. I’m glad you brought them back from the curb :)
Oh, YUM! I love making scones and these sound really good. I will be making tomorrow!! Thanks for, as always, wonderfully written, beautifully photographed, blog. Love Smitten Kitchen.
Look delicious! Saw some gorgeous (and expensive) raspberries at the Farmers’ Market today. Can I use white whole wheat flour – from KA – instead of whole wheat flour?
Love the idea of cutting in the raspberries, I usually do a rough chop in the processor so as to incorporate the flavor of the berry throughout the scone/bread. I love the craggy, I mean rustic look.
Those look mighty delicious to me!! Looks like a great recipe.
REDICULOUSLY DELISH LOOKING. Also, re: Baby Jacob being such a big kid himself, children at that age are fascinated with babies and had you another kiddo just lolling about (AHEM) you would get to see this first hand. Jacob meets Baby Sibling = Pure Joy/lots of loving/possible accidental sqooshing of said infant. ALL in love, of course! :D
Curse you lucky people in the northern hemisphere and your delicious fresh berries! Do you think this would work with frozen raspberries?
Those look delicious- I made raspberry muffins yesterday morning, but these look a bit tastier…!
I love the idea of freezing the unbaked scones…I didn’t know you could do that! I love them fresh from the oven, so that’s a great tip, thanks!
Oh my gosh. I always get the Raspberry Scones from Starbucks but am definitely going to make my own, now.
What do you think about substituting the cream for Soy and the butter for Olive Oil (with correct conversions)? Do you think that would hold up?
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Olalala !
They look so good !
They look delicious (much better than coffee shop scones). Thanks for sharing!
Wish I had one of these right now! I always wondered if scones could be frozen so thanks for including that. Did you add in a picture of Jacob and I was unable to locate the link?
Deb these look so good. I have never made scones but I want to try now. I adore raspberries! It’s one of those foods of summer that doesn’t last long enough so when they’re in season, I try to use them..in everything :)
Scones might just be my favorite breakfast pastry. I’m really curious about the ricotta in here; definitely going to try.
This looks simply amazing. Definitely will try these. Thanks for all the tips!
These look so good, and I love raspberries. But ricotta makes me squeamish – can you taste it in the finished scones?
You were one of the first food blogs I started reading and remain one of my favorites. One of the reasons- your writing is excellent. And, of course, your recipes never disappoint. (Although in the midwest, I never find the beautiful produce that you picture). Thanks for continuing to have such a great blog.
I love making scones and these look wonderful. Thank you!
WOW, these are so pretty!! I’m not a big sweet eater, but always have loved scones because they’re not too sweet. Love the raspberries! Thanks!
Scones are delicious, and these look so great! Love the use of berries :) Thanks for sharing!
Of course ricotta would make a great scone. I use greek yogurt in a lot of my scone recipes, to similar effect. Yours look great!
You know, I’ve been reading for a long time, and I have been awaiting the day that you post raspberry scones. I’ve tried them in the past, but they just haven’t come together as moist as they should be. Can’t wait to see what the ricotta does. Also, I can’t help but wonder what some white chocolate would do to these (although it might cancel out the point of whole wheat).
These scones look simply delicious. They must taste really fruity with raspberries.
I made some yummy black raspberry chocolate chip scones a couple years ago. That reminds me I have raspberries in the freezer, so I should give it a try again.
…These look and sound amazing Deb! Thank you so much for posting this and for the tips too – I will definitely be giving these a try! :o)
…Btw, everyone needs to click on the word ‘lazy’ in the 3rd paragraph and get a smile on! So cute! ;o)
…Have a wonderful weekend!
…Blessings :o)
…I think #37 up there maybe onto something with the possiblity of using white chocolate. Maybe squiggle some melted on top, no? Hmmm…*pondering* :o)
never been a scone fan bc i’ve always found them so dry but these seem more like a pastry, almost. the challenge for me will be to veganize them for my husband – i have a recipe for vegan ricotta but it is definitely savoury (garlic, plum vinegar, basil and oregano), so maybe soy yoghurt could do the trick, along with thick cashew cream to replace the heavy cream.
I have NEVER had luck with making scones, but these have inspired me to try again. Do you think they’d work with other types of berries?
These do look fabulous, but I have a semantics question: why call them “whole wheat” when they’re half white flour? I always assume whole wheat means 100% whole wheat, and “wheat” means some white flour. How do you distinguish?
If these hit the cutting room floor, then I can’t wait to see what made it into the book!
Great twist on the classic scone. Raspberries are fantastic in cakes and muffins so I’m not surprised it works here too.
Cannot wait for your cookbook, Deb! Your weird year will be fruitful– you’ll have a beautiful cookbook to show for it, too.
These scones look great, although I hate raspberry. Maybe blueberries would work? Thanks for sharing them.
Our raspberry canes are dripping with raspberries right now! Perfect use for some of them. (Unfortunately though a cup will hardly make a dent in what we have.)
Deb, do you think this would work okay with blackberries or some other berry? I’d love to make them, but I’m deathly allergic to raspberries. WOE.
I just started baking scones this year. I’ve been the sort that always said “they’re just a biscuit with sugar and stuff in’em. Well, they are…but damn, I was so wrong to just dismiss them without even trying them. I’m not toying with various flours and had my first sawdust textured failure the other day using whole wheat. The fruit bursting in the mix while cooking must be what adds enough additional moisture needed..as well as flavor, of course. Did it add some needed moisture, do you think?
FYI – “Preheat over to 425 degrees”..I think “over” should say oven…
Sorry…I’ve been toying with various flours…(since you got me interested with those oatmeal pancakes and the thick granola bars)
I’m actually a little glad these scones got rejected from your cookbook, because these were just the recipe I was looking for. We just harvested pints of black raspberries, and I can’t wait to try these scones with those. We also have extra ricotta cheese from gnocchi! How perfect!
These look wonderful! I have some raspberries that need to be used, I should make scones!
I agree about homemade ricotta being too good to stuff it into something else. I made some recently from an Ina Garten recipe in the Costco store magazine. It.was.wonderful. And so easy!
I like how you use cut the raspberries in the butter. Good idea!
Those look absolutely stunning Deb! I love the raspberries in the scones. I wonder if blueberries would also work here.
Looks delish!
I’m eating dairy free, and while I find substitutions pretty easy, I’m not sure what I would sub for the ricotta in this recipe.
Any thoughts?
I’ve only recently been able to admit that I like scones. I think I had to kiss a lot of frog scones before I found the prince scones. That being said, these look great!
I’ve always been a little hesitant to use fresh berries in baked goods – usually they don’t last long enough to make it into the batter! I might add some chunks of dark chocolate just to add some extra pizzazz! :)
oh jeez. I only got online to quickly google a substitute for whole wheat pastry flour which I cannnnnnot find. But I saw this post. And now I think I don’t care about the cherry crostada I was going to make and I should go back to the store to get raspberries and ricotta.
I just bought a 2lb container of strawberries from a fruit vendor today–do you think they would work in place of raspberries or will the texture be wrong? (In most recipes, I find that the berries are pretty interchangeable)
Mmm, yum! I just made that ricotta from your blog the other day and it seriously was divine. I think I’ll make twice as much next time and make these scones. I’ve got tons of raspberries as well.
I love the addition of ricotta in scones…I’ve never tried it but I can’t imagine how it could be bad!
Funny, I came here looking for a recipe to use up some sheep’s milk ricotta and look what’s posted! Good thing I also bought a few baskets of raspberries this morning at the market.
What an absolute perfect scone. Love the raspberries and ricotta cheese. I bet they just melt in your mouth! Nice job!
These look so simple and yummy! I love the addition of whole wheat flour..makes me feel less guilty for eating baked goods for breakfast :)
All you people with your fresh, farmer’s market/backyard raspberries are making me jealous! Not in southern AZ, I can tell you that much!
On the other hand, I wonder if frozen raspberries might not actually work even better here. Seems like you could start the dough in a food processor then, without having to worry about working the berries into mush. At any rate, these sound fantastic!
These look so delicious! I love raspberries and scones so I must try these this weekend!
Can you hear me whining . . .”Oh, no!” . . . with a slightly petulant voice that says I wish you hadn’t posted this recipe but I’m so glad you did! You’ve done it again. These sound perfect, Deb!
I love that it’s whole wheat. And has ricotta. And raspberries. Oh wells, love them. Gonna try them out for my boys. Thanks for sharin another great recipe Deb. Have a lovely weekend.
We’re in the midst of a crazy, on-the-road July and I’m so afraid I’m going to miss picking our own raspberries. But these scones sound perfect!
Heading out for raspberries in the morning! Can’t wait to make these!
These look delicious and the color of them is so beautiful!
I adore anything I can freeze in advance! I have tried to make this the summer of “always having things on hand for last minute guests/parties.” So far, so good-and this will be a most excellent addition! Warm with butter these must be amazing! I will probably not be able to stop myself from trying to make versions with different fruits as well- i wonder if pitted cherries would be too firm…
Deb, would you mind telling me where to find a great pastry blender?? I have read reviews of them bending and ending up in the trash due to loose screws inside the handle..
I think the combo of raspberries, ricotta, and whole wheat sounds very tasty. Can’t wait to try these scones.
I want these right now in my belly. They look like they would taste amazing. Oh, my mouth is watering. mmmm….I really can’t wait for your book to come out now!
Oh deliciousness, can’t wait to try these!
Wow, I have never seen a raspberry scone recipe before. This combination sounds great
Wow those look absolutely delish! I have been a scone addict after running across some amazing chocolate ones at a local bakery here in Okinawa, and always looking for new recipes. These, however, are now certainly on the top of my “to-make” list. Not only does the recipe look wonderful but they look absolutely beautiful too! Thanks for sharing! :)
mmm… would that i had an oven right now… anyway, i just wanted to ask, is there a reason that the email subscription isn’t working? or at least that i’m not getting my emails from you? i miss my smitten kitchen emails!
i love scones! those look like to die for! SO delicious!!
i love the square shape. i just want to take a bite…they are that enticing!
Yes ma’am! These sound amazing and I can’t wait to make them! You can never have too many uses for fresh summer berries!
What a great accidental recipe, sometimes those are the best!
This looks amazing….unfortunately, I live in a fresh berry-less climate. Classic annoying substitution question: how do you think peaches would work? I’m thinking ricotta may need something more tart…
Elisheva — Peaches sound delicious. I’d chop them up quite a bit and maybe use less than a full cup (of chopped).
Callie — I just ran your address (the email address you used in the comment form) through Feedblitz (the subscription service) and it said that you had been subscribed but that you unsubscribed. Didn’t say when; no reason was noted. So perhaps just subscribe again?
LauraD — Yes! Only buy the OXO one. Mine lasted 5 years before the handle popped out (it’s glued). I replaced it with this one — don’t do it (the blades bent when it cut cold butter, and caused me to leave my first and only bad review on Amazon! Which has since disappeared…shady). Back with OXO again. It’s great. Basically, the ones with blades like little knives are sturdier; you don’t even need to pre-cube your butter, you can just cut a solid stick in. And some knife-style ones are sturdier than others, I learned.
Deborah — Thanks, fixed.
Susan — I feel there are very few baked goods (unless they have a metric ton of butter or cream) that do well with more than 50% standard whole wheat flour (white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour are a bit more forgiving). The version I made with 2/3 cup w.w. flour and 1 1/3 white flour was probably the most tender while still having some heartiness, but I wanted to push it further. Most cream scones with 2 cups flour use 1 cup of cream. But by bumping the cream-type ingredients over 1 cup, I felt I could do a half/half flour without it tasting too dense/dry. Ricotta is slightly drier than cream; I thin the slight extra moisture from fresh raspberries balances it. But, I’m no Shirley Corriher! These are just guesses on my part.
EmilyTakesTokyo — Whole wheat refers to the “whole wheat” flour within. They are also “whole wheat” in the semantic sense as both flours are wheat flours. In terms of usage, however, baked goods are routinely called “whole wheat” even when they are only partly whole wheat flour — most commercial whole wheat breads, cereals, etc. especially.
Oooh, yum!! I love scones. I just bought a couple pints of raspberries and am using my will power to not eat all of them. I’m wondering if I could substitute greek yogurt (plain) for the ricotta and buttermilk for the cream? Hmmm….I’ll have to try it. :)
These look great. Tasty but not overly indulgent. PS I loved your guest post on Cup of Jo.
mmmmmmmmm, I made these before the boyfriend woke up (baked half, froze half) and they may all be gone before he wakes up :-)
For those who were wondering, these work wonderfully with frozen raspberries making the dough in the food processor.
I love the photo “a mound of craggy dough!”
Didn’t sound weird at all. Reading your blog makes me happy! Some days it is my ‘calgon take me away’ moment!
These look so delicious, I love the colour of the raspberries against the rustic wholesomeness of the flour. I had no idea there was aluminium in baking powder, or that you could get one without it in, I shall be looking for one next time I am shopping. Thank you for a lovely post.
I made these this morning and they were PEFECT. So moist and yummy. I followed the recipe to the letter with one exception. I used blackberries instead of raspberries because I had some that needed to be used. Yum.
For the summer, is there a way to make scones on the stove instead of the oven?
Love the ricotta – rich in protein and delicious fat. The part : ) whole wheat sounds wonderful too. And, they’re just so berry pretty!!
These are in the oven as I write this. I can’t wait to try them. I didn’t find the dough to difficult to work with, but I followed your instructions. Thanks for posting.
Deb,
These look great! Raspberries are now “local” in Oregon and I cannot wait to try these! One tip I love is to grate frozen butter into the flour mixture. It is a fabulous way to make scones and biscuits. I got this tip from America’s Test Kitchen and it is a winner! Love the last two pics of your son! He is so amazingly beautiful!
Firstly I would like to thankyou, this is such a great blog, it is the whole package, banter, photos and great recipes. This post is no exception. Summer in a scone.
Love the addition of any diary to baking.
I made raspberry and ricotta hotcakes a few months back, it is a great combination even if I do say so myself.
http://thetwicebitten.blogspot.com/2011/03/raspberry-and-ricotta-hotcakes.html
These sound absolutely delicious, can’t wait to try them!
Awesome. You could try pressing the raspberries or raspberry pieces into the patted out dough, if you wanted to keep the colors contrasting in the final product :-)
As much as I love raspberries, I adore blackberries. So do you think blackberries would work, or would the seeds be too much? I can’t wait to try either!
I used frozen raspberries. It worked fine, just need to bake a few extra minutes.
Those look so unique and delicious!
I always have rasberries in the fridge. Awesome recipe!
Ya know……..if I never make any of your recipes (but, I do), I would read your writing just for the shear joy of it. Thank You!
These look so fantastic! I would love to make them, but my kitchen is (amazingly) smaller than yours and I have no air conditioning…and I am in south Texas. Doughs don’t behave too well around here. I work at a coffee shop/bakery and actually had to go into work to prepare your Brownie Roll-Out Cookies for a friend’s housewarming basket. Oh well.
Anyway, just wanted to throw out a quick ‘thank you’ to you for so often (and likely inadvertently) cluing me in on what is in its peak season through your mention of the market. All we have around here are mega-markets, so I am never quite sure how in-season things really are. So I picked up raspberries today, and (lo and behold) they are perfect!
Another fantastic looking recipe! I can’t keep up. I need more time in the kitchen.
What! Baking powder without aluminum? I didn’t know baking powder even had aluminum. Can you explain? Can you recommend one without? Thank you for letting me know, I’ve been baking for years and never noticed.
So I promised my mother-in-law frozen lemon poppyseed muffins that she could bake up when she had company, but she LOVES scones. And I just so happen to have raspberries in the fridge. She is going to be one happy gal tomorrow!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe, and I can’t wait for your cookbook!!
Considering the current influx of delicious, local raspberries at the farmer’s market these will be the perfect thing to make on my first Monday morning off in months! They look amazing. Thank you!
How would one substitute sour cream (which I have on hand) for the ricotta (which I don’t)? more liquid?
Yum! Made these tonight with cherries, honey ricotta, and almonds… rolled in oats. It’s based on the scones Starbucks used to serve… but has since discontinued (at least around here.) Once summer decides to kick in around here (oh Pacific Northwest!) I’ll give the raspberries a go!
Deb, these look incredible! I do have one quick question though – will the recipe still work if I substitute the flour for spelt options? Thanks very much
SallyMac — I haven’t tried this with spelt flour (it has little gluten, right?) but if you’ve done so successfully in other biscuit-like recipes, it would be worth trying here.
Abigail — I would probably then dial the cream back to 1/4 cup. But I haven’t tried it and cannot promise it will work as well. Do let us know your results, however!
Julie — I talk about aluminum-free baking powder a bit more over here, including brands.
COVID times… is there any way I could make these with raspberry jam (maybe if I cut down on the sugar?) and cottage cheese? Or should I just make a different recipe?
Hi from Italy, i love scones ,i have eaten them first time in London off course and it was love at first time!
My favourite are from Harrods ,in the food all,i have found the cheese scones ,great ,I make them with auricchio and parmigiano ,the smell is fabouluse!
Yours are very original ,i will try them ,thanks a lot for recipe.
Say hallò for me to the Big Apple !!!
The marble effect of the raspberries is gorgeous. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but the look of them alone has me sold. And yet I really love the process of making these scones too. I love the idea of cutting the raspberries into the dough as you would butter. I can’t wait to give these a try. Would cherries work?
Sounds great, looks great… I just can’t imagine the taste :)
Very original “pattern” of raspberries!
we have fresh raspberries here on the farm, just ground (last week!) flour from the save the seeds and grow it again for the last 60+ years..and never spray any chemicals fields of Yee Haw farm, along with fresh ricotta from the grass fed herd at Keswick Creamery. Will be making these! And looking for ideas for our pasture raised chicken..although wood smoking is working for us these hot summer days..
They look super good!!
Oh yum!
Raspberry and ricotta-perfect match!!
Not pretty? These are some of the most gorgeous “ugly” scones I’ve ever seen. I’ll happily eat any rejects.
Deb, am I missing something?? Where is my daily fix of the picture of your kid? He always makes my day!
Gorgeous, as usual. Lovely use for the raspberries in my fridge. Can’t wait for your cookbook!!
Wow, these look fabulous. What could be better than raspberries and ricotta baked into a pastry?
Deborah
I am crazy about scones, and making scones. I love the idea of cutting the raspberries right in. Genius, as usual. [and I love the top picture – the scones look so beautiful. I might have to make these right.now.]
Those look absolutely delicious!
I made this with 1 cup white, 1/2 cup wheat, 1/2 cup spelt flours, and ended up with a massive dough blob when they came out of the over. But a delicious, piping hot dough blob begging for ice cream which was spectacular. Told people it was on purpose, and no one complained!
PS – Also made your “gussied” up pizza dough and *swoons* it was as spectacular as you described! Thanks for all of your posts and inspiration – love your site!!
I wasn’t sure if whole wheat flour would work in scones. Thanks for sharing these, I can’t wait to try it!
Scones! Be still my heart. They are the first thing I remember my son ever cooking…from a recipe he got in a middle school cooking class. Now he is an apprentice chef at Per Se! I’ll make these and think of him.
Made these last night… my grocer didn’t have fresh raspberries, so I was forced to use frozen ones, which I just let thaw naturally over the course of about 150 minutes. It wasn’t until opening the bag that I realized the thawed berries were now stewing in their own sort of cranberry juice cocktail. That detail might’ve ended up being what resulted in a somewhat disappointing end result.
Probably due to the excess moisture (the consistency of the raspberries, post-thawing, was essentially a relish of sorts and impossible to separate the “juice” from the berries), the scones didn’t rise very much, and never fully developed that crumbly texture, though the taste was still decent and they looked almost identical to the picture. Next time, I’ll just add them to the dough frozen; lesson learned.
Also, 18-19 minutes in the oven is what I would suggest, although that, too, could have something to do with the berry situation I had.
Hi Deb- I’ve been following your blog for years, so first of all I want to say THANK YOU and YOU ARE AMAZING! I have made so many of your recipes and loved each and every one.
I just moved to NYC actually, from the Pacific NW. Quite a change. I was wondering- what farmer’s market do you usually go to? Or do you have any others you recommend? I’m currently a student so LOW low budget, but I try to buy as much as possible from markets if I can.
I’m looking forward to making these scones-we’ll see how well it works out on my 3 1/2 inches of counterspace in my 90-degree no A/C kitchen..but they look delicious enough to be worth it!
These are perfection.
This is wonderful. I love the idea of using ricotta!! I think this would also be delicious with blueberries! :)
These scones are so pretty! I like how shaggy they are. I just put raspberries and ricotta on my shopping list!
I literally threw these scones together this morning in about 15 min. Instead of cutting in the butter by hand, I did it in the food processor which worked really well. As I was in hurry, I did a quick one hand knead in the bowl to blend it, then tipped the blob of dough directly onto the baking sheet covered in parchment, patted it down to 1″ thick rough circle, sprinkled some flour on top then cut pie shaped slices then separated them on the sheet. They took 15 min. at 400f in my convection oven.
They were very moist and had a nice crumb to them. The flavor was a bit light when eaten on their own. With a smear of homemade strawberry freezer jam on it, it made them super tasty! The ricotta could not be tasted and it was part skim since that is all the store had…
If I were to make them again, I would divide the dough blob into two blobs so the slices weren’t so long and unwieldy to separate. And I might freeze one half of it instead of baking them all. I might also sprinkle a little sugar on top of them before baking or brush on a light sugar glaze.
I’m relatively knew to Smitten and have enjoyed your writing and excellent photos!
I have yet to make scones…just haven’t found the right recipe…until now. thanks
Made these this weekend and they’re absolutely delicious. Dough wasn’t too sticky to manage and they came out moist and full of flavor. Love love love! Thanks for this great recipe, Deb!
Super-moist scones and biscuits are fantastic. The extra moisture in the dough translates into a higher rise and a fluffier dough. I’ll wager the ricotta does wonders for the scones’ tenderness. You could probably even use soft goat cheese if you wanted more tang.
I accidentally bought Ricotta last Friday (I was meaning to get sour cream) and have been trying to figure out what to do with it as I’m not a huge ricotta fan. Lasagne was a possibility, but even there I usually leave out the ricotta… So, this is perfect. Because I’m all about sweets and using seasonal fruits and vegetables whenever possible… I can’t wait to smother with raspberry marmalade and eat wayyy to many! Oh the pleasures of baking! Thank you! I love your blog and your recipes. And your pictures and baking/serving accessories, too!
I sent this to a friend to make, and she just sent me a note saying they were the best scones she ever made! Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to try making a batch myself.
waouh these look so delicious !
Made these today….they were absolutely delicious! I loved that they weren’t too sweet. Now I know what I’ll be doing with my extra raspberries from the garden!
Mmmm…scones. I’ll have to try this with my newly discovered wine berries (from my backyard no less).
these are brilliantly beautiful
Planning on turning these scones blue with the fresh blueberries from our CSA and a squeeze of lemon. Spring/Fall 2012 can’t get here soon enough :)
The sour cream verdict: with 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of cream, they were too wet and spread. At 20ish min baking time, I took them out because the tops were done. But they’re delicious, and I certainly don’t have the ‘too dry’ problem. Also I used blueberries rather than raspberries, which might have added more moisture.
Deb, your non-oxo pastry blender review on Amazon has not disappeared! I found it just now: http://www.amazon.com/Pastry-Blender-Blades-Stainless-Handle/product-reviews/B001A34IZY/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
These look delicious! Can’t wait to give them a try!
Do you think the dough would be ok refrigerated overnight? Trying to plan ahead as much as possible!
I just made these – thank you for giving me a reason to use up the ricotta that’s been sitting in my fridge since I made your zucchini galette 2 weeks ago! Didn’t have any fresh berries (boo), used dried cranberries. They are yummy yummy. I *love* that they are not too sweet.
ricotta in a scone?
well, i’ll be.
sounds pretty fine, as a matter of fact…
Made this tonight – it was my boyfriend’s birthday but he doesn’t have a big sweet tooth. Awesome – just the right amount of flavor and the raspberries added a nice tartness. Also, I’m on the “What Am I Going to do with this Ricotta in my Fridge?” bandwagon – now I know.
Just wanted to tell you that I made a peach tart with 1/3 barley flour in the crust and it was fantastic. Thanks for the idea! I’ll be finding lots more uses for it in my baking.
Just made these this morning and they were super! This is the first scone I’ve ever made- or eaten.They were incredibly moist and delicious. I think next time I’ll dust the top with sugar (is that a typical scone thing to do or am I trying to turn this into a muffin??). I love your site and make at least one of your recipes every week. I rave to all my friends about your recipes and photos. I do have one request/suggestion. Would it be possible for viewers to have a place to rate the recipe once they have tried it and say how it worked for them? There are just so many comments that it’s hard to filter through and find the ones that refer to having actually made the recipe. Not that I expect less than 5 stars on all of your recipes, but some recipes (like the ricotta and zucchini gallette) deserve a class all on their own.
Have to tell you, Deb: I was off without much internet for two weeks and one of the first things I am doing upon my return is read back over what I have missed on your site. Photo’s of Jacob eagerly sought out, and recipes contemplated… Thanks so much!
Made these yesterday with blueberries and half & half instead of heavy cream. They were lovely–great crumb and not too dry. I’ve never made scones before–my British fiance is going to be very happy when he returns here from London later this summer.
Allie: the dried cranberries sound lovely. Some orange zest (and possibly orange juice, although I’m not sure how one would substitute it in…) added to make a cranberry orange scone would be great, as well.
These are awesome looking. I have leftover cherries from a party over the weekend, so I should make these. I’m however with the other commenter who wants to make them on the stove. My oven has been in heavy use in the past week of high summer heat and I’m hoping to keep the actual oven time to a minimum.
the only two scones i have seen are the triangle shaped ones or the blob ones (which i make) hehe. but these beautiful square scones with raspberry deliciousness are truly outstanding!!! <3
These looks delicious, I love raspberries and morning treats!
Yum. I love how necessity sometimes leads to wonderful discoveries.
Thought I’d report back to let you know I made these with all white whole wheat flour and they are really, really good. Perfectly moist and light, not too sweet, slightly tart from the berries, and a bit of heartiness from the flour. I make just about everything (except cakes and tender baked goods) with white whole wheat flour and have never had a problem (but maybe I’m just used to it), and these scones were no exception. Thanks!
I say right up front I don’t bake much. No that’s a big ole lie, I don’t bake anything that doesn’t come from a box be it brownies or pie crust. THere. I said it right here in front of 1,000 foodies. I come here for the visuals, your delightful commentary, Jake and somehow I can almost taste what you’ve made. These look divine. Mail me some!
V
Here in Portland OR – my raspberry bushes are bearing more fruit than I thought even possible. It has been a crazy wet year but the raspberries are in there element. I have picked the bushes four or five times and by the looks of things I have another two good pickings (each a gallon!). Think these will be my next offereing! they sounds delightful!
Long time “lurker/follower” first time commenter–just made these this morning and they are so tasty! I only had part-skim ricotta and used 2% milk instead of cream (didn’t have any cream!), and they were still wonderful! I absolutely love your site! So witty and every single recipe I have made has been amazing. Thanks for all you do! You’re my domestic idol!
I braved the 90+ degree weather on Sunday to do bake these. Crazy, yes. But worth it! Soooo worth it. Hands down the most moist scones I’ve ever made!
I’ve got a mountain of blackberries and pecans that might be committed to this recipe. Thanks for the share! :)
I just made these and they are GREAT!
Not having any raspberries and being too lazy to leave the sir-conditioned haven of my house, I used the peaches that I had on hand in place of the berries and it worked beautifully! I used a heaping cup of cubed peaches (I can’t help myself) and it was a little too much fruit for me, so Deb’s advice a few comments up to use a little under 1 cup of peaches is spot on. They still cooked fine with the extra fruit, however.
I just tried these, and they turned out weird! They have a very strange & unpleasent aftertaste. The only thing I did differently was that I didn’t use full fat ricotta, but skim (or whatever). They taste really odd after a few chews…perhaps I mis-measured, I don’t know (the texture is fine so I don’t know if that’s it), but I’m quite disappointed!
Baked these this morning – lovely! One sorry attempt at scones over ten years ago resulted in no further efforts until your blog entry inspired. Ok, so I substituted blueberries for the raspberries and added some lemon zest just because of what was on hand. But I must report the satisfying scone-ness of these scones. Beautiful crumb, tender without being dense or pasty. Just sweet enough and balanced with a hint of earthiness (from the wheat flour, I think, and the right amount of salt). Only note is to watch while baking–mine were done at ten minutes (though my oven can be a brute). Very good recipe! I enjoy your SK blog so much and your pictures are absolutely divine. Thank you.
Deb, I’ve baked many a buttermilk biscuit in my day, but I’ve never made scones if you can believe it. I was taught by my Grandmother that a biscuit needs to be baked in the upper third of the oven. Is that how you bake the scones also?
Shari — That’s very interesting and I’ve never heard it before about biscuits. But funny enough, I bake a lot of things on that very rack mostly because I’ve discovered that in my terrible, cheap, tiny oven things get a better brown on them up top. I think it’s the heat bouncing off the roof of the oven. I don’t bake everything up there, just things that have a short enough baking time that they’ll otherwise be pale and kind of depressing looking for my (see above) terrible, cheap and tiny oven.
Mandy — I wholly agree we need a better comment system! I’m on the lookout. However, I’m not terribly into rating systems because I think it’s usually unclear what people are rating. Are they rating whether they’re excited about the dish? Whether they think it might be fun to eat? Whether they made it and it was good? Do they take points off if the recipe worked great but it turned out they didn’t like raspberries in scones? What if they used non-dairy creamer and it didn’t work? I probably sound like I overthink this stuff, huh? (Yes, I do.) So, I don’t think there will be a star system in the future, but when my schedule settles down a bit, there will definitely be better comment organization.
Sarah — Welcome to NYC. I go to whichever ones are closest to me, and open when I want something. I’m not terribly far from Union Square, so I go there a lot but there are smaller ones around that I like too. The Grand Army Plaza on in Brooklyn is great too. You can check out the map and schedule here (PDF). I keep it downloaded on my desktop. The great thing in NYC is you don’t need to go on certain days, there’s almost always a market in each area each day.
I’m restocking for jam orders and have some extra raspberries – guess this is what we’ll be using them for. What about using a bit of jam, too, for a swirl?
The name alone of these scones is so beautiful. I never thought of adding in ricotta, so clever.
Would love to see more back-to-basics recipes. Honestly, they seem to be getting more and more far out. I love the photography, but it seems like you’re grasping at recipe “straws” these days…
I just discovered your blog and made these today .. delicious! Easy .. I baked them quite a bit longer than 15 minutes partly because I prefer things MORE baked and less doughy. Lately I have been adding dark rye flour to almost everything I bake … it makes things what I term “earthier.” So I ended up doing about half whole wheat flour and half dark rye. They came out great and still beautiful even though they were a tad darker than yours, it appears. I have blueberries and blackberries in the refrigerator, so I might try a new version tomorrow .. this time adding some buckwheat flour. Love those dark, earthy flours.
Jessica in Alaska
These scones tasted great but spread a lot when I baked them and came out so flat my boyfriend called them “scookies.” Should I chill them next time before baking?
Just made these and decided to be an adult and set the timer for them to cool before eating. Ha. I finished off my second DELICIOUS scone just as the timer went off.
This is one of my favorite recipes from your site, and the best scones I’ve ever had. I’ve already eaten three of them and it’s only been 16 hours since they came out of the oven. They’re almost too tender and moist to be called a scone; I would describe them as a biscuit with berry mixed in. Regardless, they are to die for.
A couple things I did differently: I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat (worked fine) and baked on a preheated pizza stone. Since the stone is circular I formed the dough into a circle on the parchment paper and sliced into 8 wedges before transferring to the hot stone. It baked up beautifully.
For those that are considering fruit substitutions, I would strongly advise you try it with the raspberries first if at all possible. There’s something about the raspberry flavor that goes so, so well with this scone, and I think you’d lose something if you swapped out the fruit.
Oh Deb ~ these are divine! You weren’t kidding about the tricky, damp dough but I did as you said and floured the heck out of my counter and all was fine. I had two teenagers pronounce that these were “delicious” and “bomb” (even with the whole wheat flour!) so I’m thinking, this is the ticket! Thank you so much for the recipe ~ they really are great and I look forward to whatever’s next.
These sound so exactly up my alley. It’s a pity I can’t make them now lest we all spontaneously combust from the added heat of turning on the oven!
Oh yum! These sound wonderful! You are soo very bad for my diet but well…oh well! I don’t think you should kick this recipe to the curb!! It seems to really really want to be in your cookbook!
Holy delish. This looks fab. I’ve cooked a couple of your recipes before…yummm. Looks like I’ll be using the raspberries from our bushes for this one! Can’t waittt
Ok, ricotta and raspberries. Ok. Let’s breathe. I love raspberries. I love ricotta. Let’s breathe. Oh dear, I’ll go and bake them now, let’s do it!
Update: Made these with whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out great! Definitely softer and much more moist than regular scones, but no complaints here. I actually toasted mine for a minute or two before serving/reheating all week and they were delicious! Thanks for the idea :)
Here’s my post about them: http://stylishstealthyandhealthy.com/2011/07/21/a-little-inspiration/
Hi Deb – I made these with blueberries (had a bunch in the fridge that i was worried would go bad before i could eat them!) and they came out great! I might add a little more sugar next time (an extra 1/8 or 1/4 cup) because i don’t think they were as sweet as raspberries would be. But I like sweet things, so maybe that’s just me :) Thank you!
They may be craggy but I love that they’re pink. I have to try them this weekend!
Just made these with red and golden raspberries, whole wheat pastry flower, plus a hefty drizzle of tasty raspberry-almond glaze from raspberry puree, almond extract and powdered sugar :) Tasty tasty tasty! They may not last until tomorrow morning…
Deb, these look just wonderful. I’ve tried orange zest and currant scones as well as lemon zest and chopped candied ginger, so I am really looking forward to trying out a new scone! I love your blog- you do an outstanding job, and I really enjoy your witty prose. Very much looking forward to your book- keep up the great work!! :)
Oh my stars, these look heavenly! Your blueberry muffin recipe has become a regular in our home (often requested by even my picky teenager) and this one looks like another winner. Can’t wait to try it!
WOWZA!! I spent the past week looking at this recipe over and over again, and this afternoon {despite our heatwave in Boston} I caved and ran out to the store for raspberries. It was so worth it! These scones are soft and so incredibly tasty. I brought some over to my folks house tonight and served them with fresh whipped cream and fresh berries for dessert. It was a huge hit! Can’t wait for your book :)
Another fab recipe – just finished eating one for dessert. Love having the weights as well as the measuring cups and spoons. The ingredient I love to weigh instead of measuring is butter and it is not given – 3 ounces or 85 grams. In Canada our butter comes in 1 pound packages, not sticks.
Heather — Thanks, I’ll add that in.
I made these today and they were fabulous!
Then I made a second batch for my son, because he can’t have dairy. I left out the cheese and cream and made with rice milk. They came out terrifically as well. Yay for substitutions!
The best part of all of it was that they looked just like your in the picture. Often things taste good, but getting them to look like the picture is a whole ‘nother deal.
We LOVE this website, thanks for all the great recipes and encouragement.
I made these this morning, but just used the blueberries I had on hand and they were amazing. This recipe goes in my keeper file.
Just made them, had difficulty with the measurement translation in European measurements but with a little online help it worked out oke. Know waiting for them too cool off and bring them to my Dad’s Bday! Hope they turned out lovely they look and smell good anyway
I made these last night, and they turned out wonderfully. The only thing I would do differently next time, is to use the full fat ricotta. I used low fat, and I think the richness the extra fat adds would take these up a notch for me! (Why try to be healthier, anyway, there is already whole wheat flour in the recipe, right? :))
Made these twice in one week! Delicious and easy even for me — I am a cook not a baker. The first time followed the recipe exactly. Today, used frozen blueberries. Had to add a bit more cream to the dough while kneading. It’s a keeper! Thanks!
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them. I wouldn’t normally be drawn to scones but on vacation I had blueberry scones (um..several times) and now I want to make some! I love raspberries even more.
I substituted in a half cup of lemon curd and a half cup of blueberries lightly pressed into the tops…. Delicious!
Those are true beauties!
I wish I didn’t have an Ethiopian daughter with dairy allergy. I will try to make them with coconut milk…and some sort of vegan cream cheese. Not sure they will be the same…but thanks for the inspiration.
I am wondering why you suggest baking powder that is aluminum free? I am all ears!
Kimmie
mama to 8
one homemade and 7 adopted
I took a pan of these out of the oven about an hour ago and had one with an iced coffee–so good! Thanks for sharing!
It was 157 degrees in my Long Island kitchen today but I just had to make these scones…they have been on my mind all week! The extra sweat was worth it. They turned out beautifully and were so delicious. I am a rustic Italian cook and I love my food to look homemade with love…perfection just takes some of the fun out for me. So the “craggy-ness” of these scones was right up my alley. It gave them a lot of character! Definite keeper…thanks for the great recipe Deb. :)
First time commenter and long-time admirer! Our lovely Portland (OR) farmer’s market was bursting with summer fruits today and I’d noticed your recipe for the scones earlier this week. After prying the pint of raspberries I bought from my husband’s fingers (raspberries are his fave), I managed to make a batch. They just came out of the oven – haven’t tried one yet, but couldn’t resist sampling the batter before they went in and YUM. Did an egg wash on top, and some sugar crystals for a little extra sweetness. THANKS, Deb!
Made these this morning for breakfast and they were lovely! Didn’t have cream so used vanilla Greek yogurt with a bit of milk to make it less thick. Will have to try the recipe again as written, just to see. Before the morning coffee kicked in, I did have a stumble over the directions to cut into “9” even squares. :)
Hey Deb,
Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your food blog and all the recipes you post. I made these scones this morning with fresh B.C. raspberries (yep, I’ma Canuck), and they were just incredible. The ricotta is brilliant – makes them so moist. Thanks again!
A fresh batch of these scones just came out of the oven… Wow! I couldn’t resist waiting for too long and ate one. So moist and wonderful! I’m so happy I finally have a perfect AND extremely easy scone recipe. I will bring a few of them for my boyfriend and I for our roadtrip to Boston this week. Thank you so much!
I’m a Smitten Kitchen newbie, and this is my first try at one of your recipes. They turned out wonderful (especially if you add a smallish dollop of whipped cream as you eat them)! Thanks for all your wonderful pics – they really helped as I followed the steps. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes and can’t wait for your book!
I made these (first recipe from you!) and my family loved them! Thanks for the great recipe. My grandmother loves scones but they are usually too dry for her, these were very moist and easy to make!
Question for you: you have so many fantastic sounding recipes, it’s really hard to tell which ones are you favorites or most popular (actually that was a comment, not a question.) Here’s the question – my in-laws are coming to town and would love to greet them with a fresh baked welcome treat – which would you recommend? These look lovely. Thanks for any help.
DAIRY-FREE:
i subbed out the 3/4 c ricotta for 1/2 plain soy yoghurt, and replaced the 1/3 c heavy cream with 1/3 + 1/4 c of cashew cream (blend 1/2 c raw cashews with 1/2 warm water till smooth), and also subbed the butter for earth balance.
they were light, moist, delicious!
just made these they are amazing me and my little girl just eat a whole batch
These were quite good. I made 3 minor adjustments to the recipe:
1) 6oz of fresh raspberries
2) Regular Cream
3) substituted the AP flour with Bread Flour
These were great. I used a whole 6oz of raspberries, half and half instead of cream, and lowfat ricotta. Quite delicious! At the breakfast table I said I’d make them again, and my husband said he’d eat them again. :)
I just made these and they are great. Yes, wet dough but following your instructions, easy to do. I used about 1/4 cup blackberries as I ran out of raspberries and yum. Thanks for another great recipe!
Oh my goodness. I just made these. Literally just pulled them out of the oven and they taste like heaven! Thanks as always for the great recipe Deb! I wish I lived and NY and we could be best friends! (I would be using you for the great food though) Can’t wait for the cookbook!!!
Raspberries are amazing & i have also been seeing them come up into many new pastries stores lately. But now I can make this at home, (: yay. Also a plus is that you posted this one my birthday, haha thanks for the idea!
YUM! Made these today with the last of an amazing raspberry crop (for our small area we got about 15 quarts!). Couldn’t quite bring myself to do the entire high fat dairy thing (my mouth and my heart don’t like it ;)) so used less ricotta, and nonfat greek yogurt for the rest and the cream. Used mostly white ap flour because that’s all I had (and almost 3/4 cup ww pastry). I cut the dough into littler pieces (4 for every one in your design) and stuck a frozen raspberry in the center of each (very cute). Even my husband liked them (and I’m the scone freak!). He baked 8 of the little devils at dinner tonight out of the big bag I froze. And we already had the first blueberry pie of the season in the oven. Will do this again with other fruits. Peaches on the horizon! Thank you thank you for this recipe!
I made a loose variation of these, taking your idea of cutting the raspberries into the mixture! I loved that! I also used ALL whole wheat flour and found the nuttiness a perfect combo with the tart raspberries. They turned out fabulously!
deb,
made these exactly according to your recipe, and froze the cut scones overnight. the next day, i went to bake them and they were discolored, almost like mold. i used fresh raspberries and everything else fresh. I froze them right away and mold doesn’t grow in the freezer. They baked just fine, but with a funny greenish-blue tinge. Didn’t want to serve them. Have you ever expereinced this issue?
Meghan – check out Deb’s comment on Baking Powder. If it has aluminum in it, the baking powder can cause discoloration.
These scones are SO incredibly delicious I don’t even know what to say. My roommates devoured most of them last night, I saved a few to bring to work, had one for breakfast this morning and am just the happiest little panda. Thanks Deb.
Wow, these are absolutely fabulous! I made them last night after dinner, and although I was full, had to split one with my husband right away, but instead I ate the whole thing! And then I split a second one with him! I’m definitely making these again, especially with my new pastry blender! Thanks Deb!
These are just what I wish I were eating at this very moment. It has been a long week, and I think these would go well with the movie I plan to watch this afternoon as I relax from the week. Sadly, I don’t think they will be made today, but likely tomorrow.
Made these this morning w/strawberries; very good!!
I read your recipe as rhubarb ricotta squares… which I may just have to try. There is an abundance of rhubarb where I am heading.
They look delightfully delicious.
Made these as a hostess present. Such a huge hit! I too was a bit lazy and went with the kitchenaid mixer and they still turned out perfectly (used the whisk for the pastry blender part and then the paddle for the rest of it). Great flavor. Love the whole wheat. Super, super easy. Looking forward to the rest of the cookbook.
ps: and I used a size 16 scoop. Yield was 11.
As far as virtual breakfasts go (because I’ve just eaten my real-life breakfast), your site is always such a treat! Thanks Deb – I’ll need to try these sometime soon. :)
Oh my oh my oh my….these, my fellow foodie mama friend… oooo! I must make these. Like, yesterday!!! LOL. Thanks so much- I needed some inspiration.
Heh, I had almost none of the ingredients on hand, but these scones sounded so delicious that I decided to use the recipe as a guide and made a myriad of substitutions from a destitute cupboard (and dairy-free preference).
1 1/4 whole wheat flour
1/4 brown rice flour
1 tablespoon baking soda (keep forgetting to buy the powder, even though they’re not really interchangeable, right?)
3/4 cup turbinado sugar (threw in extra ’cause the peaches were barely ripe)
1/2 teaspoon black salt
3 tablespoons of Earth Balance butter (had forgotten to buy more)
1 cup freshly diced peaches
1 cup plain yogurt
Amazingly enough, they turned out moist and decent. The texture was not what I’d expect of a scone, more like a dense cake, but my boyfriend thought it was the best thing I’d ever baked, as far as somewhat healthy desserts are concerned. :P
These were SO. MOIST. we all loved them, a few changes I would make if I made them again would be to heat the raspberries with the sugar on the stove top and then strain the mixture so there wouldn’t be any of those pesky seeds that are permanently stuck in my teeth (plus straining the mixture would leave like liquidy/jam that would probably give the batter an all over pinkness…so…that’s a plus for me :D) and some white chocolate chunks. Really, white chocolate chunks should be added to e’rrythang though.
Keep the yumminess comin’! I literally cannot WAIT for your cookbook! Hope you and the babe and the husband are all happy and enjoying the last weeks of summer!
The post-rhubarb verdict: finely diced rhubarb, macerated with ~ 2tsps of sugar for a couple hours makes everything quite happy. I upped the sugar content by about 2 tbsp (30ml) overall to counteract the rhubarb tartness. The scone was tart-sweet and oh so delicious with either butter or honey. Definitely something to be made again. … with whatever fruit we have hanging around.
I feel the same deb, that a better comment system would be a plus. The one thing that would help is if comments from people who have actually made the recipe were separated from those who are just commenting on how good they sound, etc, as its helpful to read others experiences before you dive in yourself. Love your recipes. Made the scones for a roadtrip, and wiped them out :) delicious!
Wow! These look so delicious. I wonder if they’d be as good with the peaches I have ripening on the counter now. Will give them a try!
So, I have made these twice. So good. But I have to share some mods I made the second time. I used blueberries rather than raspberries. And didn’t cut them in, just mixed and kneaded them. Also, I added some cinnamon and used brown sugar rather than white. It was so tasty! Thanks for the great recipes, I really love your blog!
Made these today…super easy recipe….very moist dough! OMGoodness, they are fabulous! Finished them with a dusting of powdered sugar! Thanks again for another great recipe!
Didn’t read through ALL the comments, so I don’t know if anyone else tried this: I added about 1 tsp. lemon zest to the second batch and it was life changing! Try it!
hi from australia! i’ve been wanting to make these for a while and finally had some spare time after an afternoon class was cancelled. i just used frozen unthawed raspberries as fresh are hard to come by and expensive in my neck of the woods at the moment. aside from this i stuck to recipe and turned out some really lovely moist scones that looked not dissimilar to your beautiful photos. i found them to be a little flat but i think this was because my initial shaping of the dough was not high enough. the ricotta was especially delicious… thank you so much – will make again and again, can’t wait to show my mum x
have been craving to make this recipe since you published it and now, with my 2nd baby due any day, i am making these to freeze for when we are in a sleep-deprived haze. thanks for the awesome recipes…i share my favorites (and pic-worthy attempts) on FB and twitter.
Hey :) i’m from Lebanon. Don’t know if you have ever encountered any Lebanese followers but i found your blog through stumbleupon 2 years ago and I’ve been addicted to it since then: the recipes and the pictures, ooh, they do their job right! We kind of have the same style! It’s the first time i comment on a recipe i did or tried to do :D It’s also the first time i bake scones so i didn’t really know how they were supposed to turn out but as i started reading the above comments: i got the idea and i think they worked: since they turned out to be moist and chewy! Oh, i forgot to mention that i substituted the raspberries by Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips: aaah, so gooey and warm! :) will try them next time with raspberries or strawberries though. Thanks for the inspiration, always!
ABSOLUTELY DELISH! i made these for a central park picnic on saturday- used strawberries because the bodega was out of raspberries. they were a hit. so jazzed for the book!
I made these last night and baked them off this morning. They took a few more minutes than instructed, about 21 in total, but that might just be my oven. I brushed a bit of cream on the top and sprinkled them lightly with demerara sugar before I popped them in the oven. Just had one, still slightly warm…. YUM
I’m wondering with recipes like this where you roll things out on a counter, how do you get the counter clean enough that you feel comfortable putting food on it? Not that my counter’s particularly dirty, but I’m wondering what cleansers you use, since a lot of them aren’t food-friendly. Thanks!
Wow, so many comments!
Raspberries being nearly impossible to find here, I made these with some blueberries I’d frozen plus the lemon zest I saved before squeezing the lemon to make the ricotta! I wonder if it’s the difference in juiciness of the berries that made the dough VERY dry and hard to work with. I should have put in more cream at that point but despaired of being able to incorporate it evenly when half the dough was willing to stick together and the other half had only butter in it and was crumbs – too much working and you get chewy scones, no? They did taste great finished with more ricotta spread on top, though! One other possibility is that I let the ricotta drain too long. I figured the thicker the better in general (and honestly forgot about it the last hour and a half) so it drained for 3 1/2 hours before I put it in the fridge. Any idea?
Mmmm I made these this weekend – the best scones I’ve ever had! I hate dry scones – or worse those that make your teeth feel baking powder-y. I was a bit nervous with the full TBSP of BP but they turned out PERFECT. I did have to add a bit more heavy cream as my dough was dry but really really wonderful recipe. Rave reviews from our house and the neighbours we shared with.
Thank you once again for a wonderful recipe! I made these this weekend for a bridal shower, and they were gone so fast I didn’t even get to try them…so, cue making another batch later at home, of course! I did need an extra 5 minutes of baking time in my old oven. These are some lovely scones; moist and pretty and the ricotta adds a lot.
Deb, Thank you for both the incredible recipe and the education on why one would use aluminum-free baking powder! Does using aluminum-free affect the rise in any way? Is it necessary in applications where there is no other acid but what is in the powder itself? Now I’m going to be thinking about baking powder all day…
Back to the scones: They were perfection. And so easy to put together. We had a home visit from my kiddo’s nursery school teacher today and she was so impressed she asked if I’d do a baking thing with the class this year. Thank you times a million for making me look good! These are going to go into heavy rotation at our house!
I made these with just white whole wheat flour and they were delicious. I just saw a trick for dealing with sticky scone dough on Paula Dean which would work well with this recipe. Just mix it all in the bowl and use an ice cream scope to scope out mounds onto your baking sheet. Pat the mounds down slightly and you have rustic scones to bake.
John and I love your site, you really do a beautiful job with the photography and laying out the recipes. Loved the looks of the raspberries….beautiful!
Hi! I love your website!
I made these this morning!
I only had ?whole oat flour? which I used instead of whole wheat flour and I think they turned out great! My first batch was a bit brown at 15 minutes, so the second time i tried 12 minutes and it is a perfect scone! Thank you so much! You are the best!
I’ve made these TWICE in the past week. To put it lightly, I’m obsessed. With the second batch, I doubled the raspberries to try and make it more raspberry-ish, but that made the batter quite wet, so I had to add more flour. They turned out delicious anyway, but I think the original proportions make for a way better texture. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I had a hankering for these the other day and as usual, I was out of two of the main ingredients: whole wheat flour and ricotta. However, I made some ricotta (used your recipe from a few months ago) and just used AP flour instead and they were delicious. The ricotta gave them a rich flavor that a lot of scones lack. Thanks!
Also, I was excited to see the article about you in the Martha Stewart Everyday magazine this month. Congratulations! The recognition is well deserved.
What happens if you use only whole wheat flour?
sorry I see someone else already asked this. Love SK though. You make everything sound so easy and delicious!
I can’t stop making these!! And they seem to be pretty ‘easy-going’ as I’ve also made them with ricotta&buttermilk; creamed cottage cheese & cream; greek yogurt & cream combinations and the results were pretty much the same – delicious!
And then I made your home-made ricotta and slathered some in a split scone … and now I have to make it all again ’cause I can’t stop thinking about it!
Made these yummy scones in a double batch to take on vacation despite your comments about how they taste best freshly made. Have to say that warming them in the oven almost (but not quite) brings back that just-made warmth and texture and makes them enjoyable once again. They remain crispy on the outside and warm and tender on the inside. Yummy! And a hit at camp.
These have a very unimposing look, I absolutely love it. However, scones are all about buttermilk for me.
Made these today for the first time. I have never had such a fluffy scone! Had requests for the recipe – thanks, Deb!
I can’t wait to try these. They look delicious, and I love that they include wheat flower. A great way to trick myself into thinking I’m being healthy!
Question: If you don’t freeze the raw dough, how do you recommend storing? In fridge?
Also, I just made these & had to substitute 1/2 blueberries…So yummy!
twinmommy — I’d suggest you freeze it. It won’t keep in the fridge.
This is absolutely one of my new favorite recipes. Brought them to my boyfriend’s parent’s house with some homemade strawberry jam and they were a huge hit!
I thought I gave up on trying to make scones at home until I came across your post — these are the first ones I’ve made that didn’t turn into hockey pucks! Very moist and easy to make. I love that I can make them ahead of time and freeze them.
I just recently discovered this site, and I have to say that from the recipes I have made and seen so far, I am a huge fan! I am currently putting myself through college as a nanny. The kids love to cook, but I was tired of making cookies and unhealthy desserts with them (which is what they always want to make!). I am so glad that I came across this recipe, it was a hit with me and the parents for its healthier factors, and it was a hit with the kids as well, who loved making and eating them. Thank you!
have made these twice and think they are great. I love the ricotta in there for both flavour and the calcium. feels great giving them to my kids as a “treat”- knowing I am nourishing them too. I cut them in 18 triangles to make for a smaller serving and it works well.
What’s the yield on this recipe? Maybe I missed it in the comments. :D
Just made these, swapping out the cream with evaporated milk I had leftover from another recipe. The review: works perfectly. My husband and I each had one, and then I froze the rest for future scone emergencies.
Deb,
Just wanted to let you know I have made this 3 times already… no I’m not addicted!!
First time was good but…
Second time was better.
Third time’s a charm.
I made some slight adjustments. Let me explain why.
At first I couldn’t figure out how to avoid sticky hands. A mess. I added a lot of extra white flour to make the dough less sticky. Also, it wasn’t sweet enough if you don’t have jam around to eat them with.
Second time, same mess with the dough. I added extra sugar. Better. But still something was missing.
Third time… enlightened! 2 cups of raspberries. 1/2 cup of sugar. About 2-3 Tbsp of vanilla sugar as well + a bit more for sprinkling at the end. I managed the dough well – no need for extra white flour. Amazing. Sweet for not too sweet. Vanilla hints. A bit crusted on top with the sprinkled sugar. To be eaten with or without jam. Paradise.
Also, the second time, I made them a day ahead and transported them in a tupperware + ziplock bags for a camping trip. They kept very well. Dried them out a bit before eating them on a plate.
Thanks for the recipe! I’m hooked!
Good Afternoon! A very good afternoon. I don’t remember when I fell in love with scones, years ago for sure. I just made these for the first time and they turned out perfect! I made them smaller – I have about two dozen. They’re still perfect! Not sure how long I baked them – probably about 10-11 minutes. Extraordinary! Thank you! Peg (Michigan, USA)
WOW! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I’ve never made scones before, but these ones turned out so well I’m sure I’ll be giving them another shot (plus scrolling through Smitten Kitchen for different flavours!). Thanks again!
Very good! I’m not much of a baker, but my scones turned out exactly like the photo! They tasted as good as they looked! Thank you for sharing the recipe and step-by-step instructions. Made it easy!
Made these this morning and they turned out perfect! I will definitely make these again.
I made these this morning and they were delicious and had great texture! The one major substitution I made was that I used blueberries that were picked and frozen over the summer instead of raspberries since that is all I had on hand. I defrosted them a bit in the microwave but did not warm them. I also did not have aluminum free baking powder so I used the regular stuff. I love being able to freeze some unbaked for another day.
Deb, I am thankful for your amazing blog and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
P.S I got so excited when I heard a sound byte of you on NPR the other day…looking forward to listening to the whole interview!
I have made these many times since you posted them and I keep meaning to thank you for the recipe. I always use frozen raspberries – I just beat the bag of berries with my rolling pin to break them up a bit and add them with the ricotta.
LOVE your site. Keep up the good work :)
As I am pretty much a kitchen beginner, I was unsure whether I can put frozen raspberries instead of the fresh ones. I see from the posts above mine that people put it. Is it better to defrost them first or incorporate them frozen into the dough?
I finally made them today and they came out great! It was my first time making and tasting scones, they’re not something people in my country are familiar with, apart from occasional blog readers. Instead of raspberries I used frozen blackberries which made my scones darker than yours. I also didn’t use ricotta because store-bought is unavailable here so I used cottage cheese that I had in the fridge. I had to bake them longer, around 25 minutes, though. The result – delicious!
I just made these and they turned out really well considering I had to make a few changes. I was a little short on raspberries and had to use some strawberries. I also used part skim ricotta cheese, and was short on that and ended up using about 1/4 cup low fat vanilla yogurt. And I used whole milk instead of heavy cream. Then I made the dough into a circle and cut it into wedge shaped pieces. This is a great recipe!
These were oh so good! I used the ricotta from this website. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe.
I have made these 3 times in the last couple of weeks; once mini-size for a tea party. They are so delicious and unique!
DEB. I didn’t have raspberries, so I shredded some apples and used honey instead of white sugar and reduced the cream to 1/4 cup and added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and they were SO GOOD.
I made these last night with blackberries instead of raspberries and they were awesome.
I made these today and LOVED them!They were a huge hit :)
Mm I made these for my in laws last week when they came to town hoping they wouldn’t flop, everyone LOVED them. I have another batch in the oven now :) thanks for sharing!
found the ricotta made these a little too dense for my liking – esp since this is a breakfast product. also hated how the raspberry seeds felt in each bite. know of any easy tips on removing them? otherwise these tasted great and looked really pretty!
OMG these are soooooo GOOD! Just ate a warm one out of the oven and I never want to buy another store bought scone. I accidentally ate my raspberries this morning so I chopped up sweet organic strawberries and it was terrific.
I LOVE your recipes. Thank you!
deb, you’re the devil in disguise, aren’t you? I haven’t even tasted the baked scones yet, but even to the dough was SO GOOD! can’t wait to get them out of the oven. the only two things I changed about your directions was that I cut them in rounds, not squares (using ordinary water glasses as I don’t own a cookie cutter) and I used milk instead of double cream.
I am getting addicted to your recipes. bad move for someone who intends to show up in a bikini in a few weeks’ time… ;-) yet I beg you: keep them coming!!!
these are a fave of mine. I’ve made them with blueberries too with great results (http://kaleeats.blogspot.com/2012/07/blueberry-whole-grain-ricotta-scone.html) so quick and easy- I make these more than any other scone.
LOVED THIS RECIPE!!! Follow it to a T…and I needed more flour, but they turned out excellent!!! GO SCONES!!!!!!!!! Perfect tea partner! T’was a grand mess, but well worth it!
I made these today, with a few changes – but they were awesome. Perfect for a rainy summer day. Thanks for sharing.
Has anyone tried this with frozen raspberries??
a year later and i finally made these gorgeous scones. i tweaked the recipe to accommodate what i had and some healthy-eating goals. first, i used 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour to .5 cup ap flour; second, in lieu of heavy cream (which i was out of…), i used buttermilk with an extra TBSP of whole milk. i adjusted the recipe to include 1/4 tsp of baking soda to get some lift from the buttermilk. oh, and, i had a bag full over over-ripe local peaches so i used a cup of peaches instead of raspberries. the result is a glorious thing–tender-crumbed, wheaty, and fragrant with peachy goodness. thanks for this excellent recipe, deb, and for emboldening your readers to experiment!
Amanda, I always make them with frozen raspberries. When it is the season I eat the fresh raspberries like that. For cooking I never use those precious fresh berries.
I use way more fruit than in the recipe.
I like these scones very much.
But the dough turns greyish. I think it’s due to the baking powder?
Ok, I should have read the comments. It’s due to the aluminium in the baking powder. WTH? Is there aluminium in? That’s not healthy at all. Going of to read some more.
I’ve made these so many times that I feel bad for not having written a review earlier. These scones are one of my all times favorites. They ALWAYS come out perfect. Every time. I’ve made them more often with strawberries than raspberries but I love them both. And they are the perfect addition to any “meal train” or care package. I made these for a friend who just had a baby and packaged them up, unbaked, so that she could pop one in the oven every morning and have a delicious, fresh scone for breakfast. I’ve frozen them also and they’re still amazing. My only dilemma is that it’s now fall here in New York and I really like to cook seasonally. Fall fruits seem totally inappropriate for this recipe.
Horrible procrastinator that I am, I have waited this long to try this recipe. I’m kicking myself. These are amazing! The whole wheat flour is a nice compliment to the juicy berries and not distracting at all. Hearty, lovely scones with sweet tart berries, now that’s delicious!
Made these this morning and they were amazing! Made a few changes though…used buttermilk since i didnt have heavy cream; used frozen blueberries since i didnt have fresh raspberries; and threw flour mixture, butter and frozen blues in the food processor and pulsed to mix. Yum!! BTW….YOU ARE A TOTAL INSPIRATION!! :)
I just made these this morning from your cookbook, which was one of my best Christmas presents this year. They’re gone already. I think they’re getting my teenaged son interested in baking, since I told him if he wanted more, he’d have to make them himself. Thank you!
Hi Deb,
First of all, this is my first time to write on your blog! I love your recipe’s, they are awesome and mostly make me laugh a lot! I just ordered your book today, lucky me!
Last weekend i made your rasberry-ricotta scones, and placed them on my veggie blog. My family loved them!
Thanks for all the fun!
Mirjam
Another excellent recipe. Made these to share with more mountain bikers, and all were very impressed, even the one who ‘doesn’t like cakes with fruit in’. Tender, moist, balanced, lovely!
i made these this afternoon after hearing a woman at the minneapolis library talk say they changed her life! i didn’t have whole wheat (gasp) and subbed rye flour – they were delish!
my absolute favorite thing you said at your book talk was “well, i am gluten-full.” i died. i am so, sooo long over the “gluten-free” lifestyle. i mean, fine. but do they have to talk about it nonstop?!
I made these today and they are amazing! Super simple too. Thanks!
These are absolutely delicious, have made them three times to perfect results… this is my criterion for a foolproof recipe. For those who want to make these a regular part of their lives but are scared about the caloric impact of these yummy little suckers… I ran it through a counter each one has about 245 calories. (Cut the dough into 12 instead of 9 and the count drops to a very manageable 183 cals). Totally worth it (at both sizes)!
Hi Deb, I love your blog and I purchased your cookbook and love that as well! I do have a quick question re; scones. I make a ton of them on the weekends and then I freeze them for use during the week. I pop them on a baking sheet frozen and bake for the normal time plus a few extra minutes. I have noticed that the frozen scones don’t rise nearly as high or spread out as much as the ones that I bake without freezing. That is to be expected…correct? It still tastes great and everything, the frozen ones just don’t bake up as big! (do you suppose that means they have less calories?) Thanks much!
Mary — Ooh, good question. I’m not sure if it’s that they’d rise higher if they were defrosted little first (my concern is always that those butter bits will soften then mush into the dough, affecting the layer separation) or that the baking powder has been weakened by its time in the freezer but I really should experiment.
I made these from your cookbook last night. They were great! Although I don’t like rasberry seeds in the bites. But I also hard fresh blueberries, cut them in half and mixed them into a second batch. They were even better! They didn’t break apart and get squishy while mixing. They were just perfect!
Delicious! Just made them tonight. Fabulous!
Substitute 1/4 cup cocoa powder for 1/4 cup flour. Enough said.
This may be way out in left field, but do you think I could bake frozen scones in a toaster oven? So that I’m not heating the whole house for two scones?
Jaimie — Does it have a temperature dial? If the temperature is stable, I don’t see why not. But keep an eye on it. Toasters usually brown on top much faster.
Hi Deb! I’m wondering if I can substitute ricotta for cream cheese instead? Or what other cheese substitutes do you recommend that will still yeid the same results? PS: Fam is not big on ricotta thats why
FINALLY bought your cookbook this week and saw this recipe (which I had wrongfully skipped over in the past); it must be serendipitous because in my kitchen right now are the following:
Strawberries
Goat Milk Ricotta
Spent Grain Flour (left over from beer brewing)
…along with the remaining ingredients above
Was thinking of making a more savory version of this with the substitutions. Any tips or adjustments?
Love this recipe! I make it whenever i have time! :)
Deb, my mom called while I was making these scones with my kids. (Well, at the time, the kids were in the backyard picking the blackberries for this recipe.) Anyway, my mom referenced an article where adults were asked to recall their favorite childhood memories. This might not surprise you…but so many said baking at home. I have been a follower of your blog, a purchaser of your book, and a admirer of your writing for years. Until this moment I have never posted a comment. But really, there’s never been a better time…with flour on my counter and blackberry smeared faces at the screen door…to tell you that you’ve made me a better mom. : )
Just made these….Wonderful texture and the dough was not as hard to work with as I had feared. After reading some of Deb’s comments I went with the 2/3 C wheat flour and 1 1/3 all purpose flour combination. These were not as sweet as I like my scones; I think I will add some coarse sugar to the tops next time I make them. But very delicious and my family enjoyed them very much. I will definitely be adding them to my repertoire.
I was so very excited to make these for a family get-together yesterday. The batter was made, sliced, and placed gingerly in the oven…and then five minutes into the baking time I realized that in my scone-induced joy I completely forgot to put the sugar in. Oops. I frantically sprinkled sugar on top in hopes of adding some sweetness, but in the end the scones stayed home. Womp womp. We are eating them cut in half, spread with jam, and calling them breakfast biscuits. Haha. And they’re still pretty good!
After having gone blueberry picking and had an over abundance of them, I tried this recipe with them. They were amazing. I absolutely love raspberries, but enjoyed the blueberries with this recipe even more.
I first discovered these nearly two years ago when the grocery baggers accidentally put someone else’s cream in my bag, and I was searching for a way to use it. Anyway, they’re now pretty much a staple in our freezer, and now that it’s getting colder, I have no problem heating up the oven for one or two scones.
Most of the time, I just stick with the standard recipe as written, but I’ve changed it up a few times. I’ve replaced the raspberries with blueberries and added about a lemon’s worth of zest. I’ve also replaced the ricotta with pumpkin puree and added a little cinnamon and nutmeg (where I live, there is no Starbucks, so I’m thankfully not succumbing to pumpkin spice overload). The pumpkin ones tend to need a little extra sweetness, so I sprinkle sugar on top before baking or freezing.
Just made these. Incredible.
Hi, I’m looking forward to making this recipe for a baby shower this weekend. Do you have any recommendations for high altitude? I’m at 6,000 ft but would like to keep the scones moist. Thanks!
I’ve had these on my list of things to make for awhile and with the seasons changing and fresh raspberries not in season – made these with cranberries and a bit of orange zest today. Used the kitchen scale for the recipe / measuring and much preferred it to using the measuring cups etc. Popped 2 in the oven and enjoyed these with a cup of tea w/ my husband. They were absolutely delicious / not too sweet. Popped the other 7 in the freezer to flash freeze and store individually. Plan to have these over the upcoming weeks and great for times when unexpected company drops in! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
I’ve been making these for Christmas breakfast three years in a row; they are a hit! It’s true, the dough can feel very (overly) wet, but persist and ye shall find good scones await!
just made these cuties up in heart shapes for valentines day breakfast- using the last of raspberries we picked/froze this past summer. substituted out some of the cream for vanilla and yogurt, used half canola and half butter and nonfat ricotta, added a smidge of lemon zest and cardamom too…..wowza!
Made these for the first time today, and I don’t know why I waited so long! I used blueberries, because I had them on hand, but will definitely try with raspberries in the future. My kids didn’t think they were sweet enough, so I whipped up a little glaze, which was just the thing. I think I’ve converted my family to scone people!
I have made these before with raspberries and loved them, but I made them today with peaches because that’s what is in season here right now and they were wonderful! This is my go to recipe when I have leftover ricotta floating around my fridge.
Just made these with a big batch of fresh raspberries and holy cow are they delicious. I kept wondering if they were done because they were just so moist, but that’s the genius of the ricotta! I found this recipe via a post about your cookbook on 101 Cookbooks, and now I’m definitely going to have to run out and grab this book. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!!
Whole-Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones: No frosting required. When I was a child, it was all about the muffin for me.
I made these with oat flour because it was the only thing I had on hand, then again recently, following the recipe exactly with wheat flour. I have to say, they are delicious either way, but I think they are much better with oat flour. I felt the wheat taste was a little overpowering for the subtle sweetness of the scone. Amazing with oat flour though!
since many of you have tried this with yogurt, I am wondering if this would work if I replaced the cream with buttermilk.
sorry … I am such a baking newbie!!
I know this comment is years old but — probably not. Buttermilk’s fat content is much much less than cream or yogurt, as it’s the liquid leftover after you make butter (or, when you’ve turned that creamy fat into something solid). I imagine the structure of the dough would be much different when baked if you used buttermilk.
I made these with some strawberries that were about to go off. Just chopped them small and did everything else as directed. Delicious scones!
Just made these from the cookbook! I was very happy to find the recipe on your website too, in order to leave this compliment. (Btw, I’m American but apparently a weirdo who couldn’t get your hauntingly gorgeous UK cover image out of my head. So I ordered that version and am now getting a nice elementary course in mLs and degrees C, for which the conversion chart in the back of the book is a wonderful resource!)
I love the combination of fluff, crumble and crust in these, and the color is just as pretty as your photography promises. I baked half and followed directions for freezing remaining unbaked for a future meal. Thank you!
Hi! Could these be made sugar free? Thanks!
I just tried making these this weekend and had a strange experience (I have made them successfully in the past) and would like to know your thoughts. I used very fresh ingredients with the exception of the raspberries (frozen from trader joes, purchased on Saturday). The mix came together nicely and I tossed the bars in the freezer for two hours so we can bake them fresh when we want to eat them. When I took the bars out of the freezer their outsides were covered in little green dots! They looked like mold spots. I broke open the frozen bars and there were no spots in their insides. Any thoughts on what could have caused this? I ended up tossing them because I just couldn’t figure out what they were. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Jenn-I substituted 1/4 cup sugar with two tbsp. of truvia. They were a hit, but did not turn out as beautiful as Deb’s. Mine were a bit more golden than the pretty white and pink color of her scones.
wanted to comment in case anyone ends up in the same situation as i did…i bought raspberries a few days ago and was half way through making these when i realized that the raspberries had gotten moldy! not wanting to waste what i’d put together, i used frozen wild blueberries. i was worried about excess moisture so i did a quick thaw by running them under the faucet and lightly patted them dry between two paper towels. the end product turned out delicious with the substitution, though i will be trying these as you intended someday!
Just made these for probably the 15th time and they remain an absolute favourite. Thanks for all the years of reliable recipes on this blog and a beautiful cookbook too.
My 6 yo child and I made these this morning with fresh strawberries. We made it exactly as written (it’s not often I use those words), just subbing the exact weight of strawberries cut in fine dice for the raspberries. They were fantastic. We made 12 total, froze 1/2 and baked the rest for the full 15 minutes. They could have been sprinkled with sugar (?turbinido), but they really didn’t need any additional sweetness, probably since the strawberries were in season & so sweet. Thanks for another great recipe and to echo others, thank you for awesome recipes to inspire and motivate our kids to be in the kitchen with us!
Can AP flour replace the whole wheat flour 1:1?
Apologies if you’ve already answered this question — I didn’t see it in the above comments, but I may have missed it :-)
Christie — Absolutely.
Hello! I just bought a scone pan – the Nordic Bakeware one with all the triangle shaped compartments for each scone. Really I bought it to make brownies so they would all get the crispy corners but I am now wondering if your raspberry scones might work in it too. Or does s cookie sheet allow the heat to distribute around it in a way that is critical?
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth — I’ve never tried one of those pans before but I haven’t been unhappy with the texture of scones on a flat baking sheet, either.
Made this morning – delicious! Thank you for suggesting the 7-inch square size; I’m terrible at estimating the height of dough but use a silicon mat with ruler marks to roll these out and knew exactly how big to make it.
My favorite ‘do-ahead’ trick for scones is to measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and put parchment paper on a baking sheet the night before. It doesn’t save a lot of time but it limits the number of steps my morning brain has to follow. :)
I do not like the way that your new site prints — instead of one compact page I get from 5-7pages — not good! I am killing lots of trees now and don’t think that I will be printing much from now on. Is there any way that you can “fix” these to print on 1-2 pages?
Thanks!
Yes, I have requested this change. It would drive me bonkers too.
Love these. I make them at the height of raspberry season, then freeze and bake in the middle of winter when we need a taste of summer. I make them exactly as written, they are so good!
Hello! This is my second time making these…they came out pretty good the first time, but this second time for some reason they were incredibly flat. Is it possible that all the moisture weights the scones down? I put the right amount of baking powder but it seems that as they bake, they don’t rise – the opposite, actually. I just want to know what I’m doing wrong! Good thing they taste great no matter what :P
Your baking powder may be expired
I just made these and they are so tasty! Everyone loved them. We made a simple raspberry glaze to put on them too! I found the recipe in your cookbook and decided they would be a perfect breakfast to have before a busy Thanksgiving! Your book has so many great recipes, I’m excited to continue cooking and baking.
I’ve been making these scones since the recipe was printed and I adore them. The recipe is perfect as written, yielding moist and tall scones (although I often add more raspberries than called for). This recipe is one of my go-to’s when I want to drop off food to a new mom, etc. I freeze the scones and tell the recipient to pop them in the oven for 17 min so they can have fresh, warm scones at home.
I had them at my sis in law’s house. They were wonderful. Yesterday I tried to make them myself and it was a failure. They rose, browned but were absolutely uncooked inside. I kept them in longer and they all turned into croutons. I don’t know if my oven is too hot at 425C or I am just a lousy baker….
It’s not that you’re a lousy baker. There’s more variability in this recipe because the raspberries add a variable amount of moisture but whenever something is too browned outside and still raw inside, the oven either ran hot or it may have benefitted from a lower temperature. Or a longer baking time. Can you pop them back in for a bit?
As I stated in my original comment, I held them in the oven longer and they turned into CROUTONS.
I have made these multiple times and love them! My kid requests scones for breakfast and that delights me! I’m wondering if sometimes I could sub 2% Greek yogurt as I don’t always have ricotta. What do you think?
Whoa whoa whoa, if you are making it at 425C that is definitely WAY too hot. Deb is in the United States and the temperature is Fahrenheit. That translated into Celsius is about 220C.
Hi! I don’t get raspberries where I live (Lahore, Pakistan) can I replace them with something else? Or even jelly/jam?
You can try bits of other fresh fruit; juicy is ideal here.
okay, thanks!
I know this is an older recipe, but I just made these for a camping trip. I followed the recipe exactly (rare for me) and they are perfect. The ricotta is a nice change and fresh raspberries incorporated really well. I highly recommend it.
Made this! Working on stuff to heat up for a brunch party tomorrow so I made the dough last night, froze it over night, and popped one in the oven to test today. They definitely look delicious and they’re moist while still having a scone-ly texture. However, they’re surprisingly lacking in sweetness. Maybe the raspberries I used didn’t impart as much sugar as yours did, but I think I may bump up the sugar to 1/3 cup next time I make these. As it stands they’re very rich and almost bitter.
That said I intend to cover these in a sweetened creme fraiche and honey so maybe it’s just fine :D
Just want to second this comment as this was my experience as well. I agree that it has less to do with the recipe and more to do with the quality of raspberries. So, if your raspberries aren’t great and you plan to eat the scones without anything on the side it’s probably worth adding some extra sugar in the mixture or on top before you bake.
I think lemon curd could be a wonderful add on. Will try that next time. Just made these first time waiting for them to cool.
This was one of the first recipes I made when I bought your cookbook (which I continue to order at least 2 times a year for gifts). My daughter, now 12, has cooked her way through this book with me, and will often give her dad a shopping list and make dinner on her own if I am late at the hospital. I love sharing the kitchen with my kids, and Deb, your recipes appeal to my entire family. We love to cook from your book or site because the results are consistent, and the ingredients do not require special online shipping, or 20 different steps. But enough of my book review! On to this recipe!
We make these on the rare occasions that the raspberries are not being eaten fast enough. We love them for grab-and-go breakfasts, but also for a nice sit-down breakfast with mint tea for the kids. I prefer less sweet, and usually cut the sugar in a recipe by 1/3-1/2. I only cut sugar in this recipe if the berries are exceptionally sweet. I typically use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the AP flour, along with the 120 grams of WW flour, and thanks to the cheese and berry juice, they are never dry or too heavy. If I don’t have cream, I use half-and-half (the kind without extra thickeners, just milk and cream, if that makes a difference) and they are still perfect. I also cut the squares into triangles, so we have 18 still good sized scones.
Thank you.
I have made this recipe so many times at this point, with a variety of berries. The first time was delicious, but so, so difficult to work. So I adapted: entire thing happens in the food processor, for starters. I use berries that we picked over the summer and froze; they melt into puddly bits in the oven but don’t make the dough as sticky (and you can add EVEN MORE!). And, instead of shaping into squares and trying to transfer, which for me lead to over-floured crusts, I plop all the dough onto a baking mat on my baking sheet, shape into a large round, and then slice into wedges (which I don’t separate). For me, these changes have made all the difference – enough that right now, I’m making this as breakfast on a Tuesday morning, so that tells you something.
I just made a batch of these. Used frozen raspberries because I had them on hand, but didn’t seem to be a problem. Definitely moister than most scones! The only thing I would do differently is cut them into smaller pieces. As they were, 15 minutes just didn’t do for baking such a big scone and I had to up it to 20. Still came out moist, fully done, with no burnt bits.
Now, I did find that making these without my contacts in first thing in the morning when my blood sugar is low results in spilling sugar all over my floor and having a heck of a time finding where my blender’s plug goes.
Just made these, and what a hit! Such a great texture, especially since it has whole wheat flour. I had half and half in the fridge and used that for the heavy cream with no issue. Also sprinkled a little turbinado sugar on the top for a little crunch and sweetness.
I made these last weekend (based on the recipe). They turned out perfectly! I had some leftover ingredients this weekend and was craving these scones, but I didn’t have any whole wheat flour or fresh raspberries. Instead of 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup AP flour, I did 2 Cups AP flour. I used 1 cup frozen (I know, sorry!) blueberries and didn’t break them down with the pastry blender. The dough was a bit drier, so I added just a little more cream to make it come together. I had to knead it out a bit on the counter too. They needed to cook 1 minute longer. The final results- delcious!
Just popping over to say that we’ve been on a scone kick due to my 6yr olds current obsession. This recipe worked great with frozen raspberries….especially the frozen bits at the bottom of the bag that have already crumbled.
Leave them frozen, and they keep the batter a bit drier and easier to move.
(the very blueberry scone recipe works well with frozen blueberries too–although I usually sub in wild blueberries, so they are smaller and bake more evenly…)
About to make these for the first time and have a question about the berries. Trader Joe’s was mysteriously out of fresh raspberries when I went today, so I bought frozen. I see the recipe notes fresh, so is there anything I should do differently? I’m planning to make and then freeze these, so I feel like it wouldn’t make a difference in this case, but wanted to check. Thanks!
I would probably just use them frozen, so they they’re not all wet and messier here. Might take an extra minute or two to bake.
In one word, Yum!
Can you use a food processor to cut the berries and butter in? Thanks!
Yes but not for the cream/ricotta — if you keep it in there, it overblends.
Hi,
I gave up refined sugar and white carbs (white flour too) 3 years ago, after a breast cancer diagnosis. I treat myself every now and again. And when I see a “baked goods” recipe with whole wheat flour, I like to try it. My mother and I made these scones. I was excited to try them, but alas, disappointed yet again by another baking recipe that uses whole wheat flour. I eat plenty of whole wheat foods: whole wheat breads, pastas, crackers, cereals. But when it comes to things like scones, biscuits, cookies or pie dough(s) I don’t love it. What is it about whole wheat flour that completely changes the taste of baked goods? Could I sub almond flour and how do you think it would taste?
Thanks!
It just doesn’t work exactly the same in recipes. (As a full swap, I always find this quite tender and light with the partial amount listed.) Maybe it’s the flour? Is yours fresh? What brand?
Debs, thank you for this recipe and really all if them. I feel so confident in the kitchen now and much of that is because of you and your foolproof recipes that I can riff off of.
This is one of my favorite to play with- today I made blackberry/queso fresco scones and they are amazing. I had to use more cream because the cheese is drier, but still so good. Thank you!
Hi Deb – So excited to make these! What should I modify in the recipe if I only have dried blueberries on hand? Should I add moisture somehow or bake for less time? Thanks!!
I’m sorry — I just haven’t tried it with blueberries. I’d use the same weight and the same instructions, hope for the best.
I made these several years ago (I’m the one with the sad sour cream incident higher in the comments) and remembered them as “the one scone recipe that didn’t work for me,” so I’d never tried them again. I’m happy to report that if you follow the directions as written (ie RTFM) they are amazing and a crowd pleaser.
Have made these several times and they are delightful! But, a little more work than I wanted today. Made the following changes: froze my butter, then diced into cubes before throwing into the food processor with the other dry ingredients; pulsed for maybe 30 sec. Then added froz raspberries and pulsed for maybe 15 sec. Poured everything into a wide-based large bowl, added wet ingredients and mixed by hand as directed. Gently shaped the dough inside the bowl to a flat shape, then cut them into shapes like I would have on a cutting board, and levered out with my flexible spatula. They are baking now!
I just made these as I am going through a bit of a scone phase and hands down it was the prettiest dough I have ever made and smelled amazing.
I made these for a brunch crowd this morning because they never disappoint, and today was no different. Everyone said they were delicious; the raspberry is a unique touch to a familiar product, and the ricotta makes it extra tender. I sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on top before baking for an extra crunch. One batch baked today, another batch frozen unbaked to have as a special treat in the future :)
So so good. Not too sweet and very moist. We baked two and froze the rest. Great recipe!
These scones are great, but heating them up straight from frozen (unbaked) didn’t work for me — overcooked bottoms and undercooked insides. I’d recommend either letting them defrost or using a lower temp for longer or . . . something?
Delicious! Thanks to this recipe i am not a converted lover of scones. Hint of sweet and tart. I have made these 4 times during quarantine and a big tub of ricotta is becoming a staple on my shopping list. I use all white whole wheat flour and have had success with both frozen and fresh raspberries but prefer frozen the dough actually feels a little bit less wet and bakes up with jammy little pockets. Also – definitely learned my lesson trying to “eyeball” the cream on my third round. :) But sticking to the weights and measures leads to perfection. Oh – and like another commenter I cut my nine squares into triangles for 18 perfect sized treats. Mostly because I’m the kind of person who wants to eat two… or three.. or four ;)
*Now!!
Hi! I’ve made these as stated and love them! Was wondering if I could sub mascarpone, Greek yogurt or 4% cottage for the ricotta.
Thank you!
Yes, yes, and yes.
I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. It’s always been my favorite scone recipe, but during quarantine I’ve made it nearly every week in a variety of different ways. Cranberry, lemon, ginger, ginger strawberry, matcha strawberry, etc. I’ve used 2 c whole wheat pastry flour instead of wheat and AP. I’ve replaced the AP with oat flour. It always works. So thank you for making nearly every morning of my quarantine delicious!
Swapped out the ricotta (didn’t have any on hand and needed to make these!) for nonfat Greek yogurt – worked great!
I made these scones today as I had some ricotta. I was surprised at how little rise they got during cooking and are a bit flat. My baking powder is fresh so that’s not the reason for the lack of rise. They seem to taste okay but with 1tbsp BP I expected a good rise on them
I had the same issue! Didn’t rise at all. I subbed whole milk for the cream. Maybe that was a problem?
I made a blunder and forgot to add baking powder to the scone dough and I froze the scones to bake later. Is there anyway to fix this now? Or should I just give up on this double batch I made *sigh*
These are wonderful! I don’t even bother turning them out onto a floured counter to shape them–I just do it right on the parchment paper. Now I’m craving them, got to go!
These came out amazing!! Eating the last of them on day 2 and they’re still pretty soft and delicious. Literally taste like a pop tart and the text is somewhere between a scone and a muffin – a “scuffin”?? I had some freeze dried raspberries, so I crushed them up and threw them into the dough, and added a raspberry icing (Amoretti makes a fantastic one). Hubby already wants me to make more (like, today). Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Can milk be used in place if cream or would buttermilk be better?
For what it’s worth, I’ve only ever used milk—and usually skim or 1% milk at that—in this recipe and it has worked great. This is my absolute favorite scone recipe.
Milk would be fine; just a bit more lean overall.
Would it be possible to use frozen raspberries instead of fresh?
Yes; I wouldn’t bother defrosting them.
I’m looking through your scones recipe after I made one. I think you may have to revisit them. I also don’t understand why all the ingredients aren’t in grams. Either do it or don’t. If you are worried that some ingredients are too small you can just keep tareing out.
Also, I promise I’m going to stop, but if you added 2 folds to the dough it would be so much more flaky. I’m telling you as a friend. Sorry. Site was recommended.
These were good! I doubled the sugar because I was making this to use up the inedibly sour raspberries I couldn’t resist because they were on sale, and did the whole thing in the food processor.
I was clearing things out of the kitchen prior to moving and made these swapping TJ’s almond meal for the whole wheat flour, chopped chocolate and dried cherries instead of the raspberries, and milk instead of cream. They were amazing! This recipe is very adaptable.
These are amazing. One of my favorite SK recipes. Sometimes I use half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. A bit sticky to work with, but that’s what makes them so moist. Am going to make them right now and freeze them for when friends visit later.
In case anyone is wondering, I made these with 5% Fage greek yogurt and whole milk (instead of ricotta and cream), as well as frozen raspberries (didn’t defrost, just crumbled them), and they were delicious!
Question about the raspberry scones!
If making a day ahead, after you prepare them and cover them on the tray with plastic wrap, do you keep in the fridge (not freezer), until next day? When you bake from the fridge do you add on more baking time?
Thank you! They look delicious and I look forward to trying for company!
I usually freeze them and then let them defrost for 10 to 15 minutes at room temp while the oven heats up.
These are wonderful, but I wish they had more of a raspberry taste. Could I increase the amount of raspberries and not ruin the texture and/or baking? If possible, how much more would you add?
Hi Barbara – was just searching for an answer to a different question and saw yours. I grind up about 1/4 freeze dried raspberries and add it to the dough – makes the flavor really pop. Good news is that it doesn’t change the texture or rise of the dough. Happy baking!!
Thank you so much. I have ordered dried raspberries and I am excited to give it a try
Deb–this is one of my all time favorite recipes. I just think it is genius–the most pillowy tender scones I’ve ever had. My raspberries had gone moldy so I replaced them with equal weight of nectarines and plums and wow! Fantastic! Thank you!
Great recipe. It’s pouring outside so I made due with what I have – blueberries instead of raspberries, part skim ricotta, and barista blend oat milk instead of heavy cream. They still came out great!
I added a little almond extract to the liquids before incorporating them and it was tasty.
Made these this morning and they are so delicious! Perfectly tender and not like traditional hockey puck scones. Threw a few in the freezer so we’ll see how they turn out in the next couple of days. Next time I may put cut scones back in the fridge or freezer for a bit to firm up before baking. My kitchen was pretty warm and they spread a tiny bit. Not the recipe, just my timing. Will definitely be making regularly!
Can I substitute anything for heavy cream? I rarely have it in the house!
What a disappointment!! Deb, you are one of my “go-to’s”… ALWAYS! So these were such a let-down. I happened to have all the ingredients, read the reviews, and went for it! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this recipe structurally. The dough was great, the scones rose, they looked nice, they were not dry… but that is pretty much the only nice things I can say about them. The ricotta brought moisture to the table, but that’s it. The raspberries were not very prominent in taste, maybe they are the culprit, maybe they weren’t ripe enough? Whatever the case, these were kinda blah… adding some vanilla or almond extract maybe?
The first time I made these, I also thought they needed a little more raspberry “oomph”. I mentioned that in these comments and another reader suggested adding some dried raspberries. I found them on Amazon and I add about 1/3 cup of them to the recipe. I really love the result. Also, as long as I’m leaving a comment, I’ll add that I then form them into individual scones and freeze them for an hour or so uncovered. Once they are hard, I store them layered with parchment paper in a container in the freezer and whenever I want a scone I pop it into my toaster oven at 425 degrees for about 20 to 23 minutes.
Have made these several times and they are delicious! Most always mix and freeze to bake in the morning. They are always fluffy and moist, never dry. Blackberries and marionberries tried but the raspberry tartness is best. Sometimes I add lemon zest for brightness, if it’s laying around, but doesn’t need it. Thanks again for another tried and true, Deb!