Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones

Are you a chocolate person or a vanilla person? I am definitely a vanilla person. Don’t get me wrong- I love chocolate too, but my favorite is always vanilla- especially if there are flecks of vanilla bean included. Ice Cream, cake, pudding, extract- I love it all! So you really shouldn’t be too surprised that I absolutely adored these scones. They are so tender, flaky, buttery and just perfectly sweet. The scone itself isn’t too sweet at all, and the super vanilla-y glaze adds a perfect amount of sugar-y goodness.

These vanilla bean scones are perfect with a cup of coffee or a creamy chai latte (my favorite,) you could of course add your own spin on these by adding chocolate chips or maybe dried fruit, but for me over-the-top vanilla flavor is just what I want, (and these really don’t need anything extra!) The texture is perfectly flakey and tender, really and truly my perfect scone. :)

Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones

Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones

Ingredients

  • 2 cups 8.5 oz flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or the scraped out seeds of one vanilla bean
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, 6 oz

For the glaze:

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-2 teaspoons of milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
  3. Add the butter chunks and use your hands or a pastry blender to work the pieces into the flour. Keep breaking it down until the butter pieces are the size of peas.
  4. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the vanilla extract and paste.
  5. Whisk the buttermilk and egg yolk together and gradually add it to the well in the flour mixture, mixing with your hands or a spatula until the dough holds together but is not sticky. (You will probably not need all the buttermilk mixture- save the rest to brush on the scones)
  6. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it slightly until it comes together in a ball.
  7. Flatten the dough into a 7-inch disk and cut it into wedges. Transfer wedges to a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with remaining buttermilk mixture.
  8. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until slightly golden. Cool on a wire rack.

For the glaze:

  1. Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla paste and extract in a small bowl. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time and stir together. Add more milk or powdered sugar until the glaze is your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

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23 Comments

  1. Vanilla bean paste is new to me — will have to look for that! These sound delicious. Until Christmas, I’d always been too intimidated to try making scones at home . . . but I whipped up an eggnog batch and they were awesome! I was so incredibly impressed with myself, haha. I love to bake, but something about the scone process was scary. Glad to know it’s not. Can’t wait to try these!

    1. Meg, I get my vanilla bean paste from Sur La Table. It’s the same exact thing that Williams Sonoma carries, but Williams Sonoma is a few dollars more expensive. It’s great stuff.

  2. Scones are a family favorite here. I was probably 20 before I had my first scone but my daughter was asking for them by name by the time she was 2. Vanilla bean flecks just make them that much more special. These will be added to my menu plan!

    1. I wanted to stop back quickly and let you know I made these and my family raved! My husband said possibly the best scone ever. Now I am setting off to make an equally delicious gluten free version. Thanks for a great recipe!!

  3. Love the double-vanilla glaze.
    Can’t get over how easy it is to make scones.
    Hugo’s getting cuter! xoxo

  4. I’m a vanilla person, too so you can imagine how amazing these scones sound to me! I’ll try this version and then I’ll try adding some dried fruits in them, too since lately I’ve been adding dried fruits everywhere!
    How’s your little man?!

    xo, Elisa

  5. HI!
    Love the recipe for the vanilla bean scones and I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for all you share with us!

  6. I could not wait to try these over the weekend! They were super easy to make and tasted incredible out of the oven. The glaze with specs of vanilla bean is sooo good (I could almost eat it on it’s own!), and the buttermilk scone base is a perfect match. They taste great on the second day as well, which is very uncommon for most scone recipes. Thanks for sharing!

  7. I get so annoyed when people refer to vanilla flavored things as plain. They don’t appreciate the subtle beauty of vanilla and shouldn’t be allowed to eat it. These scones look lovely.

  8. Gorgeous ~ Would love to see this submitted at Food Foto Gallery.com so I can share with all my foodie friends ;)

  9. Vanilla inside, vanilla in the glaze – seems like heaven :) And it really is! I made them today – they’re awesome. Thanks for the recipe! :)

  10. I consider myself a decent baker but baking a good scone has been haunting me for a while. I have tried and tried and have not been happy with the results. Yesterday my daughter said she really wanted scones for Sunday breakfast. So I searched through my Pinterest and found your recipe. So this morning and I made them! FINALLY….they were delicious. I am a pretty hard critic with my own baking and I ate 2! Thank you for helping me break through and make a great scone! As vanilla lovers we loved the double dose of vanilla!

    1. Made them again for Mother’s Day after seeing them in a recent post. Awesome ! I cut them into 6 pieces instead of 8 – eating one big one instead of two. ;-)

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