Irish Soda Bread Scones With Honey Butter

I'm pretty sure there are a million or more variations on this recipe.

I happened to find mine in a Women's World Magazine a year or two ago. It turned out so delightful that I decided to keep it as my go to. I made one or two teeny changes and it is a family favorite now. 

It makes its appearance at St. Patrick's Day, of course, but also about once a month it is made just to go with afternoon tea/coffee. I like mine with a little honey butter to sweeten them up a little.

The secret to getting them to rise up so beautifully is using a sharp edged cutter and leaving the dough a little thicker. If you want that lovely "split" in the middle of the scone - see below for my method!

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Ingredients

Scones

3 cups flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup raisins

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Topping

1 egg, beaten

3 - 4 Tbsp sugar

Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter, room temp

2 - 4 Tbsp honey (liquid) (depending on how sweet you want it)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and raisins. 

In a separate bowl, slowly whisk the melted butter into the buttermilk. Stir the liquids ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Turn mixture onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead 2 - 3 times until dough just comes together. 

Roll dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold the dough in half  and then gently roll out to about 1 inch thickness. (Folding the dough in half and then gently rolling it out a bit results in that lovely "split" in the middle of the scone that you see in the photos.)

Using a sharp edged cookie/biscuit cutter, cut out scones.

You can re-roll the scraps once more - any more after that it results in tough scones!

Place on prepared cookie sheet. Using a pastry/basting brush, brush the beaten egg over the tops of the scones. Sprinkle each with a little of the sugar. 

Bake at 425 until tops are golden brown - about 15 - 20 minutes. 

Serve warm or room temp with the honey butter. 

To prepare the honey butter - Beat the butter until smooth. Slowly beat in the honey until well combined. Serve at room temp. (Can be stored in the fridge but bring back to room temp before serving.)

These go really well with stew or soup. or, they are perfect to serve with a little honey butter and jam for afternoon tea/coffee.