Last night I was hit with a sweet tooth. It doesn’t happen often, so I was completely unprepared. This morning I took action.
I like to make things like scones to keep in the freezer for that occasional sweet tooth. It’s not as sweet as a cookie, but just sweet enough to calm those little sugar devils in my brain. I decided to go a step further and make “mini” scones, so that when the craving hits. An ounce of prevention is worth… 5 lbs. on the scale? No, that isn’t right. Anyway.
I freaking love chai spices. They’re aromatic, warm, and heady. The exact mix of spices varies from recipe to recipe, so I used just four of the most common spices: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. IMHO the cardamom is what makes this taste like chai compared to say, a pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have cardamom it will still be delicious, no doubt, but maybe slightly less chai like.
Chai Spiced Scones
Chai Spiced Scones
Servings 8Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.20)
- 3 Tbsp sugar ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom ($0.03)
- 5 Tbsp cold butter ($0.43)
- 1/4 cup milk ($0.06)
- 2 large eggs ($0.47)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Stir until everything is well combined.
- Make sure the butter is cold. Cut it into chunks and then add it to the flour mixture. Use your hands to rub or smoosh the butter into the flour until the mixture has a grainy appearance.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the bowl with the flour and butter. Stir everything together until it forms one lump of very moist dough. If it remains crumbly with dry flour on the bottom of the bowl, add a small amount of water (about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon) to make it come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into one flat disc for regular sized scones, or two flat discs for mini scones. The discs should be about one inch thick each. Sprinkle the top of the dough with granulated sugar, if desired. Cut the disc(s) into eight wedge-shaped pieces.
- Place the dough wedges on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake the scones in the fully preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Before you begin, start preheating the oven to 450 because you’ll likely have the scones made by the time it’s ready. Start by combining the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom). Stir them very, very well.
Cut the cold butter into chunks and add it to the flour mixture. Start working the butter in with your hands (rub it in, smoosh it in) until it looks like…
Until it looks like this. Fine and granular. This should only take a few minutes.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.
Pour the milk/egg mixture into the dry ingredients…
Stir it together until one lump of dough forms. If it’s too dry to come together, add a little bit of water or milk to make it stick together. There should be no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl.
The dough will be sticky, so turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Make one disc if you want regular sized scones, or two discs if you want mini scones. I sprinkled a little sugar on top instead of making an icing, but that’s optional. Cut the disc(s) into 8 wedges.
Put the scones on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
So delish and perfect with a cup of tea!
The flavour is great. The spice blend is perfect. But I find them a bit too dry, even for scones (I made the mini size). I think next time I’ll add a bit more butter. I also think baking them at a slightly lower temp would help.
I actually had great success with this recipe, though froze the butter beforehand and cut it in with a pastry cutter, used a little more baking powder, and needed a little more milk for the dough to come together. 450 for 16 minutes was perfect. Next time I’ll probably up the spices just a little and add finely diced candied ginger!
Nice texture however the temperature stated was way too high; at 15 mins my scones were almost burnt. In my opinion these scones needed more butter, perhaps a touch more salt and more sweetness.
These were a disaster for me. They burned black on the bottom by 9 minutes. They were very fluffy but totally flavorless. I followed directions exactly.
Excellent. I made almost as directed, only I substituted almond milk for regular milk. I definitely recommend a pastry cutter for mixing in the butter. Texture and moisture spot on to my favorite bakery.
These tasted amazing, but were a little too… dense? dry? I can’t really put my finger on it, but they weren’t quite the pastry texture I was hoping for. Sadly I had the same issue with your lemon blueberry scones, but my boyfriend and I still managed to finish all of them in like a day.
I’m thinking about increasing the amount of butter I use next time, how much do you think would be too much?
Yes, I think more butter will get you the texture that you’re thinking of. :) I think anywhere from 2-4 Tbsp would work. You may need a little less milk as you add more butter, but you can play that part by ear as you stir it in.
If you decide to try again, maybe try cake flour! That’s what I used and they’re not dense at all :) I also tried steeping tea in the milk instead of adding my own spices as well, but I really think the cake flour did it.
These actually were a bust for me. Close to great, but…just way too dry, even expecting them to be a little dry because that’s just how scones are. I ended up making a little vanilla glaze to try to help but even with that I end up feeling like it’s catching in my throat.
I wouldn’t have wanted to add any more moisture to the mix, though, it was perfect when I was balling and cutting it. I was thinking maybe cooking them at a lower temp for a bit longer? The spices smell so darned good and they are -almost- right.
I’d try adding more butter if it was too dry for you. That will give it more moisture, but still have that pastry texture. Sorry they didn’t work out for you!
Delicious and the minis are a perfect size. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hello Beth, I just made these using Doves Farm gluten-free white self raising flour (I’m in England) and they were gorgeous, especially with some homemade Bramble jelly. My dog was going to have them if the recipe didn’t work but she’s lucked out! Cheers!
I LOVE this scone recipe! It’s so quick and easy to make, I make it all the time!! Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made a batch of these, and they’re awesome! I didn’t have any cardamom, so I infused my milk with a really nice chai tea (as was recommended in the comments) and they came out really well. They were a bit dry, but I’m pretty sure that was just me over baking them…
I decided to make these for a fun snack, and they’re amazing and filling. I have a tub of M&Ms here that I’ve barely touched – I keep going for the scones instead!
Would you freeze these raw or baked?
I like to freeze these after baking. Then, the thaw fairly quickly at room temperature or with just a few seconds in the microwave.
It’s my birthday weekend, and it’s been a rough week so I decided “Why not!? I deserve a treat of some form after all this!”
I should have picked another treat. These are going to be GONE before I even go to he’s tonight! I needed a pick me up treat, not a “eat the whole recipe and keep looking for more” obsession! :-p
My only changes were to use unsweet almond coconut milk (all I had. Boyfriend is lactose intolerant), and add a 1/2 tsp ground allspice. I had no ground cardamom, but I do have whole pods and a large granite mortar and pestle.
My kitchen smells of fresh cardamom. It’s so wonderful.
I think I deserve at least *one* more…. right? :-p
Bed. Not he’s. Dang autocorrect.
I tried making these with tea instead of most of the spices and oh my goodness are they good. I’m eating a scone as I write :).
Steeping normal strength tea (attempt one) didn’t work because 1/4 cup of normal tea is too weak to flavor the scones. I tried again this weekend, brewing 3 tsp. of tea in 1/2 cup of milk (more than 3x concentrated compared to the first attempt), and that ended up adding enough flavor. I added 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to the dry ingredients, even though the tea has some already, because I love cinnamon.
I found they were best at or close to room temperature, as I could not taste the tea as well when they were warmer.
I want to try that!
Beth, this recipe looks delicious! I don’t have cardamom on hand, but I do have loose leaf chai tea that includes cardamom pods. I’m wondering if I steep some of the tea in the milk for this recipe if that’ll add the cardamom flavor without having to purchase the spice. Thoughts? Thank you for your wonderful website – I think I’ve pinned half of your recipes already!
That’s a fantastic idea! Let me know how it turns out!
I just made a batch of these to take to my husband and his coworkers this afternoon, and already had a second batch ready by the time they were done baking so I could keep some at home! I added a little bit of black pepper because it’s included in my favorite chai tea, and yum :)
I’ve made a few different scone recipes that have been subpar (hopelessly crumbly, more like muffin batter, hard & flat, etc.) but these have the perfect texture. I’ll be making these again, and using the base recipe for other flavors.
Okay, I just finished eating one of these warm from the oven & they are delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made the little mini scones you suggested. I think my oven may be a little on the hot side because at 450 degrees mine were done in 10-11 minutes.
Thanks again for the recipe. It has found a permanent place in my recipe box. :)
This may be a dumb question, but do you sift the flour first when making these? They look delicious and I can’t wait to try them! I’ve made a couple of your other recipes, and they’ve been great so far!
Not a dumb question! Honestly, I never sift my flour. I don’t even own a sifter. I just scoop and level the flour straight from the bag or container. And by “level” I mean I scrape the excess off the top of the measuring cup with a knife to get a level cup full. :)
Tried my hand at subbing ingredients for the first time with this recipe – great results!
used 1/2C coconut flour + 1 1/2C all purpose
3T butter + 2T coconut oil
added an extra 1/4C milk
2t rose water – could have used more but first time with this ingredient, too.
sadly had no ground ginger, it was left out.
Very impressed with the way these scones turned out. Thank you for the inspiration.
I made these this past weekend and they were wonderful, but I thought they could be a bit spicier. I LOVE chai flavor, so I ended up making a glaze with about a half cup of powdered sugar and two tablespoons of milk and a ton of cinnamon (1/2 tea), ginger (1/4 tea), and cloves (1/4 tea), which amped up the spices well. My five year old even loved them and asked for them in her lunch the next day (which is the highest food compliment she has). Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for this icing recipe! I’m about to make these and I was going to put together an icing on the spot, but yours sounds amazing!
These look awesome, and I calculated the calories- about 100 per mini scone. Nice little treat. :) Thanks!
I love chai! These scones look perfect, especially this time of year. :)
Beabrai – I freeze them after baking. I just pop them in a freezer bag and toss them in the freezer. To reheat I microwave for about 30 seconds or just let them come to room temperature on their own. Because they have such a low moisture content, they thaw REALLY fast.
Oh this looks so tasty! You said you make them for the freezer. Do you recommend freezing before or after baking? If after – how do you reheat them without them getting over-done. I always have problems with that. :(
You could also try a health food store as they often have bulk which is cheaper and you don’t have to buy as much. i buy all my spices in bulk!
I am looking forward to surprising my husband with these!
Geoffrey – If you have any ethnic markets near you, they almost *always* have cardamom at a much lower price than regular grocery stores. Especially middle eastern or Indian markets. I found my cardamom at the big chain home goods store World Market. They had whole and ground I think for about $3-$4 (a big jar!). I hope you’re able to find some!
This looks tasty as can be! Augh, unfortunately cardamom is lacking from my spice collection, and far pricier than I expected. Is the only way to get it by biting the bullet and paying the higher price for a normal sized jar jar of the stuff?
Bread flour has more gluten, which means they might be less light and flakey… but since you’re not kneading them at all (try to work the dough as little as possible), it may not make a noticeable difference.
Would bread flour work?
I also meant to say that I like a nice cheese scone, Cheddar esp. so good with a tomato relish when heated up.
Hi, Why not make them the British way by using a round cutter or using a glass – then they are even smaller?
Alan – Someone commented yesterday on Facebook saying that they made it with whole wheat flour and it turned out well. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t contest to how it may affect the texture. You could replace the diary milk with soy and probably have very few changes in texture, but you’ll have to find a non-dairy solid fat to use in place of the butter. All of these changes on their own probably won’t make a huge difference, but when you put them all together you may end up with a very different end product.
They do indeed turn out well with whole wheat – I used it because that’s all I have.
Alan T.
I like the recipe but would like to take away the dairy and replace the flour with whole wheat or a gluten free option. Any ideas anyone?
Jamie – I’m not sure. Some chai mixes contain dried milk or milk solids and that might affect the texture.
Hmmm…I don’t have cardamom but I have instant chai mix. I wonder if that would work??
These would be amazing with a quick vanilla glaze over it…
Katherine – I just wait for them to cool and then pop them in a gallon sized freezer bag. :) I either microwave for 30 seconds or just let them reach room temp on their own before eating. They thaw super quick.
Love Chai! Excited to make these! What is your procedure for freezing them? My friends and I love your blog and making recipes off of it has become a tradition! Can’t wait for the cookbook!
I love how easy scones are – chai is a PERFECT flavor for the season & the texture of these. Can’t wait to try! <3
I’ve never made scones before, but I’m going to try this tomorrow! I love your blog, and I’ve been making one or two of your recipes a week for the past month or so.
Oh my gosh, these look perfect. I can’t wait to make them.