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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
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!