Treacle Scones (Scottish)

Treacle Scones are a simple traditional Scottish bake and a variation on the classic oven scone. Treacle Scones have the slightly sweet, spicy flavours of gingerbread and are delicious served with butter and jam or with a slice of Scottish Cheddar.

Visit a Scottish tea room and you are likely to be offered a range of different types of scones. The standard offer will be plain Oven Scones, Fruit Scones and Cheese Scones.

You might find Girdle Scones and Tattie (potato) Scones and perhaps some fancy flavours like Cherry & Coconut or Date and Walnut Scones. No doubt, some tea rooms, and cafes serve Treacle Scones but they are far less common. The best place to buy them is at an independent bakery, or to make them yourself.

What are Scones?

Scones are a Scottish round or triangular quick bread, that is a bread made without yeast. Traditionally scones would be made with oats and baked on a stone or iron griddle over the fire. Now they are made with wheat flour and Oven Scones have become more popular than the original Girdle Scone.

How did Scottish Scones become part of a Cream Tea?

The Cream Tea was originally served on sweet bread rolls called Devon or Cornish splits

The advent of the railways meant more people were able to easily travel to enjoy the sights in Devon and Cornwall. This increased number of visitors put pressure on the bakeries and tea rooms who found that they could knock out a batch of scones much more quickly than the yeasted splits which need time to rise.

What is Treacle?

Black treacle is a dark sticky syrup that is a byproduct of the sugar refining process. Treacle is best known as an ingredient in bakes like gingerbread. It is also used to make sweets like liquorice and treacle toffee.

Is Molasses the same as Treacle?

Molasses is similar but not the same as black treacle. It has a strong, bittersweet flavour and dark, almost opaque appearance. It is also generally thicker than treacle.

Can I use Molasses in Scottish Treacle Scones?

You can use molasses, however if you can get Black Treacle then I would recommend using this for the bestts result.

Tips for making great scones

• Rub the butter or baking spread thoroughly into the flour, the result should look like fine breadcrumbs
• Do not overmix. Gently bring together the mixture and roll or pat it into a thick round before cutting out the scones.
• Do not twist your scone cutter, this seals the edges of the dough and stops the scones from rising. Press straight down and lift, if you dust the cutter with flour it will lift off easily.
• Keep practicing! When my husband first started to make scones the first two batches were very good but it took him until the third bake before they were perfect.

How to make Scottish Treacle Scones

Follow the simple step-by-step recipe for delicous light scones.

What do I need to make Treacle Scones?

• Self-raising flour
• Butter or baking spread
• Sugar
• Ground ginger
• Ground mixed spice
• salt
• Black Treacle
• Egg (optional)
• Milk

I don’t have any self-raising flour, what else can I use?

Below is the conversion ratio to make plain (all-purpose flour) into self-raising.

This recipe uses 450g self-raising therefore you need to add 6 tsp of baking powder or 1 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda to 450g plain (all purpose) flour.

Rub in the butter

Put the flour into the bowl and run in the butter or baking spread with your fingers. You can also do this stage in your food processor and then transfer it to a bowl.

Add the dry ingredients

Add the baking powder, sugar, salt, ground ginger and mixed spice to the flour and butter mixture and stir to combine.

Melt the treacle

• Measure the treacle into a heatproof jug or bowl and add a little milk.
• Heat the treacle and milk in the microwave for 30 seconds or until the treacle has melted into the milk.
• If you don’t have a microwave, then you can melt the treacle with a little milk in a small saucepan.

Add the liquids to the dry ingredients

• Let the treacle mixture cool a little, then add the egg (if using) or more milk.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour the mixture into the middle.
• Use a knife or spatula to bring the flour and liquid together.
• Add more milk until you have a soft dough.

Turn out the Treacle Scone dough

Turn the Treacle Scone dough onto a floured surface and either gently roll or pat out the dough to about 13 mm (1/2 in) thick.

Cut out the Treacle Scones

• Cut the dough into rounds with a 65 mm (2 1/2 in) cutter.
• Gently push the dough back together and cut more scones.
• You can use any size of cutter that you like, a smaller cutter will make more scones.

Place on a baking tray

• Put the treacle scones on a floured baking tray or one lined with a non-stick liner.
• Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

Bake the Scones

• Bake in a hot oven for about 15-20 minutes until the scones have risen and are browned on top.
• Remove to a cooling tray and leave to cool before splitting and serving with butter and jam.

More Scone Recipes from Farmersgirl Kitchen

More Scone Recipes

• Best Scones Ever – Feast Glorious Feast
• Apple & Cinnamon Scones – Lost in Food
• Vegan Wholemeal Scones – Tin & Thyme

I’m adding this post to #CookBlogShare hosted this week by The Rare Welsh Bit