Honey Butter Thyme Scones
Honey, there’s honey on the scones
When I made these, I woke up to a warm and crisp but strangely quiet morning. The ones that clear your mind of all the crazy and chaotic stuff and fill it with some creative and inspiring ideas, even if only for 10 minutes. The ones that make you crave something sweet and freshly baked for breakfast. But also you don't want to risk that Zen mood by making a mess on the kitchen and having to do lots of dishes. Enter honey butter and thyme scones.
These buttery, flaky scones wrapped me like a sweet hug. The honey added the perfect lemony sweet note, which goes so perfect with the earthy, grassy and lemony notes of fresh thyme leaves. In fact, if you ask me, honey and thyme are a match made in heaven, they belong together in everything. There’s not such thing as too much thyme leaves in my opinion. I love this combo spread over roasted salmon as well. It’s perfect for both sweet and savory dishes!
How I made (and eat!) my honey butter thyme scones
Even if baking scones is pretty simple and straightforward, there are a few pointers that will help you in making the perfect ones. Check the recipe notes for those and take them in consideration when making them.
I always love something to spread on my scones, muffins, biscuits or any breakfast quick breads. For these honey butter scones I whipped a honey sweetened cream cheese. That hint of tartness hit perfectly over the scone’s buttery crumb. What’s not to love about that? The hubby preferred them just plain. Either way they are perfect for those mornings when you just need to feel warm and cozy!
Lots of tips below for you to succeed. But these honey scones are super simple and you will be eating them in no time!
Recipe notes
All of the scones’ ingredients need to be cold. That means placing your butter in the freezer for a few minutes, chilling your served liquid ingredients and, if you have a few minutes to spare, place your combined dry ingredients in the fridge as well.
You need to use a high fat liquid such as coconut milk, heavy cream or at least whole milk. Low fat or almond milk are too thin for this kind of recipe.
I used the method of freezing the butter and then grating it before adding to the dry ingredients. With this method you will have to work less the dough because more flour will be covered with butter faster, which means a softer and lighter crumb. It will add a few extra minutes to the traditional process and it's a bit of an arm workout to be honest. If you are looking for the most simple and straightforward way to do this, just cut the butter in small cubes (about the size of a sweet pea) before freezing.
I used about 10 thyme sprigs here for both the scones and the honey cream cheese, but you know that’s because I simply love thyme. You can use a bit less but I recommend you not to be shy with this tiny herb. The flavor will fade during the baking process, leaving a nice earthy note on the scones.
To simplify the process and to not make a total flour mess, I like to work my dough directly on a parchment paper or silicon mat already placed on the baking sheet where I’m going to freeze and then bake the scones. If you don't have a baking tray that fits on your freezer you can freeze the scones directly on the parchment paper or silicon mat and then transfer to the baking tray. You can always work on a dry floured surface as well and then transfer the dough to the baking tray.
Honey Butter Thyme Scones
Ingredients
◯ Butter – 8 TBSP (1 stick, ½ cup) + 4 TBSP for the honey butter
◯ Coconut milk, heavy cream or whole milk – ½ to ¾ cup
◯ Cold egg, large – 1
◯ Pure vanilla extract – 1 Tsp
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour – 2 cups + a bit more to flour your hands and surface
◯ Baking powder – 2 ½ Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt – ½ Tsp
◯ Fresh thyme leaves (see notes) – about 3 Tsp + about 2 more for the honey butter
◯ Pure honey - ⅓ cup
Honey Cream Cheese
◯ Cream cheese, softened – 4 oz.
◯ Honey – 2 to 3 teaspoons or to taste
Steps
To make the Honey Butter Thyme Scones:
Place the 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick) in the freezer for 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Alternatively, cut the butter into small pea sized pieces and store in the freezer.
Serve your milk in a small bowl or large measuring cup and whisk in the egg. Add the vanilla and mix. Place in the fridge to chill.
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, sea salt and fresh thyme leaves with a hand whisk for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is well mixed.
Using a box grater, grate the butter on top of the flour mixture bowl or grate butter over a piece of parchment paper (you can use the same butter wrap) and add it to the bowl. Using your fingers combine until you have pea size crumbs. Drizzle the wet ingredients on top and mix just until all of the flour appears moistened.
Place a parchment paper or silicon mat on a baking sheet and transfer the mixture on it (see notes). With floured hands work it until you roughly form a square. Dough will be super sticky. Keep your hands floured. If dough is too sticky add just a little bit of flour. If it’s too dry add just a little bit of milk. Press ball into a rectangle about 1” thick. Slice dough into 9 small rectangles, scraping the knife after each cut to make slicing easier. Place baking sheet on the freezer and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°.
In the meantime, warm in the microwave the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the point where it’s almost melted. Mix with the honey and the remaining thyme leaves.
Take the scones out of the freezer and arrange them leaving about 2” apart form each other. Brush the top of the scones with about half of the honey butter.
Bake for about 23 to 25 minutes, until they are puffed and golden brown. Take out of the oven and brush the remaining honey butter in top. Let them cool a few minutes before eating. Spread a bit of honey cream cheese (recipe follows) on each bite for a total honey bliss! Save any leftover scones on an airtight plastic bag or container in the fridge. Reheat in a countertop oven at 350° until warm.
Whip the cream cheese with 2 teaspoons of the honey. Add the third or a bit more until desired sweetness. Double recipe if feeding a crowd or to keep some chilled in the fridge for your stored scones.
