3-Ingredient Yogurt Scones Recipe

This 3 ingredient yogurt scones recipe makes light, fluffy, & tasty British scones. It's fail proof. Just today, my daughter and I made two batches. Super easy.

Kids Love the 3 Ingredient Yogurt Scones

Don't lose this three ingredient yogurt scone recipe! It's a goodie - you can make these British style scones any time without any fuss. Scribble it on a napkin. Tattoo it on your arm. Do whatever is necessary to imprint it in your memory. You will thank me later. This is the ONE recipe you need to remember by heart then burn the page and share with no-one.

I'm world famous (in our house) for collecting cookbooks and food magazines full of recipes. I have an entire bookshelf and bedside table full of them. It's a problem, I know.

The thing is, there are very few recipes that I actually ever end up making. I intend to get around to them. Life just gets in the way.

Every now and again though, a recipe pops up that is too good to ignore. This is one of them, I promise you.  

British Style vs. American Style Scones

For those who might be unfamiliar, and are expecting a scone loaded with fruit filling, this is a British-style scone. You'll find that British-style scones are lighter, less sweet, and more bread-like - typically round, split in half, and served with jam and clotted cream.

American-style scones, on the other hand, are richer, sweeter, and more buttery, often baked as dense triangular wedges with mix-ins like fruit or chocolate and meant to be eaten on their own

About Using Yogurt In Scones

As you've probably guessed, I use yogurt to make these breakfast scones. Usually scone recipes have sugar in them. White, refined sugar. And yes, we used to eat them in abundance 🙂

However, since we started eating better (cutting back on sugar and ultra-processed foods) I've been making these yogurt scones and I have absolutely no intention of ever going back.

Using yogurt in scones keeps everything in balance. By that I mean that because of it's acidity the yogurt reacts with the baking powder in the flour and makes the leavening (rising) process work super well.

Types and Flavors of Yogurt to Use

I use full-fat plain yogurt. I've used plain Greek yogurt too. In one of today's batches, I tried full-fat vanilla yogurt. I don't find any difference at all in the final product between the types of yogurts.

Sweetness

As mentioned earlier, there's no sugar in these scones. So they're not sweet (captain obvious here). You won't miss the sugar, and adding a generous dollop of cream and a healthy (sugar-free) jam on top of a warm scone is perfect. Maybe have two...

You can add additional sweetness any number of ways, such as honey, whipped cream, powdered sugar, jam or jelly.

The Scone Dough

The scone dough is really quick to come together. You'll make the 'breadcrumbed' dough to start with, you just need to rub the butter with the flour between your fingers and it only takes a few minutes to turn them into a crumb.

This is the point you add the yogurt, and this binds the ingredients together.

Make sure you use full fat yogurt. I also use salted butter so you don't need to add any extra salt, you only need a touch and the butter adds this perfectly.

When you roll out your dough, roll it out to about an inch thick, maybe even just half and inch. I use a cup to cut the scones out - you can always get fancy and grab some real cutters 🙂

What To Eat With These Scones

The classic cream and jam (or jam and cream?!) is, in my humble opinion, unbeatable. There's something that feels right about biting into a warm scone, smothered in strawberry jam. Or any jam to be honest 🙂

If you want to try something news on your scones, try this lemon curd recipe or this cinnamon whipped butter. These scones are pretty plain and so you can top them with any number of things you fancy.

A little honey is also pretty good on these. Just sayin'...

Make Ahead & Leftovers

You can make the scone dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you need it. The leavening process will star because of the yogurt reacting with the baking powder in the flour but keeping the dough in the fridge and very cold will slow this process right down.

I don't tend to leave the dough in the fridge for more than a few hours before I roll it out and put the scones in the oven.

Any leftover scones can be kept in an airtight food container in the pantry for 2-3 days. If you want to warm the scones before eating them, pop them into a hot oven for a couple of minutes.

3-Ingredient Yogurt Scone Recipe Notes

For Perfectly Fluffy Scones you will need:

1. Self Raising Flour
2. Salted Butter and
3. Plain, full cream yogurt

Equipment you will need:

1. Medium mixing bowl
2. 1-cup and a ¾ cup measuring cups
3. Baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or foil)

I use organic products a lot, but opt for white flour instead of whole grain for this recipe. I make up my own self raising flour using Einkorn Flour. My grocery store rarely carries this brand, so I'll use the Gold Medal brand usually. You can use self raising whole grain flour for a bit more of a rustic scone.

STEP ONE: Make up your dough.

Add two cups of flour to the mixing bowl. Then add ¾ cup of salted butter. NOTE: 1 cube of butter is about ½ cup. Look at wrapper to make sure. If taking the butter out of the fridge, I'll microwave it for about 20 seconds to soften it up.

Start by using your fingers to work the butter into the flour. You're aiming for a mix that looks a little like fine breadcrumbs (see above). Add the yogurt and mix to form a firm dough.

STEP 2: Roll out your dough and press out your circles.

Roll out your dough to a thickness of ½ to ¾ inch. Use a cookie cutter to press out your scone circles. Make sure you dust the cutter well to prevent any sticking.

Cut out your scones. In the picture above, I used a plastic cup about 3" wide. The dough as shown here is ½" thick. This gave me 12 scones.

Note: When you run out of room, take your cut scones out and place them on the cookie sheet. Then ball up the remaining dough, and roll it out again. This will allow you to cut out more scones.

STEP 3: Bake and Serve

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until light golden on the top (see above). Check them at 15 minutes.

Temp Note: I cook at an altitude of 5500' feet above sea level. Mine take 17 minutes.

Serve with fresh cream and strawberries.

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