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Home » Home Baking » How To Make Traditional Scottish Treacle Scones

How To Make Traditional Scottish Treacle Scones

Author: Karon Grieve Published : October 2018

Recipe Video
treacle scones pin image
treacle scones pin image
Traditional Scottish teacle scones pin image

It’s a fact universally acknowledged that scones are amazing. Be they simple or fancy they bring joy to the tea-table wherever they appear. These treacle scones are full of flavour just so perfect to cozy up with alongside your favourite cuppa.

treacle scones by larderlove

Traditional Scottish Treacle Scones

This is Halloween and apart from pumpkins (originally turnips for lanterns here in Scotland) and witches etc treacle scones are part of the Halloween traditions in Scotland.

As kids we would have to try to bite the treacle scones (they were covered in the stuff) that were hung up in the kitchen as a Halloween party game.

Those were sticky times.  These treacle scones are scones with treacle (molasses) backed within them. There’s a big difference here. You don’t end up wearing the sticky stuff and mine taste just great.

scone and jam

What is treacle?

Yes, I know, seems like a daft question to us in the UK. But to folks over in the US treacle is called molasses. There is a bit of confusion here. As the word Treacle is defined as any syrup made in the refining of cane sugar.

This includes molasses. Golden syrup is a lighter version of treacle. Real treacle is the rich dark almost black sugar syrup we buy here in the UK in lovely old fashioned tins.

I’m using treacle here, not golden syrup.

Can you substitute molasses for treacle?

Yes, if you can’t get our traditional black treacle where you live feel free to use molasses instead.

ingredients for scones

Ingredients for treacle scones

Flour – I have used self raising flour here and if you add 1/2 tsp of baking powder to your scone mix you’ll get an even better rise and lovely tall treacle scones.

Butter – as usual I use unsalted butter in my scone mix and just add a pinch of salt.

Sugar – caster sugar/superfine sugar here.

Egg – free-ranch please!

Milk – you can use whole milk or semi skimmed milk to make these easy treacle scones.

Spices – Treacle scones are all about spices. I’ve used ginger and mixed spice mix. But feel free to use any spices you like. Just ginger and cinnamon work a treat in treacle scones.

Treacle – well, they wouldn’t be treacle scones without that all-impoprtant treacle!

cutting out scones

How to make treacle scones

Unlike ‘normal’ scones where you are rubbing in the butter. With treacle scones the butter is melted into a sweet gooey mess with the treacle and sugar.

Mix the flour, salt and spices in a nice big bowl and pour the slightly cooled melted butter combo into a well in the centre.

Whisk egg and milk (save a wee bit of milk to glaze the scones) and add this.

Bring everything together to a soft dough and roll out on a floured surface.

Cut into 8 circles to make your treacle scones.

Bake for a mere 12 minutes then let those beautiful golden treacle scones cool on a wire rack.

baked scones cooling on wire rack

Pro tips for making perfect scones

Handle the dough as little as possible. A light hand is needed with scones. You don’t have to knead them like bread, just bring the dough together, tip it out and roll it.

Don’t twist the cookie cutters to remove them from the dough. This will make your scones rise with a weird kink to them.

Make sure your scones are even in height (not one side thicker than the other) so they bake evenly.

Raising agents – whatever you are using make sure they are in date. It’s so easy to have these little jars hanging about for years. They do go off and then don’t work anymore.

Types of flour for scone making

If you are using self raising flour as I have here you shouldn’t really need an extra raising agent. However, if you really want to go for all out scone puffiness then add 1/2 tsp baking powder to the flour.

Can you use plain flour?

Yes but make sure to add bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar to the mix to get them to rise. For the 250g of flour I’ve used here you would use 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1/4 tsp cream of tarter.

How long will scones last?

About five minutes in this house!

Like any scones, treacle scones are always better on the day they are made. However, they will keep for a couple of days well wrapped or in a sealed tin. Just warm them in the oven to liven them up a bit.

finished scones

Can you freeze treacle scones?

Yes, like all scones they freeze really well. Just wrap well in clingfilm then pop into a labeled freezer bag and they will freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly of course.

Warm them in the oven.

treacle scone with blackberry jam

How do you serve treacle scones

Serve with butter and marmalade or just plain butter while they are still warm. Aah perfect with a nice big cuppa on a chilly day.

larder link

Better still, serve your treacle scones with my Blackberry Jam with Bay and Vanilla, it’s a winning combination!

Simply scones

Treacle scones are so easy to make and part of our famed baking tradition in Scotland. This recipe is from my book Simply Scottish Cakes & Bakes where you will find a plethora of baked goodies that all hale from this part of the world.

Afternoon tea

Scones are part and parcel of the traditional afternoon tea or the old word for such an event in Scotland was a cookie shine. Isn’t that lovely, cookie shine sounds so much more special than afternoon tea I think.

larder links

Fancy some more scones for your tea table. Then check these out;

Simple Scones

Drop scones (aka Scotch pancakes)

Cheese Scones

3 ingredient Prosecco scones

Spiced Apple Scones

Minted pea and potato scones

Potato Scones

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

 
Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
treacle scones by larderlove

Traditional Scottish Treacle Scones

Karon Grieve
Traditional Scottish treacle scones the perfect tea time treat
3.62 from 18 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Total Time 32 mins
Course baking
Cuisine Scottish
Servings 8 scones
Calories 136 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 225 g self raising flour
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder (if you want them extra fluffy)
  • 90 g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tbsp treacle
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray
  • Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large bowl and make a little well in the centre
  • Gently heat the butter with the sugar and treacle and stir till sugar has dissolved completely
  • Let this cool a little before adding the egg and most of the milk (save a litte to glaze the scones before baking) then pour into the well made in the dry mix.
  • Stir to combine to a soft dough
  • Turn out on to a floured surface and knead once or twice
  • Roll to 2-3cm thick (1 ") and using a round cookie cutter or small glass cut out rounds
  • Place on prepared baking tray and brush with milk to glaze
  • Bake for approx 12 mins till golden brown

Video

Notes

Your treacle scones will keep for just a couple of days but freeze beautifully, just defrost completely and gently warm in the oven for best results.
This recipe makes approximately 8 treacle scones

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 51mgPotassium: 97mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 60IUCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Keyword baking, scones, treacle
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

 

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Home Baking, Scottish Recipes

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Comments

  1. Laura Chase says

    March 2, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    HI! I’m really looking forward to making these, but was wondering if you use aslack treacle or golden treacle syrup for these. I assume the golden syrup since aslack is more bitter tasting. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      March 3, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      Hi Laura
      This is traditional black treacle, just 1 tablespoon. Golden syrup is different stuff completely. Hope this helps.
      K x

      Reply
  2. Kath says

    May 6, 2020 at 11:14 pm

    These are delicious. I didn’t have any ground ginger so used ground cinnamon instead. Also added a bit of cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda as some other treacle scone recipes suggest. Fabulous fresh out of the oven and they warm up again really well too. Will try without the extra raising agents next time.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      May 10, 2020 at 11:25 am

      Hi Kath
      So glad they were such a success for you.
      All best
      K

      Reply
  3. Brian says

    October 3, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    3 stars
    Hi – my scones turned out a bit flat and dry. No baking powder in recipe though there is for plain scones ?
    I didn’t overmix or knead and used a knife for this. Got my plain scones down to a T so what’s am I doing wrong with the treacle version ?

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      October 4, 2020 at 9:00 am

      Hi Brian
      This is the recipe I used in my Scottish baking book. For this one I didn’t use baking powder but feel free to add some if you like. I sometimes do myself.
      K

      Reply
  4. Dottery says

    October 23, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    I made these treacle scones for a lovely Scottish friend, and he had no trouble proclaiming them a ‘keeper’. I don’t know how long they keep because we ate them all…..

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      October 27, 2020 at 9:00 am

      Hi Dottery
      That’s great so glad the treacle scones were such a hit!
      K

      Reply
  5. Nicola says

    February 27, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    I was nervous making these but it’s such a beautiful dough. I’d definitely recommend using the baking powder as it makes them so light and fluffy. The only problem we had was that the recipe only makes eight and they were all gone within ten minutes of being out of the oven! They were definitely a hit in our house, I’ll just have to double the recipe next time.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      March 1, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Hi Nicola
      Glad you like the treacle scones so much. Just double up the recipe to make a bigger batch. They never seem to last long here either!
      K

      Reply
  6. Janet says

    August 25, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    Would like to make these but there are no weight amounts listed in the recipe shown

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      August 30, 2021 at 9:18 am

      Hi Janet
      Really rather confused by your comment as all measurements (both in metric and ounces) are very clearly listed on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the blog post.
      K

      Reply

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