These golden, fluffy air fryer scones pair perfectly with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and best of all, they're ready in just 8 minutes.
Perfect for a classic and convenient tea-time treat! You might also like my classic Bero Victoria scone recipe!
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There's nothing better for afternoon tea than a batch of freshly made scones, and now they're even easier and quicker to make in an air fryer!
This recipe yields a small batch of airfryer scones - five scones, to be exact, if you use a 5cm round cutter. This size ensures they air fry evenly and quickly.
If you're serving a crowd, simply double the recipe and cook in two batches.
👩🍳 Love air fryer baking recipes? Try my easy air fryer muffins, air fryer rock cakes, air fryer fruit scones, or air fryer Madeira cake next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- Easy air fryer baking recipe.
- Light and fluffy texture on the inside, with a golden crust.
- Classic tea-time treat and perfect for Afternoon Tea.
- Freezer-friendly and great for batch cooking.
"I have just made these scones, they are amazing!!!!!!!" Elaine
🛒 Ingredient notes
Flour - use self-raising flour to get a good rise on the scones.
Baking Powder - add extra raising agent for a light and fluffy texture.
Butter - unsalted butter, cubed and cold.
Sugar - white caster sugar or golden caster sugar is best for scones.
Milk - semi-skimmed or whole milk. You can also swap milk for buttermilk (you won't need the lemon juice too).
Lemon Juice - a squeeze of fresh lemon juice sours the milk to produce light and fluffy textured scones.
Vanilla - for extra flavour.
"The best air fryer scones I have tried!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sheila
🔪 How to make scones in air fryer
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Place the flour, baking powder, and cold cubed butter into a large mixing bowl and rub in with your hands until you get a breadcrumb consistency.
💡Pro tip - use a food processor if you'd like to, and use the pulse function. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
Two: Mix in the caster sugar.
Three: Heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds then add a squeeze of lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Leave to stand for 2 minutes, then using a cutlery knife, mix the soured milk into the flour.
Four: Bring the dough together with your hands. The dough will be quite sticky and soft at this stage.
Five: Lightly flour your work surface then shape the scone dough into a round disc (roughly 3cm thick) using your hands. Using a 5cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out 5 scones. You'll need to keep reforming the dough into a disc with your hands until you have used it all up.
Six: Glaze the tops of the scones with milk, and then place them in your air fryer basket and air fry for 7-8 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
Seven: Remove the scones from the air fryer basket and cool them on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Top Tips
- Always use cold cubed butter. If you try to rub in soft warm butter you will be left with a sticky mess. Cold butter helps to keep the dough cool and gives the scones the perfect flaky texture once baked.
- You don't need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Just shape it with your hands into a disc shape. The more sparingly you handle the dough, the better the end result. To prevent gluten formation (resulting in tough and chewy scones), it is best to refrain from kneading the dough.
- Try not to twist the cutter when stamping out the scones. This helps them to rise evenly.
- Make sure your self-raising flour and baking powder are in date to ensure the scones rise.
🍴 What to serve with scones
Serve the sweet air fryer scones with the topping of your choice. Here are some ideas!
- Strawberry jam and clotted cream. Being Cornish it's ALWAYS jam first!
- Raspberry jam or blackcurrant jam.
- Fresh blueberries.
- Butter.
- Marmalade.
- Lemon Curd.
- Whipped double cream and strawberry coulis or blackcurrant coulis.
📖 Variations
- Add 45g of raisins or currants for air fryer fruit scones. Use my fruit scones recipe as a guide.
- Dust with icing sugar (powdered sugar) once cooked.
- Add 45g of quartered glace cherries for cherry scones.
- Add 45g of chocolate chips to the dough for chocolate chip scones.
- Swap the vanilla extract for cinnamon and make air fryer cinnamon scones.
- Make air fryer cheese scones. Omit the sugar and add a handful of grated cheddar cheese to the dough.
- Use wholewheat flour for a healthier scone.
🥡 Storage
Air fryer scones are best eaten fresh, as soon as they are made.
Store - Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheat - Scones can be eaten at room temperature, but they can also be warmed up. Air fry for 1 - 2 minutes at 200°C (400°F).
Freeze - Allow the scones to cool before placing them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.
❓Frequently asked questions
If you use a 1500W air fryer for an average of one hour per day, it will use roughly 1.5 kilowatts of electricity. Most air fryers use between 1.4 and 1.7kWh (kilowatts of energy per hour). They are considered to be much more energy efficient than conventional ovens.
It is best to use self raising flour for scones in an air fryer. This type of flour works well for achieving the desired texture and rise.
To prevent sticking, it's recommended to line the air fryer basket with parchment paper or use a non-stick cooking spray before placing the scones in the air fryer.
Yes, you can freeze the scones before air frying. Prepare the dough, shape the scones, and then freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. When ready to air fry, simply thaw them for a few minutes before placing them in the air fryer.
😋 More easy air fryer recipes
- Air fryer roast potatoes
- Air fryer rock cakes
- Air fryer brownies
- Air fryer baked apples
- Cheesy air fryer crumpets
- Air fryer chicken fajitas
- Air fryer baked camembert
- Air fryer sausages
- Air fryer sausage rolls
- Air fryer chips
Tried it? Let me know what you think and rate it ⭐️ below. Tag me @effortlessf00d-I'd love to see! Don't forget to subscribe for more recipes.
Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Scones
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 175 g Self Raising Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 45 g Butter cubed and fridge cold
- 2 tablespoon Caster Sugar
- 85 ml Milk plus a bit extra for glazing the tops
- Squeeze Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F).
- Place the flour, baking powder, and cold cubed butter into a large mixing bowl and rub in with your hands until you get a breadcrumb consistency.175 g Self Raising Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, 45 g Butter
- Mix in the caster sugar.2 tablespoon Caster Sugar
- Heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds then add a squeeze of lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Leave to stand for 2 minutes then using a cutlery knife, mix the soured milk into the flour.85 ml Milk, Squeeze Lemon Juice, ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Bring the dough together with your hands. The dough will be quite sticky and soft at this stage.
- Lightly flour your work surface then shape the scone dough into a round disc (roughly 3cm thick) using your hands. Using a 5cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out 5 scones. You'll need to keep reforming the dough into a disc with your hands until you have used it all up.
- Glaze the tops of the scones with a little milk, and then air fry for 7-8 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
- Remove the scones from the air fryer basket and cool them on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Always use cold cubed butter straight from the fridge. If you try to rub in soft warm butter you will be left with a sticky mess. Cold butter helps to keep the dough cool and gives the scones the perfect flakey texture once baked.
- You don't need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Just shape it with your hands into a disc shape.
- Make sure your self-raising flour and baking powder are in date to ensure the scones rise.
- Add 45g of raisins or currants for air fryer fruit scones. Use my fruit scones recipe as a guide.
- Dust with icing sugar (powdered sugar) once cooked.
- Add 45g of quartered glace cherries for cherry scones.
- Add 45g of chocolate chips to the dough for chocolate chip scones.
- Make air fryer cheese scones. Omit the sugar and add a handful of grated cheddar cheese to the dough.
Nutritional Information (Approximate)
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Antony says
Brilliant scones, thank you for the recipe. We live in France and have never seen scones for sale around here, so...............
Followed your recipe to the letter but doubled up on the vanilla essence 🙂
Baked perfectly in 12 mins.
Easy 5 stars!
Kim Young says
I can now make scones with your recipe. Thank you. Always failed before. 👏👏
Sonia says
This is our go-to air fryer scone recipe! 💛
I get a HUGE craving for scones from time to time (more often than I'd like to admit lol) and since I got an air fryer, I cannot stop making these!
Scones were one of the first things I ever made on my Air Fryer and this was the recipe I followed and haven't stopped since!
Thank you! These are delish and come out perfect every time! 😍
Beth Sachs says
Hi Sonia. So glad you like the recipe! It's one of my favourites too!
Kasia says
So delicious, so easy and quick to make!
Karen says
Lovely scones, nice and light. I made the next size up and cooked for 9 minutes, it made 4, will definitely make again.
Ann says
Made with sultanas and they were done in 6 mins. Really easy and tasty.
Aisling Gallagher says
Made them plain and they were lovely. I am know trying them with sultanas 😊
Vanessa says
How do you warm up an air fryer to 200 degrees c ?
And why do you not choose “ bake “ rather than “ air fry “ ?
Thanks
Beth Sachs says
Hi Vanessa. All air fryers have a preheat function where the airfryer warms up before you add food. I find air frying cooks the scones more quickly resulting in a better texture.
Ruth says
how would I alter the recipe to use oat milk?
Leanne Leanne says
Just as you would in place of any other liquid xx