These pretty rhubarb scones loaded with little bits of juicy rhubarb make a perfect breakfast or afternoon tea-time treat. Be sure to freeze some rhubarb when it’s in season so you can enjoy them year round.
Rhubarb scones are a simple and delicious way to enjoy seasonal rhubarb while it’s around! The beautiful subtle rhubarb-y shades of pink and green poke through the dough and lend a lovely sweet-tart flavor that brightens the buttery scones.
See all my rhubarb recipes here
rhubarb scones ingredients
Rhubarb scones would be great served for brunch or afternoon tea, or really any spring or summer gathering. Here’s what you’ll need:
- chopped rhubarb
- sugar
- all purpose flour
- baking powder and salt
- vanilla extract
- unsalted butter
- buttermilk or half and half
A simple scone is a great thing to know how to make ~ swap out almost any fresh berry as they come into season and you have a perfect portable breakfast or special brunch treat. Since rhubarb has such a short and sweet season I highly suggest freezing any extra.
How to freeze rhubarb
- Wash and dry the stalks.
- Thinly slice them into about 1/2 inch pieces.
- Lay the fruit out in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Put the pan in the freezer for an hour. The fruit will be hard.
- Quickly transfer the fruit to heavy duty zip lock freezer bags, label, and put back in the freezer. Push out any excess air before zipping closed.
- They’ll last 6 months to a year.
- Use the fruit straight from frozen in your recipes, unless a recipe specifically states otherwise.
Scones are almost a religion here in the Great Island kitchen. Whenever I get the baking urge, but I don’t want to trek to the store, I can always rely on a great scone recipe to satisfy the craving.
You can definitely make a simple glaze for these rhubarb scones, like I did with my Fresh Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones, or my Maple Oat Nut Scones. You can also simply dust them with a little sugar before baking, which gives them a subtle sweet crunch.
I loved them served warm with a generous smear of my homemade Instant Pot Clotted Cream!
Rhubarb Scones
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped rhubarb, about 1-3 stalks, depending on size
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 Tbsp unsalted cold butter, cut in pieces
- 1/2 cup possibly a little bit more cold buttermilk or half and half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Drop in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 20-25 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Remove the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add in the buttermilk or half and half, and vanilla extract, and mix gently with a large spoon until the dough just comes together, it will be crumbly. If it is very dry, drizzle in a little more buttermilk or half and half. Gently fold in the chopped rhubarb.
- Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and knead a few times with floured hands until the dough is one piece, without a lot of dry flour left. Pat it out into a rectangular shape and use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out the scones. You can also cut the dough into squares if you prefer.
- Arrange the scones 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until just starting to turn golden. Don’t over bake.
Nutrition
I want to make these but only have frozen rhubarb. When the rhubarb thaws it is always so wet. Do you think it would work anyway?
Frozen rhubarb is tough to bake with, but you could try draining it before using, it should work.
These scones were delicious!!! So tender and very flavourful. I didn’t have buttermilk or half and half, but used almond milk with a tbsp of vinegar. Turned out amazing!
I wish rhubarb season could go on and on 🙂
This recipe makes incredible scones. They are light with moist crumb even on the second day. I love the flavour, the subtle rhubarb and the hint of vanilla. I also very much appreciate the metric weight measurements in the recipe. I make scones a lot and this recipe is definitely top 10. Will be on repeat with my fresh rhubarb until it has depleted. Then, I will use the recipe with other other fruits.
So glad to hear this Gwenyth ~ my backyard raspberries are just ripening so I may use those.
My family loved this recipe! I’ve made scones before but this is my favourite recipe by far !
Can I use frozen rhubarb?
Fresh is better because thawed rhubarb can be quite wet. If you;ve got already chopped frozen rhubarb you can use it frozen (not thawed.)
this was wonderful will make again
This recipe for rhubarb scones is excellent! I’ve made it several times and they always get rave reviews. My neighbor supplies the rhubarb from her garden, and I freeze what I don’t use to make more later