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.
need more rhubarb inspiration?
Rhubarb is one of my favorite ingredients to work with and I look forward to rhubarb season every year. From soda and jelly to pies and crisps, if you can make it with rhubarb, I’ve tried it!
- rhubarb bread
- rhubarb soda
- rhubarb curd
- ginger rhubarb crisp
- rhubarb shortcakes
- homemade rhubarb ice cream
- rhubarb jelly
ingredient notes for rhubarb scones
- chopped rhubarb – any color will work, just make sure it’s rinsed, trimmed, and chopped. You can also use frozen chopped rhubarb if you have it.
- buttermilk or half and half will work for these scones.
- vanilla extract lends a nice note of flavor to these scones, but consider swapping with the same quantity of almond extract, too.
how to freeze rhubarb
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.
- 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. My favorite recipes always highlight the best of what’s in season. Here are some of my favorites for the spring and summer months.
ideas for serving these rhubarb scones
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
Video
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.
Notes
- 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.
These are absolutely delicious! Perfect sweetness with the rhubarb!
Do you know if it would work to sub greek yogurt for the butter? Love scones and rhubarb, so anxious to try this recipe! Thanks.
You can’t substitute for the butter, but you probably can for the buttermilk, although you might need to thin the yogurt down with a little milk.
Usually, buttermilk and baking powder combine to add lift to the dough. In my case, I did not have buttermilk so I used half-and-half, but I was concerned that I would not get a rise. Turned out, I was right. Are you sure you want to recommend using half-and-half?
Excellent biscuit-style scone recipe. After following it to the “T” the first time I made it, I altered my second batch only by adding more rhubarb and some cinnamon. Also, I also always like to use an egg wash on my scones. Just to give them a nice golden glow. My family loved these!
I love this! What a great breakfast treat. Thank you! I always shape my scones on a pizza stone and score them. They turned out perfect.
Just made these. Easy and delicious, especially with rhubarb jam.
I bet the rhubarb jams puts them right over the top 🙂
Made these and they were absolutely delicious. Will definitely make them again. Had to do them the old fashioned way as I don’t have a food processor or a big mixing machine. Thanks for the recipe.
I used gluten free flour and it worked perfectly. These were so light
And delious. Thanks for the recipe!
Great to know, thanks TJ
What’s the old fashion way? I do not have a good processor and always wanted to try scones.
You can cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or 2 forks. Some people love to freeze butter and then grate it into their flour. Use a large spoon to bring it all together after you add the liquid.
Wow, these scones are delicious. Nice and tender. The sweet dough balances out the tart rhubarb. They are even better topped with strawberry rhubarb jam!
Hi! I checked the comments, but didn’t see anyone ask about substituting for almond flour? Do you think that would work?
You might use some almond flour, but I don’t think you can use almond flour only, the scones would fall apart.
I don’t own a food processor can I do this with a mixer? (Don’t worry a food processor is on my list ASAP)
You can cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, or forks. The mixer won’t really help with that. Then you can do the liquid adding etc, by hand with a spoon. Make sure you get the butter really well incorporated, and if your hands warm it up too much, you might want to refrigerate it before adding the liquid ingredients. The key to flakey scones is to get the butter and flour blended but keep the butter cold.
I always grate my butter into the flour, works every time
I just made a double batch and OMG these are fantastic!! I was going to freeze the extras, but I don’t know if they’ll make it to the freezer. I can’t wait to try your other rhubarb recipes. Going to start the rhubarb butter now 🙂
I’m so happy for you Kelly ~ there are a ton of rhubarb recipes to explore ~ I have a bunch of stalks in my fridge right now and I’m trying to decide what to make next!