Can’t Miss Scones Cookbooks

Afternoon Tea Serenade: Recipes from Famous Tea Rooms, Classical Chamber Music (1997) by Sharon O’Connor

This is a different kind of a cookbook. According to the author’s page, Sharon O’Connor was the first person to package together a cookbook with music—CD’s or cassette tapes, depending on the vendor. Remember those?

Hop on your streaming music service of choice, and use Sharon’s suggestions to create a tea party playlist. If you still own a CD player, then check out this unique solution to banish your tea time woes.

Grammy-award winners and other top notch musicians play cello, flute, viola, harp, or violin in an hour of tea time appropriate music. More than twenty famous tearooms from around the world have supplied the recipes for this book. The Ritz Carlton shares recipes most heavily.

Chapters inside the “Afternoon Tea Serenade” cookbook include:

• Introduction
• A History of Tea Drinking
• Teas of the World
• Cook’s Notes
• Ideas for Entertaining
• Music Notes
• The Adolphus
• Bewley’s
• Blithewold Mansion and Gardens
• Claridge’s
• The Empress
• Filoli
• Fortnum and Mason
• Four Seasons Olympic
• Grand Bay Hotel
• Harrods
• The Hay-Adams Hotel
• The Heathman Hotel
• Hotel Bel-Air
• The King Edward
• Palace Hotel
• The Plaza
• The Ritz-Carlton, Boston
• The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
• The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago
• The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
• The Savoy
• Windsor Court Hotel
• Winterhur
• Basics
• Conversion Charts
• List of Contributors
• Mail-Order Sources
• Acknowledgments
• Recipe Index

Coconut Scones with Banana Cream; Citrus and Currant Scones; Harrods Scones from Harrods in London, England; Scones with Black Currants, and Buttermilk Scones with Honey Butter are a smattering of the scones recipes inside the 223-page, 7.3 x 1.5 x 10.25-inch cookbook.

Of course, that’s in addition to the other tearoom fare you’d expect, such as sandwiches, other quick breads, and pastries. Throwers of tea parties will love this fun take on the typical cookbook.

Bake: From Cookies to Casseroles, Fresh from the Oven (2009) by Rachel Allen

You don’t know who Rachel Allen is? Well, I didn’t either. After all, she’s on TV over in Ireland, and I am not in Ireland. Please, do not let that throw you. If you are interested in Irish food, with a few other delicious surprises, then you are in for a treat.

Rachel’s 7.68 x 1.18 x 9.92-inch, 288-page cookbook lists ingredients in grams and ounces. Do the conversions or pick up a scale. I know, totally the pot calling the kettle black here as I, too, lack a kitchen scale.

Chapters inside Rachel Allen’s “Bake” cookbook include:

• Introduction
• Sweet Mouthfuls
• Cakes
• Puddings
• Breads and Savory Bites
• Tarts and Pies
• Breakfast and Patisserie
• Baked Meals
• Holiday and Celebration
• Basic Recipes and Techniques
• Glossary
• Recipe Index
• Acknowledgments

So, back to the reasons why you and I may want to consider getting a scale now include: Sultana Scones, Spicy Bacon and Gruyere Scones, Brown Scones with Seeds, and Orange Scones.

If your cookbook collection is lacking in Irish cookbooks and your kitchen is missing Irish baked goods, meet your latest addition. I enjoy Rachel’s style and her recipe format.

Baking: From My Home to Yours (2006) by Dorie Greenspan

How could a list of scones not include Dorie Greenspan? Her 8.38 x 1.64 x 10.88-inch baking cookbook includes a nice selection of scone recipes. She’s our people, don’t you think?

Chapters inside Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking” cookbook include:

• Introduction
• Breakfast Sweets
• A Cache of Cookies
• Cakes of All Kinds
• Pies and Tarts
  • Warm and Cold, Fruity and Nutty, Creamy and Crunchy
• Spoon Desserts
  • Puddings, Custards, Crisps, and Ice Cream
• Indispensables
  • Base Recipes
• A Dessert Maker’s Glossary of Ingredients, Tools, and Techniques
• Recipe Index

Riffle through the book for a few hundred recipes over 528 pages you can trust. Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones, Honey-nut scones, and Apple cheddar scones beg to be made—and fast.

Expect the common sense approach to baking synonymous with Dorie Greenspan. Side notes include ways to tweak the recipe to make it your own, plus serving and storing suggestions. Dorie gently guides you along the way, giving you the confidence to take matters into your own hands.

The Baker in Me (2016) by Daphna Rabinovitch

Brace yourself: There are just over a dozen recipes for scones.

Daphna was the director of the Canadian Living Test Kitchen for a decade and co-host of “Canadian Living Cooks.” She’s been a pastry chef and a personal chef (man, I would love to do that for the right people), and she still considers herself “at heart, a home baker.”

Just like us.

Chapters inside “The Baker in Me” cookbook include:

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Cookies
• Bars and Squares
• All Things Chocolate
• Muffins, Biscuits, and Scones
• Quick and Yeast Breads
• A Cupboard Full of Cakes
• Pies, Tarts, and Fruit Desserts
• Acknowledgments
• Recipe Index

This 8 x 1 x 10-inch, 488-page cookbook includes measurements by volume, so break out your cups and teaspoons. It also has plenty of images, though not an image for every recipe, or even every other recipe. Still, it’s a nice, recipe-full kind of a book.

Citrus Scones, Cherry White Chocolate Scones (which sound like the best thing ever), Morning Oatmeal Scones with Dried Fruit Pear Compote, and Orange-Kissed Scones with Vanilla Roasted Plums grab me. Are you as happy about that list as I am?

Bake from Scratch, Volume 3: Artisan Recipes for the Home Baker (2019) by Hoffman Media

I love Bake from Scratch magazine. I do. I can’t find it where I am in Pennsylvania now, and I miss it terribly. I need to just get a subscription already. I assume Volume 3 is for the 2018 magazine year since it has a 2019 publishing year—and almost a dozen scone recipes.

These cookbooks are so good and so fun you need an excuse to pick one up. So, here is yours: Orange Blossom Honeycomb Scones, Gruyere Prosciutto Scones, and Lemon Streusel Scones (because I love lemon so much, I assume no one else tires of it).

You’ll find Cherry Walnut Sourdough Scones (before everyone was making sourdough), and Double Gingerbread Scones (because our boys LOVE gingerbread). Plus, you know, a slew of others.

These aren’t baking recipes for the average person, or the average day, for that matter. If you like devoting some real time to a recipe or if you enjoy reading a cookbook, especially one with a bent for technical details and how-to, then this 400-page, 9 x 10.88-inch book is your kind of a cookbook.

Otherwise, you’ll probably throw around words like “fussy” or “time-consuming.” And then we can’t be friends. I own Volume 1 of the cookbook, but I have the magazines for the following years. I love them.

Be-Ro Home Baked Recipes 41st Edition

Spend any time browsing online for mentions of memorable cookbooks, and you will find Be-Ro referenced at least 899 times by UK dwellers. For an 85-page booklet, that’s no small thing.

In the early 1920s, the most commonly used type of flour was plain flour. Self-raising flour was more expensive and considered a novelty – consumers bought plain flour direct from the miller and self-raising flour was only sold into independent grocers.

In a bid to make self-raising flour more popular among the general public, the company staged a series of exhibitions in the early 1920s where freshly baked scones, pastries and cakes were sold for a shilling to visitors.

These were so popular that people demanded to have copies of the recipes so that they could bake the dishes at home.

As a result, a free recipe book was produced and handed out at the exhibitions as well as door to door. The Be-Ro cookbook contained recipes to feed hungry families on a very low budget

They soon became an essential part of a young woman’s education in running a home and feeding a family. Consequently, the recipe books achieved their objective of making Be-Ro the best known flour in the North.

Introduction, Be-Ro, Accessed 10/21/2020.

These recipes may have undergone a few tweaks here and there, and the Be-Ro cookbook has since swapped illustrations for images. It’s a recipe book cooks still swear by, judging by the 38 million copies sold over the yeas.

UK readers may have a copy shipped from Be-Ro. The rest of us must depend on a third-party shipper, as referenced above at the links.

I would assume the new version still contains a handful of scones recipes just like the old edition. The format kind of reminds me of old Taste of Home or Quick Cooking magazine recipe clippings.

You may browse the (roughly) 1920-1929 edition, for free, thanks to the Duke University Libraries Repository Collections and Archives: Be-Ro Home Recipes: Scones, Cakes, Pastry, Puddings.

The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day (2003) by Maryana Vollstedt

There is nothing I love more than a big breakfast. A table full of different breakfast items is my idea of a great morning. Just keep the coffee comin’.

This 343-page, 8.3 x 1 x 8.3-inch cookbook offers plenty to keep breakfast fans like me entertained. It’s also part of the Big Book series of cookbooks:

• The Big Book of Casseroles: 250 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food (1999) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)
• The Big Book of Soups and Stews: 262 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food (2001) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)
• The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day (2002) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)
• The Big Book of Easy Suppers: 270 Delicious Recipes for Casual Everyday Cooking (2005) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)
• The Big Book of Potluck: Good Food – and Lots of It – for Parties, Gatherings, and All Occasions (2003) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)
• The Big Book of Chicken: Over 300 Exciting Ways to Cook Chicken (2008) by Maryana Vollstedt (Amazon) (eBay)

The chapters inside “The Big Book of Breakfast” include:

• Preface
• Introduction
• Breakfast Beverages
• Egg Cookery
• Omelets
• Frittatas
• Quiches
• Stratas
• Breakfast Casseroles
• Breakfast Sandwiches
• Skillet Entrees
• French Toast
• Pancakes
• Crepes and Blintzes
• Waffles
• Meats
• Potatoes
• Grains and Cereals
• Breakfast Breads and Cakes
• Breakfast Fruits
• Recipe Index
• Table of Equivalents

Scones, scones, lovely delightful scones. Rich Scones with Lemon Curd, Chocolate Chip Orange Scones, Scones with Spiced Sugar Nut Topping, and Date Scones make up a selection of not quite a dozen scone recipes.

While testing recipes for the Big Book of Breakfast, Maryana and her husband ate eggs in some form every day for more than 10 months, according to this 2003 article.

I’m sorry to report Maryana passed away in May 2017, at the age of 91, just four months after her husband. He was 90.

She didn’t retire from her newspaper column (The Register-Guard’s WHAT’S FOR DINNER) until she was 84. Jeez, I wish I had met her. At least Maryana’s recipes, and the more than 20 cookbooks behind her name, live on.

This is one amazing cookbook.

Biscuits and Scones: 62 Recipes, from Breakfast Biscuits to Homey Desserts (1988) by Elizabeth Alston

I found my first Elizabeth Alston cookbook at a Goodwill a few years ago — and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m not one to walk around and use words like “charming” or “sweet” in real life. But here? It works.

Elizabeth Alston has a whole series of cookbooks in a similar style. Great recipes, wonderful illustrations, and for this title, a heap of scones recipes.

Chapters inside “Biscuits and Scones” include:

• Introduction
• Breakfast Favorites
• Lunch and Supper Specialties
• Homey Desserts
• Coffee and Teatime Treats
• Appetizers and Savory Snacks
• Recipe Index

Hot Cross Scones, Coffee Hazelnut Scones, Gingerbread Scones, Mother Bathia’s Scottish Tattie Scones, and Apricot Swirl Scones are but a fraction of her scones recipes. This book isn’t large, with a mere 112 pages, but it is useful.

I’ve mentioned Elizabeth Alston before. Elizabeth was the editor for Women’s Day for a long time. She’s been a part of a number of cookbooks as an editor and released a number of her own, too.

The Cheese Board: Collective Works: Bread, Pastry, Cheese, Pizza (2003) by Alice Waters and Cheese Board Collective

With 150 recipes, 50 photos, and a smidgen under a dozen scones recipes, this 240-page cookbook is popular for reasons that go far beyond scones.

The 8.51 x 0.64 x 9.48-inch book is an often-cited “must-have” kind of cookbook lining the shelves of many a baker. The Cheese Board is a bakery and cheese shop and a pizzeria in Berkeley, California.

It’s not a science type of book, where you’ll learn the whys behind all the things. It is, however, a passion project from a bunch of different people who had ties to The Cheese Board at one time or another.

It makes me want to head to Berkeley, California, try to get hired in, and see what I think. The early hours, the smell of coffee brewing, the silence of the bakery, the holiday lights twinkling outside — I loved that first morning when I thought I was buying a bakery and shadowed the owner.

Chapters inside “The Cheese Board: Collective Works” include:

• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• The Basics: Equipment, Ingredients, Methods
• Chapter One / The Morning Bakery: Scones, Muffins, and More
• Chapter Two / Yeasted Breads
• Chapter Three / Sourdough Breads
• Chapter Four / Rye Breads
• Chapter Five / Holidays
• Chapter Six / The Cheese Counter
• Chapter Seven / The Pizzeria
• Source List
• Bibliography
• Directory of Cooperative / Collective Organizations
• Recipe Index

In this book, almost a dozen scone recipes have their little scone-y arms raised, hoping you will pick them to bake next. Hmm, on second thought, let’s pretend we never had that frightening image, and take a look at the types of scone recipes inside this meaty cookbook, shall we?

Find Corn Cherry Scones, Blueberry Lemon Scones, Irish Soda Scones, Just Lemon, and Apple Walnut Scones.

Chocolate Chocolate (2005) by Lisa Yockelson

Traditional scones lovers will want to pass by this one, but for the rest of us who don’t mind a more American-style scone with plenty of chocolate involved, all I can say is, “Wow!”

At 496 pages, the 9 x 1.44 x 10-inch book has a way with all things chocolate and, happily, that applies to scones, too.

This is a cookbook meant for the person in your life with a super sweet tooth and big love for all things chocolate, someone who is okay with producing scones outside the usual ingredients — and who embraces chocolate for breakfast without a fuss.

Chapters inside “Chocolate, Chocolate” include:

• With Appreciation
• Acknowledgments
• The Flavor of Chocolate
• Techniques
• The Baking Pantry
• Outfitting the Baking Kitchen
• Brownie Style
• Back-to-Basics Chocolate Cakes
• Black Bottom Cupcakes and More
• Chips and Chunks
• Chocolate and Streusel, Chocolate and Nuts
• Chocolate and Toffee
• Chocolate Birthday Cakes
• Chocolate Bread
• Chocolate Coffee, Bundt, and Pound Cakes
• Chocolate in Big Muffins, Biscuits, and Scones
• Chocolate in Layers
• Chocolate Memories
• Chocolate Pancakes, Chocolate Waffles
• Chocolate Tender, Chocolate Crunchy
• Chocolate, Caramel, and Nuts — a Turtle Twist
• Deep, Dark, and Bittersweet
• Double Chocolate
• Flourless and Almost-Flourless Chocolate Cakes
• Heirloom Chocolate Cookies
• Mudslide
• Liquid Chocolate and Homemade Marshmallows
• Storing and Freezing Chocolate Baked Goods
• Sources
• Bibliography
• Photography Plate for Ingredients
• Recipe Index

Double Chocolate Cookie Chip Scones, Chocolate Fudge Scones, Chunky Turtle Scones, and Chocolate Chip Streusel Scones would definitely appear on my youngest son’s list.

Okay, maybe even mine too. Who am I kidding? I am not as adult as I like to pretend.

What could be better on a cold winter’s morning when you wake up to a snow-blanketed landscape, and you know no one is going anywhere, than a chocolate scone and a hot cup of coffee, or even, dare I say it, hot chocolate to go with it?

With a handful of scones recipes, plus 200 other recipes, and 150 images (in color), you’ll have plenty of tasty treats to test and enjoy.

The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book: The Essentials of Home Baking (2008) by Elizabeth Baird and Canadian Living Test Kitchen

This book had my attention at Lemon Poppy Seed Scones. I love lemon. I love poppy seeds. And scones? You betcha! But this wouldn’t be much of a cookbook on scones if there weren’t other recipes, too.

Lucky for both of us, there are half a dozen or so scones recipes.

Chapters in the Canadian Living cookbook include:

• An Introduction to Baking
  • Secrets of Great Baking from The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
  • The Baker’s Pantry and Fridge
  • The Baker’s Basic Equipment
  • Measuring for Success
  • Substitutions
  • Convection Ovens
• Cookies, Bars, and Squares
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Cakes
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Pies and Pastries
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Yeast Breads
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Quick Breads
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Spoon Desserts
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• Sauces and Garnishes
  • Introduction, Tips, and Techniques
  • Recipes
• The Baker’s Glossary
• Recipe Index
• High-Altitude Baking
• About Our Nutrition Information
• Credits
• Acknowledgments

Bake Dried Fruit and Lemon Scones, Bacon Tomato Scones, Walnut Chocolate Fudge Scones (yes please!), Pumpkin Spice Scones, and an Apricot Scone Wreath, are a different take on the usual scone.

As a baking book, you’ll find seven different baking-related chapters, 100 images, though not an image for every recipe. Sorry. Weight and volume are included in this fun, hefty 8.08 x 1.03 x 10.29-inch, 352-page cookbook.

The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America’s Most Trusted Food Magazine (2011) by Cook’s Illustrated Magazine

You probably know Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. It’s the one with drawings over images. It’s the one that aims for the perfect home-cooked recipe, no matter how many tries that takes — and is meticulous in its pursuit of baking (and cooking) perfection.

With this one 9.13 x 2 x 10.75-inch, 890-page cookbook, you’ll flip through many scones recipes. And, because it’s from Cook’s Illustrated, you know it’s going to be good.

Chapters inside the 2008 Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook include:

• Welcome to America’s Test Kitchen
• Preface by Christopher Kimball
• Acknowledgments
• Recipe Table of Contents
• Appetizers
• Salads
• Soups
• Chilis, Stews, and Braises
• Curries, Stir Fries, and Asian Noodle Dishes
• Pasta
• Rice, Grains, and BeansVegetables
• Poultry
• Meat
• Fish and Shellfish
• Grilling
• Eggs and Breakfast
• Quick Breads and Coffee Cakes
• Yeast Breads and Rolls
• Pizza, Calzones, and Flatbreads
• Cookies, Brownies, and Bars
• Cakes
• Pies and Tarts
• Fruit Desserts
• Pastry
• Puddings, Custards, and Frozen Desserts
• Beverages
• Recipe Index
• A Note on Conversions

Love oatmeal scones? There are multiple recipes for different kinds of oatmeal scones. Rich and Tender. Apricot-Almond, and Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Scones are just the tip of the scone iceberg.

These publications go for traditional over newfangled. If you yearn for a more solid foundation in your baking, this could prove an invaluable resource for years to come.

Every Day Cook Book in Colour (1968) by Marguerite Patten (First Edition: Amazon) (Second Edition 1969)

Why did I choose to bring this cookbook to your attention? Because the first edition of this cookbook (First Edition: Amazon) appeared during a time when most cookbooks were black and white. This cookbook was in color and glossy.

While it isn’t like today, where so many cookbooks include a picture with every recipe, 100 images were included in this cookbook of over 1000 recipes.

Hilda Elsie Marguerite Patten, CBE (née Brown; 4 November 1915 – 4 June 2015) had over 170 cookbooks published to her name. Learn all about Marguerite Patten here. She was one awesome lady.

Chapters inside “Marguerite Patten’s Every Day Cookbook in Color” include:

• Guide to Good Cooking
• Hors d’Oeuvre
• Soups
• Fish
• Meat
• Poultry
• Game
• Carving
• Savory Pie
• Vegetables
• Salads
• Herbs and Spices
• Sauces
• Stuffings
• Pasta and Rice
• Savories
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Pastries and Sweet Pastry Dishes
• Hot Puddings
• Cold and Iced Desserts
• Cakes
• Bread and Scones
• Icing and Gateaux
• Biscuits and Biscuit Type Cakes
• Drinks and Beverages
• Sweetmeats
• Preserves
• Entertaining and Special Occasions

Over one million copies of this 349-page cookbook were sold, as revealed by the cover of a later printing. Considered “no nonsense” and “the only cookbook you need,” depending on the source, it does have a nice number of scone recipes.

You could bake up a batch of Cherry Scones or Lemon Scones, Treacle Scones (after a trip to the International section of your local grocery store), or Potato Pan Scones. Brown Scones, Orange Scones, and a couple of others make up the rest of the scones section.

A Feast of Scotland (1979) by Janet Warren

What do you know about Scottish cooking? If the answer is “not so much,” then you, my friend, need to take a closer look. While you won’t find images next to each item, there are color and black-and-white images within the 176-page book.

The black-and-white images pertain to history, while the color images represent different foods found within the book. Illustrations here and there add a little something to the pages.

Chapters inside “A Feast of Scotland” include:

• Note to American Readers
• Introduction
• A Furthy Meal
• Hamely Fare
• The Meal of Ceremony
• Food for Kings
• Now Let the Cheering Cup Be Poured
• Picture Acknowledgments
• Recipe Index

A Feast of Scotland has a surprising amount of scone recipes. Give Treacle Scones, Oatmeal Scones, Potato Scones, or Whole Wheat Scones a spin. There are roughly two pages of scones recipes here.

Menus at the back of the book provide further insight into Scottish tradition and history. This is a wonderful book all around. It catches my eye on the shelf often.

The Fearless Baker: Simple Secrets for Baking Like a Pro (2017) by Erin Jeanne McDowell

Some people go to the local swimming pool and swim. Some people wait in line to jump off the diving board. Other people do laps or stand in the water. Me? I bring cookbooks and read.

The Fearless Baker accompanied me to the swimming pool one day a couple years ago. Well, the 8.5 x 0.04 x 8.5-inch, 344-page cookbook did anyway. It was wonderful — and torture.

Sitting there gazing at the lovely photos and reading about great things I couldn’t bake because I was the one baking in the sun, while my boys splashed around, made me long for a baked good while sitting in the sun. Now that’s perfection.

Chapters inside “The Fearless Baker” include:

• Introduction
• Cookies and Bars
• Cakes
• Pies and Tarts
• Pastries
• Custards and Creams
• Resources
• Acknowledgments
• Recipe Index

Black–and–Blue Scones, Chocolate Macadamia Nut Scones, Apple Cinnamon Scones, and others don’t make for the most comprehensive scones cookbook offering on this list, but I love this cookbook, and I think you might too.

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Café (2010) by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson

Oatmeal Maple Scones, Lemon-Ginger Scones, and Cranberry Orange Scones make a nice representation of the scones recipes in this 7.95 x 1.2 x 10.45-inch, 320-page cookbook.

Chapters inside “Flour” include:

• Introduction
• Techniques
• Equipment
• Ingredients
• Joanne’s Top 12 Baking Tips
• Breakfast Treats
• Cookies
• Cakes
• Pies and Tarts
• Other Sweets
• Breads
• Acknowledgments
• Recipe Index
• Table of Equivalents

Joanne Chang won the James Beard award for Outstanding Baker in 2016 and she owns a successful chain of Flour bakeries — but that isn’t where she began. Nope.

This chef is an honors graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics. After two years in management consulting, she watched as people moved up or went to business school, and decided she needed a year in a professional kitchen, to see if that’s something she wanted to do.

It’s a move that doesn’t always pay off. I read in Yankee Magazine that she made less than $8 an hour at her first bakery job. How lucky for all of us that she loved it.

When Joanna opened her first bakery, Flour, her mom moved in with her for three or four months and worked the front counter. So, everything Joanne did went through what she later termed “the mom test.”

If this were for your mom, would you be proud of it? Her cookbooks are amazing. How could her scones be any less than memorable?

Great British Bakes: Forgotten Treasures for Modern Bakers (2015) by Mary-Anne Boermans

Set aside your cups and grab your kitchen scale. For this worthwhile 352-page, 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.6-inch cookbook, you will need it. If you don’t have one, buy one now, because this cookbook is the type of cookbook you can read for fun and the type you bake from.

*Spoiler Alert* Mary-Anne Boermans was a finalist on the Great British Baking Show 2011. She knows a thing or two about baking. What’s more, she loves old recipes, vintage recipes, and the kind of things people baked up centuries ago.

Mary-Anne mentions how an old cake recipe may have said to “beat the batter for eight hours,” because “there would have been an unlucky kitchen maid to do just that.”

So, she tested each recipe three times, if not more, updating these old, old recipes to fit the way we live. What’s more, she nicely includes a list of all the ingredients used in her cookbook, along with a number to let you know how many times it is used.

Chapters inside “Great British Bakes” include:

• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• Ingredients
• Baker’s Notes
• Large Cakes
• Biscuits
• Gingerbread
• Pastry
• Puddings
• Small Cakes
• Yeast
• Bits and Bobs
• Notes
• Recipe Index
• Acknowledgments

If you have all the things, you can make all the recipes. If not, you can decide for yourself whether it is worth picking up rye flour for one recipe or semolina for another. I love that.

As for scones … I believe you will be pleased by the assortment of recipes. Mary-Ann Boermans begins with a master scone recipe, and branches out with Breakfast Scones. Then there are Apple, Bacon, and Cheese Scones, Chorizo and Pesto Scones, plus Cheese and Spring Onion Scones.

So many scones recipes, so many flavors I want to bake and eat. Add in her cakes, pies, puddings, and “biscuit” recipes (don’t forget, this is a British cookbook), plus her research into the history of some of these items, and it’s safe to say this cookbook is a keeper.

How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins (2018) by Nick Malgieri

Nick Malgieri has written a dozen cookbooks on baking and pastry. He has a huge list of achievements behind his name, from founding the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education (he retired 2018), to a slew of award-winning cookbooks, and voted one of the ten best pastry chefs in America by Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines (1998, 1999).

Start with Nick Malgieri’s Plain Scones and bump it up a bit with a few variations from his 480-page, 8 x 1.45 x 9.4-inch cookbook.

Chapters inside “How to Bake” include:

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Quick Breads, Scones, and Muffins
• Breads and Rolls
• Savory Pastries
• Pies
• Tarts
• Cookies and Small Pastries
• Cakes
• Puff Pastry and Cream Puff Pastry
• Sweet Yeast-Risen Breads and Pastries
• Sources of Supply
• Metric Equivalents
• Bibliography
• Recipe Index

Oatmeal Raisin Scones or Lemon Cornmeal Scones with Dried Cherries might prove to be your new most favorite thing ever. If that’s the case, do let the rest of us know. But, we probably wouldn’t be surprised.

This is a new edition, updated and modernized, from the 1995 counterpart. There are illustrations for some important bits though, but this is not a “pretty” kind of cookbook with black-and-white text, headings, boldface, and heaps of recipes galore.

If baking is your thing, say “hello,” to Nick Malgieri.

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains (2006) by King Arthur Baking Company

For a cookbook with only a middle section of images and some line drawing illustrations throughout, it’s a hefty 544-page, 8.5 x 1.9 x 10.3-inch book devoted to all things whole grain.

Do know that this cookbook isn’t going to use 100% whole grain just to use 100% whole grain. It’s about taste and texture too, so expect varied amounts as it makes sense to the recipe.

Some recipes will require the use of lesser known whole grains. If you are already into whole grains, that shouldn’t throw a damper on your home baking plans. The rest of us may need to plan ahead.

Even my local grocery store carries King Arthur Baking Company Flours and Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Flours. No one is more shocked than I.

Chapters inside the “King Arthur Flour Whole Grains Baking” cookbook include:

• Introduction
• Breakfasts
• Quick Breads, Muffins, Coffeecakes, Biscuits, and Scones
• Crisps, Cobblers, and Puddings
• Flatbreads and Crackers
• Yeast Breads
• Sourdough
• Cookies and Bars
• Cakes
• Pie and Quiche
• Pastry
• The Whole Grains
• Appendices
• Cooking Grains
• Ingredient Weights
• Where to Buy
• Glossary
• Recipe Index

Cherry-Almond Scones, Apricot-Filled Cranberry Scones, Cherry-Chocolate Scones (I DO love that combination!), Eggnog-Oat Scones with a Whiskey Glaze, Coconut Scones, Cinnamon-Pecan Scones … I could continue. Yes, there are a good number of scones recipes here from a brand I trust.

Little Flower Baking (2016) by Christine Moore and Cecilia Leung

Are you ready to try your hand at something new, like different flavor combinations, or maybe even different ingredients you don’t use every day? This 288-page, 8 x 1.1 x 10.6-inch cookbook fits the bill.

Chapters in “Little Flower Baking” include:

• For the Love of Baking
• Mise en Place
• Pastries
• Cakes, Tarts, and Pies
• Cookies
• Savories
• Sweets
• Index of Gluten-Free and Vegan Recipes
• Recipe Index

Take a gander at the scones found here: Honey Lavender Scones, Peach Ricotta Scones, Plum Ginger Scones, Strawberry Basil Scones,
Strawberry Rose Scones, and Bacon Cheddar Scones.

Every recipe has a beautiful photo. Christine Moore didn’t get started the “usual way,” by taking off for a fancy school. She found her way through tragedy.

“I lost my best friend in a car accident. It taught me that life is very fragile and I always had dreams of doing pastry.

I had taken a baking and pastry class through UCLA Extension, and when Vonnie died I was able to sublet my apartment and moved to France.

It really hit home that we can be here today and gone tomorrow.”

Clemence Gossett, Interview with Christine Moore of Little Flower Candy Co., The Gourmandise School, May 1, 2017.

She headed to Paris within a month, spent three days in a hotel, had no knowledge of the language (except for “My name is”), and began living. Read more of her story in the intro of her cookbook.

It’s a good one. All of it. Her story, her cookbook, her recipes. Love, love, totally love.

Mary Berry’s Baking Bible: Over 250 Classic Recipes (2010) by Mary Berry

This 400-page, 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.5-inch cookbook is a great introduction to Mary Berry’s style. This book uses recipes from numerous other cookbooks she’s written. I’m including the year published, because she has multiple editions of some books.

These recipes are pulled from the following titles:

• Mary Berry Cooks Puddings and Desserts (1997)
• Mary Berry’s Quick and Easy Cakes (1994)
• Mary Berry at Home (1996)
• Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book (1994)
• Mary Berry Simple Cakes (2014)

Potato Scones, Cheese and Olive Scone Bake, Orange Drop Scones, or Griddle Scones will keep you a little busy anyway, before you turn your attention to the rest of the baked delights in Mary Berry’s cookbook.

Chapters inside “Mary Berry’s Baking Bible” include:

• Conversion Tables
• Introduction and Techniques
• Classic Cakes
• Fruit and Nut Cakes
• Spiced Cakes
• Chocolate Cakes
• Cupcakes and Other Small Bakes
• Celebration Cakes
• Special Cakes
• Traybakes and Flapjacks
• Biscuits and Cookies
• Fancy Biscuits
• Shortbreads and Bars
• Baking for Children
• Tarts and Pastries
• Breads
• Fruit Breads
• Buns and Scones
• Hot Puddings and Pies
• Souffles and Meringues
• Cheesecakes
• Cake Decorations
• Recipe Index
• Acknowledgments

It’s a cute cookbook overall with clear instructions for every baker.

Reviewers around the web have complained about “off” baking times. You know your oven best. Shoot for the low end of the time range. If it seems too long or too high a heat, you know what to do.

Muffins, Scones, and Breads by Australian Women’s Weekly

“Australian Women’s Weekly,” also known as The Weekly, was founded back in 1933. Decades later, with millions of readers, the magazine produces the occasional cookbook. This is such a cookbook.

I’m diggin’ the sweet side of scones, like Cardamom Marmalade Scones, Blueberry Ginger Scones with Custard Cream, or Golden Honey Muesli Scones. I love cardamom so much, I can’t help but make anything with cardamom that I find.

But, if you want to incorporate scones into your lunch and dinner side of things, this 8.15 x 0.28 x 10.91-inch, 120-page cookbook has options.

How do Bacon, Egg, and Mustard Scones, Sage Pastrami Scones, or Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream Scones sound? I’m intrigued. Recipes include cups and grams, so every baker can play. A final image of each item is included with every recipe too.

The National Trust Book of Scones: 50 Delicious Recipes and Some Curious Crumbs of History (2017) by Sarah Clelland

Some of my happiest moments were traipsing through historical sites for Little Indiana trips before I moved out of state.

In the US, “the National Trust for Historic Preservation protects and promotes historic places, including a diverse collection of 27 sites open to the public,” reads the blub on the National Trust for Historic Preservation website.

But in the UK, it’s a larger affair.

With 5.6 million members, 65,000 volunteers and 14,000 staff we are now the biggest conservation charity in Europe, caring for over 250,000 hectares of farmland, 780 miles of coastline and 500 historic properties, gardens and nature reserves, for everyone, for ever.

Our History: 1884-Present, National Trust, Accessed 10/21/2020.

Sarah Clelland is a kindred spirit. The National Trust in the UK often includes tea rooms and other places to eat. Sarah visited these locations, sharing scones recipes, and their stories, over 128 pages in her 5.61 x 0.7 x 7.83-inch cookbook.

You’ll need a kitchen scale to bake these recipes or convert them on your own. But, really, there aren’t that many ingredients in the typical scone, so it won’t take long for you to do the conversion.

Write in your cookbook to make it easier on you later. Many recipes use self-rising flour. It’s just something to know if you don’t keep it on-hand. Otherwise, if you love history, Europ

Ovenly: Sweet and Salty Recipes from New York’s Most Creative Bakery (2014) by Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin

Another bakery, another cookbook. This time, we’re in New York. This updated, second edition offers up Ovenly’s favorite things. Ovenly is known for pairing together different flavors, and their scone recipes don’t deviate from that norm. Who else is thrilled about that?

These fine folks share their base scone recipe in sweet or savory.

Then there are the pairings, such as Cinnamon Milk Chocolate Scones, Cherry Vanilla Scones, Blue Cheese Pecan Scones, Gouda Pear Scones, and Black Sesame Scallion Scones. Are you hungry yet?

I love the origin story of Ovenly. You can read all about it in the intro of the 8.48 x 0.78 x 9.78-inch, 240-page cookbook.

As for me, well, they’ve included Bloody Mary Scones and Cheddar Mustard Scones (because mustard is my thing) and now it is all I can think about.

Phillippa’s Home Baking (2014) by Phillippa Grogan

Lemonade Scones, Cheddar and Paprika Scones, Spiced Pumpkin Scones, and Beetroot Currant Scones are a few of the offerings in Phillippa Grogan’s 320-page, 8.5 x 1.5 x 10.25-inch cookbook. From simple to advanced, you’ll find enough to keep you busy.

Phillippa Grogan opened a bakery in Armadale, Melbourne twenty years ago. Since then, her products don’t just line the shelves of the bakery, but her other two locations as well, and are found in little shops all over Australia. Busy, busy.

Remember those Beetroot Currant Scones I mentioned above? As I read on SBS Food, Phillippa Grogan sneaks beetroot into treats not only to add something a little healthy, or because good beetroot can smell like chocolate and raspberries, but to help develop kid’s palates.

That’s an interesting idea. More than 140 recipes featuring a variety of baked goods, Australian and otherwise, will keep you busy long after you’ve polished off the last scone.

Scones, Muffins, and Tea Cakes: Breakfast Breads and Teatime Spreads (1996) by Heidi Haughy Cusick

Many of the recipes are pulled from the award-winning Country Garden Cookbook series from the early 1990s. Are you familiar with those?

The Country Garden series was celebrated for its beautiful photographs and good recipes around a central theme, one for each book. The entire series included the following titles (in order of year of publication):

• Greens (1993) by Sibella Kraus (Amazon) (eBay)
• Lemons (1993) by Christopher Idone (Amazon) (eBay)
• Apples (1993) by Maggie Waldron (Amazon) (eBay)
• Potatoes by Maggie Waldron (Amazon) (eBay)
• Tomatoes (1994) by Jesse Ziff Cool (Amazon) (eBay)
• Berries (1994) by Sharon Kramis (Amazon) (eBay)
• Pears (1994) by Janet Hazen (Amazon) (eBay)
• Squash (1994) by Regina Schrambling (Amazon) (eBay)
• Summer Fruit (1995) by Edon Waycott (Amazon) (eBay)
• Herbs (1995) by Rosalind Creasy and Carole Saville (Amazon) (eBay)
• Corn (1995) by David Tanis (Amazon) (eBay)
• Onions (1995) by Edon Waycott (Amazon) (eBay)

The 96-page, 6.5 x 0.25 x 6.75-inch scones book opens with an intro, and then menus using recipes found within the rest of the book.

Chapters inside this cookbook include:

• Introduction
• Special Occasion Menus
• Scones and Biscuits
• Muffins
• Tea Cakes and Breads
• Tea Sandwiches
• Spreads
• Metric Conversions
• Recipe Index

Prizewinning Orange Scones with Berries and Cream, Lemon Scones, and Buttermilk Breakfast Scones with Dried Cranberries are a handful of recipes I find super appealing.

From “A Mother’s Day Spring Breakfast” to “Autumn’s Bounty Brunch” to “A Literary Tea,” and “A Victorian Tea,” the complementary selections include an idea for readings or other food items, in addition to the number of guests the menu will serve.

While the recipes are written for an American audience, and use cups, there is a metric conversion chart in the back of the book for easy configuring.

There are maybe half a dozen scones recipes in here, but the flavored butters and marmalade recipes for scones help make up for it — though the assortment of tea breads and biscuits don’t hurt either.

Simply Scones: Quick and Easy Recipes for More Than 70 Delicious Scones and Spreads (1998) by Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright

You won’t find images in this 144-page, 5.56 x 0.34 x 5.63-inch cookbook, just scones recipe after scones recipe after scones recipe.

From sweet to savory, both types are well represented. I have to admit I haven’t gotten much into savory scones. This book could change my mind.

Chapters in the “Simply Scones” cookbook include:

• Metric and Imperial Conversions
• Introduction: Esconced in Scones
• Sweet Scones
• Savory Scones
• Spreads
• The Perfect Tea
• Recipe Index

Blueberry Coffee Cake Scones, Raspberry-Filled Almond Scones, Macadamia Banana Praline, and Apricot, White Chocolate, and Walnut Scones are a few of the sweet varieties inside.

Savory scones lovers will want to take a look at Cheese Scones, Pesto Scones, and Potato Bacon Scones. A handy conversion chart is included in the beginning of the book so everyone can join in the fun.

Standard Baking Co. Pastries (2012) by Alison Pray and Tara Smith

People love Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. Now that I am in Pennsylvania, Maine doesn’t feel so far away at all. It feels like a doable and worthy destination, especially after flipping through this book.

Do know that this is not a cookbook of fancy pants desserts. It’s a cookbook of accessible, yet delicious, recipes.

Weight measurements are not included in this one, so you’ll need to break out your cups and teaspoons or do the conversions on your own.

Chapters inside “Standard Baking Co. Pastries” include:

• Breakfast Pastries
• Tarts
• Cakes
• Cookies
• Sweet and Savory Snacks
• Basic Recipes

You’ll find half a dozen scones recipes in this beautiful 176-page cookbook. Pumpkin Cream Scones are at the top of my “wow, that sounds good!” list.

Throw in their Pear Ginger Scones, Cranberry Walnut Scones, or the Cheddar Chive Scones, and my family might be in scones heaven for awhile.

More than 60 recipes are converted for you, as a home baker, from the bakery’s personal stash. After the scones are made, you’ll have plenty more to help you plan your next baking adventure.

Tea & Scones: The Ultimate Collection of Recipes for Teatime (2015) by Hoffman Media

I’ve written for a variety of companies in a slew of industries and, I must say, the response from Teatime Magazine was so fast, friendly, and helpful, I wanted to reverse alphabetize this list just to bump this one to the top.

I already knew that their recipe for Cream Scones are perfection (seriously, I can’t stop thinking about them), so finding out that not only did they have a cookbook dedicated to scones, but took the time to thoroughly answer my questions too, is nothing short of amazing.

More than 100 scones recipes will keep even the most dedicated, die hard scone fan busy.

If you are familiar with Hoffman Media, this 7.5 x 0.4 x 9.7-inch, 136-page cookbook is one of theirs. You know their name is synonymous with quality.

Take a look at my cookbook collection to see what I mean. I like the work they produce and I’m happy to have since added this one to my much-used collection. I know you will be more than pleased too.