Easy Coffee Scones (gluten-free option)

What better breakfast treat to serve with your morning cup of joe than a coffee scone? Made with a mix of espresso powder and instant coffee, these tender, buttery scones come with a bold dose of java flavor, complimented by a sweet coffee glaze on top. Rich brown sugar adds to the intensity, for a scone that's anything but boring! These are prepped in just 20 minutes, and can easily be frozen before baking.

this recipe

These scones came about as the result of one question: "Can I eat and drink my coffee please? (Because that would be incredible.)" And as it turns out, yes, yes you can. If your morning latte just isn't cutting it, it's time to up the ante with a coffee-infused scone.

Ingredients

If you've made any of my other scone recipes, you'll notice that they tend to have a few staple ingredients across the board: flour, sugar, butter, cream, baking powder, and salt. This recipe takes that one step further with a couple of simple additions.

A few things to note:

• These scones can be made with regular or gluten-free all-purpose flour. If you're using gluten-free flour, make sure your blend contains a binding agent like xanthan gum or guar gum. Also - I beg of you to weigh your flour if possible, and to make sure you're measuring it correctly if not. If you use too much flour, your scones will be dry and crumbly, and nobody wants that!
• You can use light or dark brown sugar. Either one will serve two purposes: 1) keeping the scones moist, and 2) intensifying that rich coffee flavor.
• It might go without saying, but use the best instant coffee granules that you can find. It's important that they dissolve well in cold liquids AND have good flavor.
• I've been making my own espresso powder for years, but you can also buy it! Alone, it won't make your scones taste like coffee, but as an addition to this recipe, it's a great flavor enhancer.
• If you want light, tender, flaky scones, here's a tip: very cold butter is a must. I actually use frozen butter for this recipe, and chop it into cubes before adding it to my scone dough.
• You should be able to sub the heavy cream with regular or light whipping cream without an issue, but I don't recommend half-n-half or milk. That fat content is important for creating the perfect tender, crumbly scone, so we don't want to cut back on it too much. Your cream should also be COLD in order to keep your butter cold.
• Although it's definitely not manadatory, I like to garnish these with a hefty sprinkle of coarse sugar, like Demerara or sparkling sugar. The coarser the better here, since finer sugars will have a tendency to melt into the coffee glaze. Instead, you want the sugar to hold its shape in order to add that sweet, satisfying crunch to your coffee scones.

Instructions

There are two parts to this recipe: the coffee scones and the coffee glaze. It's crucial that you wait until your scones are baked and (completely) cooled before you even think about glazing them, got it? Okay, let's do this!

Make the coffee scones:

Step one - Combine the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt until they're thoroughly combined.

Step two - Cut in the butter. Add the (frozen! cubed!) butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter until all of the pieces are pea-sized or smaller and dispersed into the mixture. (If you don't have a pastry cutter, I would recommend grating your butter in with a box grater instead, like I do for my blueberry scones.)

Step three - Combine the wet ingredients: In a liquid measuring glass or small mixing bowl, stir together 6 ¼ ounces (or ¾ cup) heavy cream, instant coffee granules, and vanilla extract until the majority of the granules have dissolved.

Step four - Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the coffee-infused cream to the flour mixture and fold it in with a spatula until partially incorporated. Finish gently working the dough together with your hands, adding another 1-1 ½ ounces (2-3 tablespoons) as needed to help it come together. As with all scones, the dough should be fairly soft - not dry but also not sticky. Avoid overmixing or overkneading.

Once you have a cohesive dough, shape it into a flat disc, about ⅞" thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for at least 1 hour prior to baking.

Step five - Bake: Preheat your oven to 400ºF, and line a full-size baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Slice the frozen dough into eight equal triangles, pizza-style, and spread them apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake your coffee scones for about 18 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Cool them briefly on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Make the coffee glaze:

Step one - Whisk all ingredients: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the water and instant coffee granules until the granules have dissolved. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon of cream, and salt. Whisk the mixture together until smooth, adding as much of the remaining tablespoon of cream as needed to make a glaze that drips slowly down from the whisk when lifted.

Step two - Glaze scones: Spoon the glaze onto the cooled scones (keep a sheet of parchment paper underneath for easy cleanup!), giving them a few minutes to set. Then, finish the scones off with a hefty sprinkle of coarse sugar before serving.