Scones Lab · Decision tree
Find your scone
Three questions sort all 660 recipes into 8 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.
The questions
Question 1
More egg than most, or less?
Egg makes a richer, more cake-like scone; traditional British ones use none.
All 660 recipes: median 16% of the flour weight, 39 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 0% to 20%; 37% use none.
Question 2
More sugar than most, or less?
British scones are barely sweet; American bakery scones carry several times the sugar.
All 660 recipes: median 20% of the flour weight, 50 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 11% to 28%; 8% use none.
Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
Question 3
More butter than most, or less?
Cold butter worked into the flour melts into steam pockets: more of it makes a flakier, richer scone.
All 660 recipes: median 33% of the flour weight, 85 g per 250 g of flour; middle half 24% to 43%; 4% use none.
Asked within each answer to question 2, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
The key
Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.
| 1. Egg | 2. Sugar | 3. Butter | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| More16% or more325 | Moreover 22%169 | Moreover 39%85 | A85 |
| Less39% or less84 | B84 | ||
| Less22% or less156 | Moreover 30%78 | C78 | |
| Less30% or less78 | D78 | ||
| Little or noneunder 16%335 | Moreover 16%162 | More36% or more80 | E80 |
| Lessunder 36%82 | F82 | ||
| Less16% or less173 | Moreover 23%89 | G89 | |
| Less23% or less84 | H84 |
The 8 groups
Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 250 g of flour, beside the typical batch of all 660. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.
Group A · 85 recipes · 12% of all
More egg, more sugar and more butter
Egg 16% or more, sugar over 22% and butter over 39% of the flour weight.
| At 250 g flour | Group A | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 115 gabout 1/2 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 120 gabout 1/2 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 85 gabout 1/2 cup | 50 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | 39 g |
| Leavening | 12 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 3 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 16 minutes, the medians of the 75 recipes here that state a temperature and the 84 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group A
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Lemon Blueberry Scones · 12tomatoes.comegg 20% · sugar 30% · butter 45%
- Apple Cinnamon Scones with Caramel · sallysbakingaddiction.comegg 20% · sugar 40% · butter 45%
- Chocolate Chip Scones · sallysbakingaddiction.comegg 20% · sugar 40% · butter 45%
- Cinnamon Chip Scones · sallysbakingaddiction.comegg 20% · sugar 40% · butter 45%
- Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones · sallysbakingaddiction.comegg 20% · sugar 40% · butter 45%
Group B · 84 recipes · 12% of all
More egg, more sugar and less butter
Egg 16% or more, sugar over 22% and butter 39% or less of the flour weight. 2 of the 84 use no butter.
| At 250 g flour | Group B | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 85 gabout 1/3 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 115 gabout 1/2 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 75 gabout 1/3 cup | 50 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | 39 g |
| Leavening | 11 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 2 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 19 minutes, the medians of the 76 recipes here that state a temperature and the 84 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group B
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Rhubarb Scones · bakingamoment.comegg 17% · sugar 33% · butter 38%
- Cranberry Orange Scone · thefirstyearblog.comegg 17% · sugar 33% · butter 38%
- Lemon Scones Recipe · thefirstyearblog.comegg 17% · sugar 33% · butter 38%
- Strawberry Scone Recipe · thefirstyearblog.comegg 17% · sugar 33% · butter 38%
- Buttermilk Blueberry Scones · thefirstyearblog.comegg 17% · sugar 33% · butter 38%
Group C · 78 recipes · 11% of all
More egg, less sugar and more butter
Egg 16% or more, sugar 22% or less and butter over 30% of the flour weight. 6 of the 78 use no sugar.
| At 250 g flour | Group C | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 90 gabout 1/3 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 120 gabout 1/2 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 47 gabout 1/4 cup | 50 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | 39 g |
| Leavening | 12 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 3 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 16 minutes, the medians of the 70 recipes here that state a temperature and the 77 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group C
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Cardamom Vanilla Scones · tarasmulticulturaltable.comegg 20% · sugar 20% · butter 34%
- Lavender Vanilla Scones · tarasmulticulturaltable.comegg 20% · sugar 20% · butter 34%
- Matcha Scones · tarasmulticulturaltable.comegg 20% · sugar 20% · butter 34%
- Meyer Lemon Scones · tarasmulticulturaltable.comegg 20% · sugar 20% · butter 34%
- Vanilla Orange Scones · tarasmulticulturaltable.comegg 20% · sugar 20% · butter 34%
Group D · 78 recipes · 11% of all
More egg, less sugar and less butter
Egg 16% or more, sugar 22% or less and butter 30% or less of the flour weight. 10 of the 78 use no sugar. 7 of the 78 use no butter.
| At 250 g flour | Group D | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 60 gabout 1/4 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 130 gabout 1/2 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 27 gabout 2 tbsp | 50 g |
| Egg | 50 gabout 1 large egg | 39 g |
| Leavening | 10 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 0.5 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 15 minutes, the medians of the 66 recipes here that state a temperature and the 72 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group D
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Citroen-maanzaad scones · ohmyfoodness.nlegg 17% · sugar 8.3% · butter 25%
- Irish Butter Scones · 12tomatoes.comegg 23% · sugar 11% · butter 26%
- Scones à la confiture de rhubarbe · chefnini.comegg 18% · sugar 18% · butter 27%
- Cranberry-amandel scones · laurasbakery.nlegg 22% · sugar 13% · butter 18%
- Irish Scones · bakingamoment.comegg 21% · sugar 11% · butter 24%
Group E · 80 recipes · 12% of all
Little or no egg, more sugar and more butter
Egg under 16%, sugar over 16% and butter 36% or more of the flour weight. 72 of the 80 use no egg.
| At 250 g flour | Group E | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 115 gabout 1/2 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 145 gabout 2/3 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 65 gabout 1/3 cup | 50 g |
| Egg | none | 39 g |
| Leavening | 10 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 2.5 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 19 minutes, the medians of the 73 recipes here that state a temperature and the 79 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group E
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Blackberry Scones · biggerbolderbaking.comegg 0% · sugar 20% · butter 41%
- Cranberry Buttermilk Scones · tasteofhome.comegg 0% · sugar 25% · butter 45%
- Scones · sugarspunrun.comegg 0% · sugar 20% · butter 45%
- Chocolate Scones · sugarspunrun.comegg 0% · sugar 23% · butter 52%
- Rhubarb Scones · tasteofhome.comegg 0% · sugar 34% · butter 38%
Group F · 82 recipes · 12% of all
Little or no egg, more sugar and less butter
Egg under 16%, sugar over 16% and butter under 36% of the flour weight. 51 of the 82 use no egg. 7 of the 82 use no butter.
| At 250 g flour | Group F | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 70 gabout 1/3 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 160 gabout 2/3 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 65 gabout 1/3 cup | 50 g |
| Egg | none | 39 g |
| Leavening | 10 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 2 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 18 minutes, the medians of the 73 recipes here that state a temperature and the 76 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group F
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Chocolate Chip Pecan Scones · jamiegeller.comegg 0% · sugar 24% · butter 30%
- Almond Peach Scones · savingdessert.comegg 11% · sugar 23% · butter 26%
- Cranberry Almond Scones · anediblemosaic.comegg 0% · sugar 26% · butter 25%
- Basic Scones · bakeschool.comegg 0% · sugar 27% · butter 31%
- Date Scones · bakeschool.comegg 0% · sugar 27% · butter 31%
Group G · 89 recipes · 13% of all
Little or no egg, less sugar and more butter
Egg under 16%, sugar 16% or less and butter over 23% of the flour weight. 61 of the 89 use no egg. 18 of the 89 use no sugar.
| At 250 g flour | Group G | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 70 gabout 1/3 cup | 85 g |
| Liquid | 140 gabout 2/3 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 30 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp | 50 g |
| Egg | none | 39 g |
| Leavening | 11 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 1 g | 2 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 15 minutes, the medians of the 79 recipes here that state a temperature and the 86 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group G
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Scones aux myrtilles · cuisine.journaldesfemmes.fregg 0% · sugar 16% · butter 32%
- Scones aux cranberries · ptitchef.comegg 0% · sugar 5% · butter 24%
- Weihnachtliche Scones · gutekueche.ategg 0% · sugar 14% · butter 27%
- Date & walnut scones · bbcgoodfood.comegg 0% · sugar 11% · butter 28%
- Scones aux raisins et cranberries · chefsimon.comegg 7.8% · sugar 13% · butter 26%
Group H · 84 recipes · 12% of all
Little or no egg, less sugar and less butter
Egg under 16%, sugar 16% or less and butter 23% or less of the flour weight. 65 of the 84 use no egg. 24 of the 84 use no sugar. 13 of the 84 use no butter.
| At 250 g flour | Group H | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 250 g | 250 g |
| Butter | 45 gabout 3 tbsp | 85 g |
| Liquid | 140 gabout 2/3 cup | 130 g |
| Sugar | 14 gabout 1 tbsp | 50 g |
| Egg | none | 39 g |
| Leavening | 11 g | 11 g |
| Salt | 0.5 g | 2 g |
Bake425°F (220°C) for about 15 minutes, the medians of the 77 recipes here that state a temperature and the 75 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group H
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Véritables scones anglais : la meilleure recette · marmiton.orgegg 0% · sugar 7.5% · butter 16%
- Scones · misya.infoegg 0% · sugar 4.8% · butter 19%
- Basisrecept scones · ohmyfoodness.nlegg 0% · sugar 0% · butter 17%
- Scones · cucchiaio.itegg 0% · sugar 5% · butter 18%
- Citroen-rozemarijn scones · laurasbakery.nlegg 0% · sugar 0% · butter 15%
How the questions are chosen
Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For scones the order is egg (1.28), sugar (0.82), butter (0.59), liquid (0.41) and leavening (0.39), and the first 3 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste.
Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.
The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.