Scones Lab660 recipes
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What goes into scones

The main ingredient list of all 660 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • For sugar, 76% use white sugar alone, 9% brown sugar alone, and 8% no sugar at all.
  • For leavening, 71% use baking powder alone, 18% baking powder and baking soda together, and 4% self-rising flour alone.
  • For dairy, 35% use cream alone, 31% milk alone, and 16% buttermilk alone.
  • For eggs, 58% use whole eggs alone and 37% no egg.
  • 51% add fruit, 19% spice and 12% chocolate; 31% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 250 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

  • White sugar only

    median 50 g sugar · closest to typical: Blackberry Scones (bakingamoment.com)

    76%504 recipes

  • Brown sugar only

    median 56 g sugar · closest to typical: Peaches and Cream Scones (bakerbynature.com)

    9%62 recipes

  • No sugar

    closest to typical: Scones With Cheese (bakeschool.com)

    8%58 recipes

  • With honey or maple syrup

    median 46 g sugar · closest to typical: Rye & Caraway Scones (baking-sense.com)

    3%20 recipes

  • Everything else

    2%16 recipes

Coconut sugar counts as brown (1 recipe). "With honey or maple syrup" means any liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup and molasses), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking powder only

    median 11 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Blackberry Scones (bakingamoment.com)

    71%472 recipes

  • Baking powder and baking soda

    median 10 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Peaches and Cream Scones (bakerbynature.com)

    18%122 recipes

  • Self-rising flour only

    closest to typical: Scones aux raisins et cranberries (chefsimon.com)

    4%30 recipes

  • Everything else

    5%36 recipes

Self-rising flour already contains baking powder.

Which dairy

Each recipe counted once, by the dairy in its main ingredient list. Butter is counted with the fats.

  • Cream only

    median 122 g dairy · closest to typical: Blackberry Scones (bakingamoment.com)

    35%235 recipes

  • Milk only

    median 129 g dairy · closest to typical: Blueberry Feta Scones (12tomatoes.com)

    31%207 recipes

  • Buttermilk only

    median 133 g dairy · closest to typical: Almond Peach Scones (savingdessert.com)

    16%112 recipes

  • Everything else

    16%106 recipes

Cream includes heavy cream, whipping cream and half-and-half.

Whole eggs, yolks or whites

Each recipe counted once, by the parts of the egg it uses.

  • Whole eggs only

    median 50 g egg · closest to typical: Blackberry Scones (bakingamoment.com)

    58%388 recipes

  • No egg

    closest to typical: Blackberry Scones (biggerbolderbaking.com)

    37%247 recipes

  • Everything else

    3%25 recipes

A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, a yolk about 18 g, a white about 32 g.

Which flour

Each recipe counted once, by the flours it combines.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 31% add none of these.

  • Fruit51%

    blueberries 10% · raisins 9% · pumpkin 5%

  • Spice19%

    cinnamon 14% · nutmeg 5% · ginger 4%

  • Chocolate12%

    chocolate chips or chunks 8% · white chocolate 2% · bar chocolate 2%

  • Cheese, herbs or other savory6%

    cheese 4% · herbs 1% · jalapeño or chile 1%

  • Nuts6%

    almonds 1% · pecans 1% · walnuts 1%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 660 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 250 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Butter93%

    614 recipes · median 85 g

  2. Baking powder91%

    602 recipes · median 10 g

  3. Salt89%

    588 recipes · median 2.4 g

  4. All-purpose flour86%

    573 recipes · median: all of the flour

  5. Granulated sugar79%

    523 recipes · median 50 g

  6. Eggs60%

    397 recipes · median 50 g (about 1 large egg)

  7. Cream42%

    278 recipes · median 119 g

  8. Vanilla39%

    263 recipes · median 4.2 g

  9. Milk37%

    249 recipes · median 124 g

  10. Baking soda20%

    132 recipes · median 2.2 g

  11. Buttermilk19%

    126 recipes · median 129 g

  12. Cinnamon14%

    97 recipes · median 2.3 g

  13. Brown sugar12%

    80 recipes · median 55 g

  14. Lemon zest11%

    78 recipes · median 4.9 g

  15. Blueberries10%

    71 recipes · median 140 g

  16. Raisins9%

    60 recipes · median 197 g

  17. Chocolate chips or chunks8%

    54 recipes · median 128 g

  18. Orange zest5%

    39 recipes · median 4.7 g

  19. Self-rising flour5%

    38 recipes · median: all of the flour

  20. Pumpkin5%

    37 recipes · median 120 g

  21. Lemon juice5%

    36 recipes · median 14 g

  22. Coarse or raw sugar5%

    35 recipes · median 18 g

  23. Nutmeg5%

    35 recipes · median 0.9 g

Toppings and extras

52% of recipes (347 of 660) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Powdered sugar33% (223)
  • Milk16% (107)
  • Cream13% (89)
  • Coarse or raw sugar13% (88)
  • Vanilla12% (81)
  • Lemon juice7% (50)
  • Butter5% (39)
  • Eggs4% (28)
  • Salt3% (26)
  • Cinnamon3% (22)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out (1 of them). Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 250 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.