Scones over time
553 of the 660 recipes carry a publication date, from 2003 to 2026. Below: how many pages each year, whether the typical batch changed between the oldest and newest, and the oldest and newest pages themselves.
A date here is the one the page gives for itself: when it was published, or last updated. Sites often refresh an old recipe and its date together, so read these as when the pages went up, not when the recipes were created.
Recipes per year
Dated pages by the year they give. The first bar gathers the 3 pages from before 2007. Shading marks the periods compared below.
How the typical batch changed
Between scone pages dated before 2017 and those dated 2024 or later, the median butter rose from 30% to 36% of the flour weight. Liquid, sugar, egg, leavening and salt show no clear change.
| Per 100 g flour | Before 2017148 recipes | 2017 to 2020133 recipes | 2021 to 2023120 recipes | 2024 and later152 recipes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ButterHigher | 30% | 34% | 34% | 36% |
| LiquidNo clear change | 54% | 50% | 52% | 49% |
| SugarNo clear change | 17% | 24% | 21% | 20% |
| EggNo clear change | 14% | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| LeaveningNo clear change | 4.2% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.4% |
| SaltNo clear change | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1% | 0.9% |
Each cell is the median baker's percentage in that period: grams of the ingredient per 100 g of flour. Higher and lower compare the newest period with the oldest, only where the change is clear (see how below). Periods are cut at year boundaries so each holds about the same number of recipes.
Ingredients that gained or lost ground
Share of each period's recipes that list the ingredient. Only changes between the oldest and newest periods too large to be likely chance are listed.
| Recipes using | Before 2017 | 2017 to 2020 | 2021 to 2023 | 2024 and later |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VanillaMore common | 27% | 45% | 45% | 51% |
| MilkLess common | 45% | 35% | 25% | 27% |
| CreamMore common | 26% | 52% | 60% | 43% |
Oldest and newest pages
Oldest dates
Mar 20, 2003
Apricot and White Chocolate Scones · bettycrocker.comOct 2, 2003
Scones anglais : la meilleure recette · marmiton.orgJun 19, 2006
Scones (bolachas típicas da Inglaterra) · tudogostoso.com.brMar 4, 2007
Scones facile · cuisineaz.comNov 19, 2007
Scones (moins de beurre, autant de goût !) : la meilleure recette · marmiton.org
Newest dates
Sep 24, 2026
4 Ingredient Pumpkin Scones · kirbiecravings.comSep 23, 2026
Cinnamon Apple Scones Recipe · joyfoodsunshine.comSep 4, 2026
Mocha Scones · handletheheat.comAug 25, 2026
Cheese Scones · bakingamoment.comAug 13, 2026
Oatmeal Scones Recipe · baking-sense.com
How the dates are read
Each date is the publication date in the recipe page's own structured data. 69 of the 660 recipes have none, or one without a year (such as “December 3”), and are left out.
38 more carry a date their site gave to many pages at once, which marks a site move or redesign rather than a publication: 2018-01-01 on tasteofhome.com (222 pages across Recipe Lab, 10 of them here), 2018-10-08 on bakerbettie.com (46 pages across Recipe Lab, 5 of them here) and 2006-10-23 on marmiton.org (74 pages across Recipe Lab, 5 of them here), and 10 more like it. They are left out too.
A change counts as clear when the newest period's median differs from the oldest period's by at least a tenth and a rank test puts the gap at 2.5 standard errors or more. For the share of recipes using an ingredient, the bar is 3 standard errors and 8 percentage points. Every ingredient is tested, so a lower bar would flag chance differences on most pages.
2026 is still in progress, so its bar is short for a reason that has nothing to do with baking.