Fried Scones (aka: Utah Scones)
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Light and fluffy Fried Scones – Utah style – served with honey and powdered sugar. So easy to make and dangerously tasty!
Want more tasty ideas? Head to my Easy Fried Yeast Donuts, Mini Cinnamon Rolls, and Blueberry Scones next!
This recipe comes with a bit of an ironic story. When I was younger my family moved to Utah from California. Every year after that I would fly out to visit my cousin Jeanette and stay with her family for a few weeks during the summer. Sometimes my brothers would come too. My Aunt Paula made scones every time we came to visit and I tell ya, my brothers and I could put. them. away.
The ironic part of this story is that because my mother never made them, and the only place I ever ate them was during the summer on our trips to the coast, in my mind these were “California scones”. In my college years I realized that a lot of people around here were familiar with these fried scones. I thought that was strange that so many people here in Utah had tried my Aunt Paula’s California scones. Only a couple of years ago did I put the rest of the puzzle together. My Aunt Paula is actually from Utah originally so she took the recipe with her to California – not the other way around! Honestly, I have no idea who the first person was to ever make a fried scone, and there’s no telling where they lived so really these could be Indiana scones, they could be Paris scones, who knows.
That being said – around here, they are known as “Utah Scones”. So for the sake of this post, we’re gonna stick with that. If you’re from Indiana and your great great great grandpappy invented the fried scone – you lucky duck you must be so proud! Let me know so that I can properly call these Grandpappy’s Indiana Scones.
Regardless of their origin, the bottom line here is that these are insanely good in that way that indulgent fried foods always are. No, I don’t suggest you make fried scones your daily breakfast routine, but every once in a while you’ve gotta live a little and fried scones for breakfast is living. These are golden, soft and puffy-fluffy pillows of joy that will make you cry they’re so wonderful. You can top them with butter, honey-butter, syrup, chocolate sauce, or just about anything else your little heart desires – our favorite is honey and powdered sugar! Yumm-o.
More Recipes to Try
- Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Muffins – creamy, fruity, and perfectly sweet.
- Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze – the perfect fall treat for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon coffee break.
- Cinnamon Roll Ups – skip the yeast and enjoy bakery-style cinnamon rolls in a fraction of the time.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Fried Scones (aka: Utah Scones)
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 quarts oil, for frying
- toppings, see notes
Instructions
- Mix 3 tablespoons of warm water with yeast adding a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes (mixture will rise and foam).
- While yeast is rising, combine hot water, oil, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add egg to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the egg/yeast mixture to the oil/sugar mixture. Stir well.
- Gradually add flour stirring well after each addition. Knead the dough as it stiffens until you get a doughy, elastic consistency ( about 5 minutes)
- Place dough in a well-greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Let dough rise for about 30 minutes or until double in size.
Frying Directions
- Line cooling racks or plates with paper towels. Fill a large sauce pan with 2 inches of oil and heat to 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit over medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, punch down dough and divide into 12 balls. Roll out a piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into 1/4-inch thick circles or squares. Use your fingers to stretch out the balls of dough.
- Carefully place two or three balls of dough in the oil and fry until golden brown on each side (about 1-2 mins). Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat until the dough is all fried.
- Serve hot with honey butter, butter, syrup, or powdered sugar. Our favorite is honey and powdered sugar!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*Original recipe source: Bakerette <— Visit this site for great instructions on how to prepare these scones ahead of time.
I’ve been using this recipe for several years now. My husband is from northern Utah and grew up eating these scones on conference weekends so I started making them for ours. He loves them and so do all of our Kids! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We’ve made many memories together as a family while eating These amazingly FLUFFY SCONES!
I’ve been using this recipe for several years now. My husband is from northern Utah and grew up eating these scones on conference weekends so I started making them for ours. He loves them and so do all of our Kids! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We’ve made many memories together as a family while eating These amazingly FLUFFY SCONES!
I have been looking for REAL scones ever since we moved away from Utah!!! I will be making this recipe this weekend.
Fabulous! Light, crispy On the outside, Melts in your mouth. And while they lose their crispness overnight in a storage container – still absolutely delicious the next day.
Thanks for your positive feedback, Tam!
Why not just put your left over dough in a bag and keep it in the fridge. It will fry up fine the next day then you don’t have to sacrifice the crispy wonderfulness.
These were so good. mY FIRST ATTEMPT AT MAKING “Utah scones” was not SUCCESSFUL, but I checked the web and compared several different recipes and noted the differences. I think they are better with yeast. my question is, with 3 1/2 cups of flour they were very sticky still. Should I add flour until the dough becomes more springy like pizza dough, or do you let them rise when the dough is a bit on the sticky side?
Rise while still somewhat sticky to the touch.
THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE!! pREPARED AS WRITTEN. bIG HIT. tHANKS!
So easy! So delicious! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
These were the only scones I knew about as a kid. Will be testing this recipe out this week 😀
Hope you love it!
This is the best scone recipe I’ve ever used. These are delicious! My family loves them as Navajo tacos or just as a treat with honey butter or powdered sugar. Yum!!
Navajo tacos are one of my favorites!
this recipe sounds like what I’ve been looking for, for years. I used to go to the warm springs restaurant in Ketchum, idaho. just for the scones served with honey butter. the’ve been closed for years. I will try this recipe.
Hope you love it!!