Begin with flour, cut in a fat and stir in some liquid. These are the general steps to making both scones and biscuits. There are some similarities with the two, but just like high tea and afternoon tea, scones and biscuits are not equal. It’s safe to call me a scone addict and because of this addiction I can easily tell the two apart. In the past, I have noticed that a few scones I purchased and consumed were not properly advertised. While they may have said English “scones”, they were more like American “biscuits”. When it comes to making or even enjoying scones and biscuits, there are a few differences.
Scones and biscuits are both “quick breads” which require flour, fat and liquid, but the proportions vary. Often I hear the main difference between scones and biscuits all comes down to eggs. Scones have them and biscuits don’t. However, that’s not always the case as scones can successfully be made without eggs. There are many variations of scones and biscuits, as it really just depends where you are from (ie. the scones we have in North America are almost always different from the classic English Scones). Thus, here are the differences between scones and biscuits.
Towards the end of this post you will find a handy comparison chart, too!
What is a Scone?
Dictionary.com defines an English scone as “a small unsweetened or lightly sweetened biscuit-like cake made from flour, fat, and milk and sometimes having added fruit.”
Scones originated in Scotland in the early 1500s. They are commonly known as part of an authentic afternoon tea experience, but they can also be enjoyed at breakfast or cream tea. Scones can be sweet or savoury, round or triangular, small or large, plain or fancy with the addition of fruit, icing, sprinkles, etc. Traditionally, scones are served with clotted cream and preserves.
When making scones, the ingredients can be similar to biscuits, however, proportions vary and scones are generally known to be richer and heavier than biscuits. Scones also call for sugar and are sometimes sweeter than biscuits. However, there are cases when scones can be savoury so I don’t consider this a huge difference between scones and biscuits. When preparing the scones, the dough is not kneaded as it can make them too tough and ruin the classic scone texture. After being rolled into a ball, the dough is patted and cut with a knife or cutter.
Overall, scones are crisp outside with a tender interior.
What is a Biscuit?
Dictionary.com defines an American biscuit as “a small, typically round cake of bread leavened with baking powder, baking soda, or sometimes yeast.”
Biscuits are often associated with the Southern United States. They are commonly served as part of a meal in the United States. They are not to compliment a cup of tea or coffee. Biscuits are unsweetened, round and often kept simple, but cheese and herbs can be added for extra flavouring if desired. Typically, biscuits are served with butter or margarine. However, in some areas of the United States, they are served with gravy.
When making biscuits, the list of ingredients may be smaller than a scone recipe since they are typically lighter and don’t have additional flavouring (ie. nuts and fruits). Also, biscuits usually call for little to no sugar. When preparing the biscuits, the dough is lightly kneaded and a biscuit cutter is used, unless making drop biscuits.
Overall, biscuits are light and fluffy with flaky layers.
What is an English biscuit?
“English biscuits” would not be known as scones. English biscuits are similar to shortbread and are available in different flavours. Therefore, English biscuits are simply what Americans call cookies.
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Scones are always my go-to! Which do you prefer more: scones or biscuits? Share in the comments below!
Thank you for this post. I now know why I enjoy an English scone much more than the American biscuit. I used to think it was a different name and wondered why scones differed so much from biscuits.
Lu Ann, it is interesting how two things with nearly identical ingredients can be so different. I don’t really knead either my biscuits or my scones, but if you would call the couple of “turns” I do kneading, I would say I knead the scone dough more than the biscuit dough. A proper scone is decidedly more cohesive and a biscuit more fluffy, both crispy on the outside. I learned biscuits from my Southern (US) grandmother and scones from my English grandmother. Love both, but I probably make scones more often. And I always put an egg in my scones, even though some people don’t.
Hi Jean, it’s really interesting the many ways one can make scones or biscuits! The differences between them vary because of that, I believe. I love that you had the opportunity to learn from your Southern and English grandmothers. I definitely make (and eat) scones more!
This was an interesting read! I personally am a biscuit fan, as I can’t ignore a warm, savory biscuit.
Well, really close. We often have biscuits also with jam (or jelly or preserves), or add breakfast toppings and serve it as a meal at breakfast. This could include ham, eggs, cheese, bacon, or sausage patties, and may even include chicken. There are many ways to prepare and serve biscuits. 🙂
Hey Kristin, Thanks so much for sharing. I love hearing how people enjoy biscuits or scones. I’ve definitely had biscuits as part of a breakfast meal before. Very delicious that way!
Growing up in the South, we served biscuits with anything. They can be sweet or savory, and they can be square, round, or drop! One of our favorites as children was honey on biscuits.
Interesting post.
My father is 86 this year and has been making pastries since he was nine years old. His scone recipe is:
Self raising flour with a pinch of salt, cold cubes of butter, milk. The recipe was taught to him by the old cook of the orphanage in the 1940s. I believe cook was of Scottish descent and born in the late 19th century, so good provenance!
The cubed butter is rubbed into the flour and the milk worked in with a blade, either knife or spatula; not too dry and not too wet. My father has always made the recipe directly onto the kitchen counter rather than a bowl, but I prefer to use a bowl so we don’t have dropped cat fur in the scones (you can never get every strand, no matter how often you clean!).
My father used a light touch on a glass milk bottle as a rolling pin, which itself is reasonably light. He’d roll them out to around 1/2 inch and the scones would rise magnificently.
He would cut them with a glass. I use a round biscuit/cookie cutter of around 2 inches across. His technique was to put them on the baking tray touching each other and put onto the middle shelf of a hot oven for around 20 minutes, after they’d been glazed with milk.
The secret of his success is having cool finger tips for rubbing in cold cubes of butter and not overworking the mix. It takes practice, but works.
Biscuits here in Australia tend to be things recognised as cookies in the United States. A famous, and arguably the most popular homebake one over here is the ANZAC Biscuit. Made with flour, oats, desiccated coconut, sugar (use the dark, sticky one), golden syrup (it is NOT treacle), butter and a dash of boiled water that bicarbonate of soda is added to (and thrown in the melting butter). There’s a lot of recipes for it on the web. The diggers received this biscuits from home during WWI and they are still a staple, baked in their thousands for the commemoration of ANZAC Day on 25 April.