My love for Bailey’s and scones have finally come together into one spectacular recipe… Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s basic scone recipe, these Bailey’s Irish Cream scones are nothing short of perfection. (You can find this base recipe in her book The Bread Bible. It’s an absolute must for every baker!! ) I wasn’t sure the Bailey’s would actually shine through this recipe, but it is 100% the star of the show. Bailey’s is the prime flavor in these scones accompanied by bold espresso powder and semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Yum.
What makes these Bailey’s Irish Cream scones so incredible?
Bailey’s: This gives the scones all their flavor! It’s perfectly chocolatey and rich. Plus, the cream in the Bailey’s blends seamlessly with the rest of the heavy cream so these scones can still keep their beautiful texture.
Espresso powder: Instant espresso powder may make terrible coffee, but it is the perfect accent flavor in these scones! It brings out the chocolate flavor of Bailey’s a bit more and mixes well with the chocolate chunks.
Semi-sweet chocolate: I highly recommend using semi-sweet or dark chocolate for this recipe as opposed to milk chocolate. The bitterness of the darker chocolate helps cut some of the sweetness from the Bailey’s.
Tips for success
- Freeze your butter. You’ll have to cut up your butter into tiny pieces before anything else. I like to do this step first and then pop it in the freezer while I prepare my other ingredients. Cold butter is the key to getting flaky scones! Cold chunks of butter in your dough will melt and create pockets. This is where your flakiness comes from! It’s also how they create laminated pastries like croissants and puff pastry.
- Preheat your baking sheet. While your oven is preheating, toss your baking sheet in the oven. Baking scones on an already preheated baking sheet will help you get the perfect crispy outside while keeping the inside soft.
- Add in the cream slowly. It’s very difficult to measure exactly how much liquid you need to add to a scone. It depends on several factors such as the dough temperature, type of cream, mix-ins, and how you measured the ingredients. You want to add enough cream so that all the flour is coated, but not so much that the dough becomes wet and sticky. It should easily fall off your hands when you pick it up.
Mixing method
- Mix your dry ingredients
- Cut in the cold butter
- Add Bailey’s/espresso mixture and heavy cream
- Combine until the dough becomes a shaggy mess like the picture above
- Press dough together into a circle
- Cut into 8 pieces and bake at 400 F for 13-18 minutes
Make ahead/Freezing
Scones are 100x better when freshly baked. You can freeze these scones unbaked for up to three months in an airtight bag or container. If you do this, bake them like normal, but add an extra 8-12 minutes to the baking time. You can also leave the frozen scones to thaw in the fridge overnight and bake them the next day. For storing baked scones, store scones at room temperature for 2-4 days. Make sure they are wrapped tightly!
If you love these you’ll love…
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The Best Bailey’s Irish Cream Brownies for Every Chocolate Lover
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Bailey’s Irish Cream Scones
Ingredients
- 304 g All purpose flour 2 1/8 cup
- 75 g Sugar 6 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 113g g Unsalted butter, cold and cubed 1 stick
- 1 teaspoon Instant espresso powder
- 58 g Bailey's Irish cream 1/4 cup
- 170 g Heavy cream 3/4 cup
- 113 g Semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and leave your sheet pan in the oven while preheating.
- Cut butter into small pea sized pieces using a sharp knife of a bench scraper. Place cut up butter into the freezer while you prep your other ingredients.
- In a heat-proof bowl, add Bailey’s and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave until just hot. Once the Bailey’s is hot, add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder and mix thoroughly until all the powder is dissolved. Place the bowl into the fridge to let cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Grab your butter from the freezer and add it to your mixing bowl with the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your hands to cut in the butter. Think about coating the butter pieces in flour and flattening them between your fingertips. Do this until your mixture resembles a sand-like consistency. Some butter chunks are okay.
- In a small bowl (I prefer a pyrex glass measuring cup) measure out your heavy cream. Create a well in the center of your flour/butter mixture. Pour your Bailey’s and 3/4ths of the heavy cream into your large mixing bowl. Use your hand to mix the dough until all the flour mixture is wet. You can tell the dough is done when you can squish a chunk of it in your hand and it sticks together. If the dough crumbles, it needs more cream. Slowly add in the rest of the heavy cream ½ tablespoon at a time. Mix for a good 10-20 seconds before deciding to add in more cream.
- Add your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar and gently fold into the dough. Turn dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a circle about 1 inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Place on parchment paper and transfer paper onto your preheated baking sheet, making sure the scones are at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 400 F for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. Don’t worry if they still look a little squishy inside. They will continue to cook and set on the baking tray.
