These NZ-style date scones are light, fluffy and utterly delicious. Serve warm with lashings of butter for the ultimate tea-time snack!
Not all scones are made equal. In the US, scones tend to be sweet, dense, crumbly and shaped like a triangle. On the other hand, in the UK, Australia and NZ, scones are light, fluffy and circular in shape.
In my humble opinion, the latter tastes infinitely better. Most traditionally, this type of scone is made without any additions and is served with jam and clotted cream.
While nothing beats the British classic, the date scones you get in NZ come a close second. Chopped dates add such a lovely pop of natural sweetness to a scone without being overpowering.
The great thing about date scones is you’re probably already stocked with everything you need to make them. You don’t even need jam and cream- these can simply be enjoyed with a knob of butter!
How to make Date Scones
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Sieve flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add butter cubes and rub into flour until breadcrumbs form. Make well in middle of the flour.
- In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg and orange zest. Pour into the well of the flour mixture, then add in dates and gently mix to form a soft dough.
- Lightly flour a surface and place dough on it. Roll out dough to a 5cm thickness and cut into 7cm rounds.
- Place scones on baking tray. Brush with egg yolk. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cut in half and serve warm with butter and honey.
Ingredient Notes for Date Scones
FLOUR– You don’t need any fancy flour to make date scones. All-purpose white flour is all you need!
BUTTER: Make sure your butter has been refrigerated. Cold butter is the key to scone batter!
MILK: I use regular, full-fat milk for this recipe, however you can substitute for a milk of your choosing.
DATES: You can use any dates for this recipe, however, Medjool dates will be the sweetest and softest option.
ORANGE ZEST: Orange zest injects a lovely pop of citrus that works really nicely with the flavour profile of the dates. You can omit this if you don’t have oranges on hand.
Serving Suggestion for NZ Style Date Scones
Serve these date scones warm with a knob of butter and a drizzle of honey if you want to add some sweetness. You could also have these with jam and cream, but the flavour profile doesn’t tend to work quite as well as with plain scones.
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