Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Scones
Tender scones filled with fresh tart rhubarb and scented with vanilla bean and orange zest make a great accompaniment to a spring morning and a cup of coffee or tea.
One thing I am going to miss dearly about our house in Salt Lake City is all of the fun stuff that grows in the backyard— grapes, raspberries, herbs, garlic and rhubarb. To name a few. (I won’t miss the weeds.)
Thankfully, spring came early this year and my rhubarb plants are already up and begging to be baked with. So how could I say no?
So often I pair rhubarb with another fruit like raspberries or strawberries, but for this particular recipe I decided to let it fly solo. These scones are packed with tart rhubarb flavor, which is balanced nicely with a little sugar in the dough and a quick icing for the tops.
They say breakfast and dessert all at the same time (which is my favorite), and taste like spring.
The scones are best enjoyed in the quiet hours of the morning, while the bright sunshine spills through the windows. Coffee or tea optional, but recommended.
Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (from about 1 orange)
- 5 tablespoons cold butter , cubed (70 grams)
- ¾ cup cold heavy whipping cream (175 ml)
- 1 large egg
- 1 vanilla bean , halved lengthwise and seeds removed
- 1 ½ cup rhubarb (150 grams)
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar , sifted (227 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the butter and use a pastry blender to cut it into the dry ingredients until the butter is roughly the size of small peas.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, egg and scraped vanilla beans. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until mixture begins to come together. Add rhubarb and continue to mix until it comes together into a ball. Mixture may still be slightly crumbly.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a disk about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 triangles. Place on prepared sheet pan. Bake until bottoms are golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk or cream to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over scones and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Scones are best the day they are baked, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Hooray for rhubarb! These scones, totally need to action!
How lucky that the rhubarb popped up before you guys headed off to Moab! My husband is a big-time rhubarb fan and I’m sure these scones would disappear in a flash.
These are just gorgeous. Rhubarb is one of the few things that grows like crazy around New England. So I’ll be making up lots of batches of these scones!
I love rhubarb solo!! These scones sounds amazing!! Man am I going to miss your baked goods… and sooo many other things about our friendship!!
If I’m being honest, I’m going to miss your rhubarb plant! You’re generosity over the last few years benefited my kitchen and spring desserts. These scones are perfect. I can imagine the tart rhubarb is superb in these scones!
Does this come out with the rhubarb pieces really soft, or still a little crunchy? Matter of taste, of course, but I like mine as soft as possible so there’s no stringiness left.
These turned out great – made just as indicated in the recipe, except I left them in for just a few minutes longer. The rhubarb came out really soft, not at all stringy. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Made these tonight… So good… And my house smells fantastic.
Made these last night for breakfast this morning. Great Cream Scone Recipe. Can’t wait to eat another one!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks Stephanie!
Best ever rhubarb recipe! I have been making these all summer. Usually I have more rhubarb than I know what to do with now it can’t grow fast enough.
Yes! It’s such a great way to use up rhubarb!
Do these freeze well?
I’m sure they would! Freeze un-iced scones on a lined sheet pan, then transfer to a zipped freezer bag or double wrap in plastic and freeze for a month or more. Warm in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes, then drizzle with icing as directed.
My heart belongs to baking and I love making scones. Followed recipe exactly. It made one of the best scones I have ever baked! My son was skeptical about the rhubarb but found them “amazing”. He was sure to point out that my rhubarb was ready a couple weeks ago so we could start making them again. They don’t require the glaze but it does make them more delicious!
This scone recipe is fabulous. The yumminess was shared with my church chicks (8) friends at a social distancing gathering — wonderful.
These are so delicious! We have a beautiful rhubarb plant and so I’m always looking for new ways to use rhubarb and highlight the delish taste! These are the best!! Just made a second batch because my husband has been begging me for more. Thank you for this awesome recipe 🙂
Any recommendations on how much vanilla extract if you don’t have a vanilla bean?
1 teaspoon should work great!
Completely delicious. I will make these every spring. Substituted 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon on baking soda for the 1 tablespoon of baking powder. We get a metallic aftertaste in other scone recipients that I just use the tablespoon of baking powder.
Thank you for this fabulous recipe
These scones turned out so delicious fluffy and light.
I want to make this, but am a little confused about the vanilla. I’m new to working with whole vanilla beans. Do I save the seeds when I scrape them out of the bean? What does it mean to scrape the vanilla bean? Is that a way to shred it into tiny pieces? When it says to add the vanilla beans, are they just two large bean halves?
I have some vanilla bean pieces in the bottom of a jar of vanilla extract that I made from scratch. The extract is nearly gone and I’m wondering if I can use those beans for this recipe?
Sorry for so many questions regarding the vanilla.
Vanilla beans are the tiny black specs inside of a vanilla bean pod. So to use vanilla beans in a recipe, slice the pod open lengthwise, then use a knife to scrape out the tiny bean specs and add them to the recipe. You do not use the pods, though I typically save them to make homemade vanilla extract as there’s still plenty of vanilla bean flavor left even after the beans have been scraped out. I hope this makes sense!
What kind of alcohol do you use to make the extract? I have vodka and saki. Will one of those do? It is May 1 here in British Columbia. The rhubarb is up, but it is just getting started. I am literally salivating here, I am so impatient having to wait for the rhubarb to grow so I can make these.
Vodka is perfect for homemade vanilla extract 🙂
I opted to use the orange zest in the glaze. It was fantastic! Best scone recipe to date
Made these this morning, and they are great!
Dough was very sticky, even with adding additional flour. Didn’t want to work dough too much, so I just made them drop scones.
Since I was adding frozen rhubarb, I thawed it and drained off extra juice. Making it less than 1 1/2 cups. That was amount I used, wondering if rhubarb would be soft, but it was fine. I’ll use recommended amount when it is ready to pick from the garden. Hurry please!
5 stars for flavor, and will make again!
Thank you for the recipe
These muffins were delicious, my family and all my neighbors loved them.Will definitely be a favorite.