SCONES

[london123]

Several years ago, while in London, we would have coffee and scones in a little cafe down the street, for breakfast. Perhaps I'm just nostalgic but they were soooo good ... not too sweet and light. Where can I get the best scones around this area? As much as I love Wilson's Farm , I don't care for their scones. Thanks for any tips.

[jwells2]

Cezanne Bakery in Cambridge, which is no longer around, had the best vanilla and jam scones. Love the lemon scones at Ula in JP when they have them.

[dcarney]

The Tea Shoppe in Mashpee (On Cape) has the BEST Raspberry scones. The owner is British and makes many traditional treats, but her scones are amazing. The Scones - Baked fresh everyday and served with Devonshire cream & preserves. AMAZING

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Tea Shoppe
Mashpee Cmns, Mashpee, MA 02649

[FoodDabbler]

Do they put the preserves below the cream or the cream below the preserves? One of these is the right way and the other dead wrong.*
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* Half the scone-eating population on earth believes it should be one way, the other half the other.

[dcarney]

They serve both on the side.

[dmullin699]

Greenhills bakery in Dorchester.
Just stop it!
A warm raisin scone smothered in rasberry jam and butter?
The rest do not come close!

[bonhomme1]

I remember when Nashoba Brook Bakery had a location in the South End. They had wonderful scones and still have a location in West Concord @152 Commonwealth Ave. I had a tasty one at Thinking Cup at 165 Tremont (across from the Boston Common). I ate a sour cherry scone but another tempting one was the savory scallion, cheddar and bacon scone.

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Nashoba Brook Bakery Cafe
152 Commonwealth Ave., Concord, MA 01742

[Pomegranate Martini]

The Thinking Cup has wonderful scones! A good second is Appleton Bakery on the corner of Appleton St and Dartmouth in the South End.

[porcospino]

Concord Tea Cakes makes beautiful little currant scones, rich and flaky and only lightly sweet. You can buy a big box of mini-scones which will disappear waaaay too fast. They're in West Concord; not sure if they sell them anywhere else off-site.

[heatherfields]

I've also seen Concord Tea Cakes' scones in Idylwilde Farms in Acton. The current scones are delightful.

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Idylwilde Farm
366 Central St, MA 01720

[fantundo]

Pemberton Market sells them, too.

[random amblings]

I tried the Sweet Cream Cardamom scones at Russo's and they were excellent, if a little pale. Warmed, however, they were excellent. They are made by a swedish bakery in NH that also makes Pulla. These are not found in the bakery, but rather near the front of the store, on the back side from the berries.

[FoodDabbler]

Anything cardamom, and I'm there. What do you mean by pale? Color (forgiveable) or flavor (un-)?

[random amblings]

No, they were quite white. I reheated them in the toaster oven where they picked up a little more color, and tenderness... and they were amazing. Got to try making them.

[FoodDabbler]

There are variations among scones in the U.K. Some are soft and in the general direction of cake, as are many scones in the U.S. My favorite British scones, however, are harder in texture, and made of short pastry. They are commoner in Scotland than England. The closest things I've found to that variety of scone in the Boston area are the ones at Hi-Rise, especially their maple walnut.

[Boston_Otter]

Most of the scones at Whole Foods (Fresh Pond) are mediocre, but they've got a vegan chocolate chip scone that's really top-notch. Moist, wonderful crumb, rich, delicious. At least it was when I had it -- their baked goods have an unfortunate habit of changing depending on who's baking that day.

Quick scone story: I used to get scones at Wild Oats (now Whole Foods) and was fond of their chocolate chunk scone, which was lightly iced; I bit in one day and almost dropped it when I tasted how puckeringly sour it was. It had an intense lemon icing. I called the bakery to tell them that they'd screwed their scones up and the cheerful bakery manager said "Oh yeah! I thought I'd mix things up and give people an unexpected treat. What did you think? I'm thinking of going with lemon icing on all the scones -- less boring than plain icing."

[khanom]

you're making me laugh and shudder with horror at the same time :P

[Blumie]

Verrill Farms, in Concord, a wonderful alternative to Wilson Farms, has my favorite Boston-area scones, particularly when they still are warm in the morning.

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Verrill Farm
11 Wheeler Rd, Concord, MA, MA 01742

[sallyt]

Ditto - these were the best scones I've ever had. A close second is Canto 6 in JP... But frankly, I recently made Joanne Chang's lemon ginger scones from her new cookbook, and they were just amazing... Almost as good as the BC's strawberry scones.

[Allstonian]

I'm racking my brain but coming up blank - what's "the BC"?

[tweetie]

Since sally referenced Joanne Chang, I'm assuming BC is Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Another vote for Verrill Farm scones. Really amazing.

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Verrill Farm
11 Wheeler Rd, Concord, MA, MA 01742

[Allstonian]

Thanks - I thought sallyt must be referring to a local bakery and couldn't think of any place that fit!

[sallyt]

Yes! Tweetie is correct - sorry for the delay. Both scones are worth making at home...

[bostondiner]

I love the lemon ginger scones at Flour-- they are delicious!! I even emailed her for the recipe before the cookbook but have never made them at home. Now you have inspired me to try this weekend!

[sallyt]

Do you have her cookbook? It's worth buying - the scones were incredible, but the cooking time is wayyyy too long - I think that I cut it in half?

[bostondiner]

I do have her cookbook-- it is beautiful. What else have you made from it? I'm tempted to try the carrot cake as I absolutely love Flour's carrot cake and of course, I need to try my hand at those lemon ginger scones.
I did make the choc chip cookies from the Flour cookbook and was disappointed. I made these shortly thereafter and they were MUCH better: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/cri...

[sallyt]

From Flour, I made the raspberry crumb bars - they were AMAZING. looked like a lot of work, but were pretty easy.

[bear]

I've made those crumb bars, too. Fabulous. The grated butter gives them a fabulous texture.

[Science Chick]

Quebrada is the hands down winner for me. Tender, not too sweet, distinct cream flavor. Traditional currant or blueberry.....I like that they offer "petite" and regular sized too!

[southie_chick]

Still "mad' at Quebrada for discontinuing their parmesan scallion scone (both regular sized & mini) - it was my favorite. I even offered to order & buy them in bulk but they wouldn't even do that. : (

[Science Chick]

Wow, never saw that savory one.......I'd be mad too! My SO harkens back years ago when they also made a whole wheat croissant that he claims was fabulous!

[greygarious]

I've got the Quebrada grudge too, for both those items. I used to make the trek there every few months, for both. The WW croissant came plain, with cheese, and if memory serves, sometimes other sweet (apricot) and savory (ham& cheese, mushroom&cheese?)
fillings.

I have not been to Great Harvest in Lexington in many years. They certainly changed their focus, from baking a variety of breads, to making sandwiches. So I don't know if they still have scones but I have fond memories of their blueberry cream cheese scones.

[kimfair1]

Forgot how great the Quebrada blueberry scones were. A woman I worked with used to bring them in all the time, damn they were good.

[Science Chick]

Yeah.....you can really taste the cream, and them's real Maine blueberries in there!

[makonna]

Two recommendations. I like the scones at Sherman in Teele square and Verrill Farm in Concord. Those are my favorites.

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Verrill Farm
11 Wheeler Rd, Concord, MA, MA 01742

[Bob Dobalina]

Sherman is in Union. Their scones have been a little inconsistent lately - they used to be the best in the area in my opinion - light crust, flaky interior, not sweet...I think the bakers have changed over time which might account for the minor differences. They're still good, just not quite the same ethereal quality as the ones I was having a year ago.

[smtucker]

They are advertising for a baker on Craigslist. We can hope the next one is excellent.

[Bob Dobalina]

The tremendous lemon scone of yore was back today - still warm, just iced this morning...crunchy outside, pillowy/flaky inside - manna oh manna...

[Bob Dobalina]

Not to dredge up an old thread, but I want to rescind my recommendation for the Sherman scones. I have noticed some turnover of staff over the past several months, and unfortunately, the quality of the scones has gone way downhill for me. They look the same on the outside, but are leaden, dense, even had one that was spackle-like - not sure if this is due to overmixing, butter being the wrong temp - but it's no longer the sublime biscuity scone offered in the past.

Luckily, Three Little Figs is a decent replacement, although smaller and more cakey than when Sherman's were the best.

[allgimbel]

I'm kind of relieved to hear this. Sherman was on my list to try, based on this thread, but I could never park around there. Problem solved!

[Bob Dobalina]

Really? There is always plenty of free parking right out front on Washington.
Incidentally, still a Sherman fan for other things - had a tasty portobello sandwich today, DW had a finely assembled bagel and the coffee is always excellent.

[kimfair1]

Used to get great ones at the Keltic Krust in Brighton. They used to have a Newton outlet as well, not sure if they are still there or not, or if the quality is the same as it used to be.

[philbog]

Yep, Keltic Krust is still in West Newton. I was in there earlier this week. Their scones are small, flaky (not spongy), and not too sweet. Quite good, and more authentic than most.

[DrMag]

I love the scones at Keltic Krust (which is in W. Newton). They are as close as I can get to the ones my ex-boyfriend's mom made- she was off the boat from Ireland.

[phonelady]

A & J King Artisan Bakers (Salem, MA)

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A & J Restaurant
560 Kelley Blvd, North Attleboro, MA 02760

[CarolinaGirl06]

My favorite scones are at Scup's in East Boston. I didn't realize how good a scone could be until I had one there. They are closed for renovation until April, I think, but when they reopen, it's well worth a visit.

[dmullin699]

I second Greenhills. If it's early enough, order the scones with rasberry jam and butter. If they are served hot, they are amazing.

[twentyoystahs]

mmmm greenhill bakery scones sound great....:) will have to check 'em out.
i agree that they should not be a 'sugar delivery system' --there are plenty of other baked goods that serve that purpose well. A proper scone shouldn't be one of them.

[Pegmeister]

The Greenhill Bakery in Dorchester has good scones http://www.greenhillsirishbakery.com/

[Boston_Otter]

Petsi Pies has excellent scones.

[smtucker]

+3

excellent. They are not a sugar delivery system, which to me is perfect.

[Pia]

Yes, Petsi Pies has the best. Vicki Lee's in Belmont has good scones too. (But I haven't had scones in London, so I can't compare.)

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Petsi Pies
285 Beacon St, Somerville, MA 02143

Vicki Lee's
105 Trapelo Rd, Belmont, MA

[hondodog]

Vicki Lee's scones are not called "scones" by Vicki...she calls them biscuits (which some know as "Vicki's Bicky's")...but I think of them as scones and they are light and tasty and delicious and when they hit your stomach, they don't feel like they want to keep giving in to gravity...which is good as pretty much anything else calling itself a scone seems to want to do. Her scones stop in your stomach and light up your face with a smile. All Good Stuff.

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Vicki Lee's
105 Trapelo Rd, Belmont, MA

[StriperGuy]

Her biscuits are insanely good.

[Boston_Otter]

Zing Coffee inside Porter Square Books carries them, just to note. I've actually never been to Petsi Pies itself :)

[myladyfae]

while Petsi Pies scones *are* in fact delicious...in my mind they in no way resemble a true English scone. Way too heavy and a tad bit dry for that.

I have no recommendation on this (the only place I knew for them closed nearly a decade ago,) but am now watching this thread avidly! I too would love a truely light and melt in your mouth scone :)

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Petsi Pies
285 Beacon St, Somerville, MA 02143

[CookieLee]

I like the scones at the Clear Flour Bread Bakery in Brookline.

[pariss]

I second clear flour