These Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones are just like the kind you get at Starbucks- only better!
Hey there! How’s your Fall going? Are you enjoying the cooler weather?
I know I am. It’s always so nice to return to a set schedule, and this time of year is just so pretty. It makes me feel cozy!
And when I think of cozy, my mind goes straight to warm drinks and freshly baked pastries.
Really, these vanilla bean scones can be enjoyed at any time of year. But there’s just something so nice about sipping on a hot cup of coffee or tea and nibbling on a scone when the weather is cool and crisp!
I love making scones because they’re so quick and easy. It really only takes a couple of minutes for the dough to come together. I whipped this batch up in the food processor!
Divide the dough into three equal portions, pat into discs, and then score into triangles before baking. They’re out of the oven in less than 20 minutes!
The glaze is really the crowning touch though. It’s just powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Can you see all those vanilla bean specks?
That’s what you get when you use real vanilla beans! And the flavor is just off the charts. So sweet and fragrant! This recipe turns out 18 petite vanilla bean scones– just like the ones you see in the glass case at Starbucks. Only these homemade vanilla bean scones are so much better!
There’s nothing better than a fresh, warm, homemade pastry on a cool fall morning. So get cozy with a nice drink and a batch of vanilla bean scones!
You might also like to try these recipes for scones:
- Chocolate Chip Toffee Scones
- Gingerbread Scones
- Cherry Oat Scones
- Cape Cod Blueberry Scones
- Apple Cream Scones
- Blueberry Lemon Scones
- Chocolate Chip Scones
- Strawberry Buttermilk Scones
Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones
Recipe Details
Ingredients
SCONES:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
GLAZE:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
- 1½ tablespoons milk
Instructions
PREPARE THE SCONES:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and whisk to combine. Add the butter to the food processor, and pulse the food processor until the mixture looks like coarse meal. With the food processor running on low speed, stream in the cream and the vanilla extract.
- When the dough has gathered itself into a ball, turn off the food processor and divide the dough into three equal portions. Flatten each portion of dough into a disc shape, about 1 1/2-inches thick. Score each disc into 6 triangles with a knife, and pull the triangles slightly away from one another (allowing about 1/2-inch in between).
- Bake the scones for 16 to 20 minutes, until set in the centers and slightly golden on the bottoms.
ADD THE GLAZE:
- In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar, vanilla bean seeds, and milk together until smooth. Spread a small amount of glaze on top of each scone.
Video
Notes
- If you do not have a food processor, use a pastry cutter to combine the dry ingredients with the butter... until a coarse meal is created. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
I have not been able to perfect my scone recipe and this did it! One batch I added Meyer lemon and blueberries. it was fantastic!
I used poppy seeds instead of vanilla bean, they are so yummy…
So delicious! Way better than Starbucks! Definitely make these; they’re so easy! 🤤
Isee there is no egg in this recipe, is that a mistake or is it the way you make them? I am in the middle of making these and I make scones all the time. Never saw a recipe with no egg.
no egg! There are many scone recipes with no eggs 🙂
Thank you, I made them and they are delicious! No egg like you said which makes them even better.
Made today, this earned a spot in my recipe book. Highly recommended making this!
Just like to know , can I put the rest of the glaze in fridge for another use?
Glad you enjoyed… and probably!
I don’t have a food processor, can I use a hand mixer?
Instead of a hand mixer, I’d just do it in a bowl. Use two knives or a pastry blender to cut in the butter (you can look at YouTube videos for how to cut in butter for scones, if you’re not sure). Good luck!
Thank you for this!
How do you store them and how long do they keep
I would say that in an airtight container, they should be eaten within a few days. You can store in the freezer for longer.
Can I substitute almond flour in these vanilla bean scones?
I have never tried that, so I’m not sure.
Do you think it’s possible to replace the vanilla bean seeds with vanilla bean paste?? 🙂
Yes!
This recipe is amazing!! Way better than Starbucks! Thanks so much
Absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing!
My husband loved this so much he’s been requesting it every Sunday since I made the first set.. He also said it was an insult to call this “copycat Starbucks…” as this tastes so much better, he said it would be more appropriate to say they were “inspired by….”
I’m back again to make another batch of scones for him and to tell you how much we love them. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So yummy! My family is in love with them, and have been requesting them like crazy. The only thing that stops me from making these weekly is how expensive the vanilla bean is, haha!
We’ve made these dozens of times now, and they’ve come out perfectly EVERY TIME. Legit better than Starbucks.
The scones turned out perfect! Thanks for the recipe.
I am thinking for making these for a Mother’s Day brunch I am hosting… do you know if I could freeze the raw triangles of dough, and then on the day of the event thaw and bake? Thanks!
I’m so sorry I didn’t get this answered in time. Did you try this?
I’ve made this multiple times love it!
I’ve also made them sugar free by substituting monkfruit and using almond milk. No issues at all.
Thank you!!!
This is such a great and easy recipe with delicious results! I just need to get the snapping down so they are more uniform, but they are absolutely scrumptious!
These are delicious!! Best recipe for these scones!! I do have a quick question. Could I possible use Almond Flour instead of regular flour?
I have not tried using almond flour, so not sure.
Try this almond flour sugar-free recipe from Carolyn. I’m trying it as I write myself since I’m diabetic, and doing this recipe here for my non-diabetic family. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-mini-vanilla-bean-scones/
Perfect!!
I am dying to make this recipe! But I am vegan, what can I use instead of heavy whipping cream?
Hi Karin, I’m not super familiar with subs for the vegan diet. Perhaps try Googling substitutes for heavy cream, and see what is suggested?
I’ve used vegan (vanilla) yogurt as a substitute for heavy whipping cream in cookie recipes and have been successful with that! I’m about to try it with this recipe.
These scones are the best!!! Easy to make, always come out perfect, and taste wonderful.
Never tried these scones before.A friend from work asked me to look for a copycat Starbucks recipe and I found your recipe.SOOO Delicious .She said they were exactly like them.Thankyou.Now I am going to ask you if you have Copycat of the Pumpkin Scone.Thankyou.
I do! https://www.recipegirl.com/copycat-starbucks-pumpkin-scones-recipe/
Delish! Psst…better than Starbucks🥰. Easy Peesy! I think next time, I will only use a half of a vanilla bean. I baked at 18 minutes and bottoms are a little light brown…will bake at 16 minutes next time! Will make again soon!
I really want to make these! I bought some exact ones but pumpkin from H-E-B and now I want to make them. Would I substitute the heavy whipping cream with pumpkin or just add pumpkin in the mix?
Here is my pumpkin scones recipe https://www.recipegirl.com/copycat-starbucks-pumpkin-scones-recipe/
These scones were amazing, I loved them so much. Totally worth the time (and it didn’t take that long lol)
How would I store this? do I put it in my fridge in a bag? Or leave it on the counter in a bag?
You can store them in a sealed container at room temperature. Or freeze them!
H – I cut them into triangles then froze the raw dough. I baked, straight from the freezer, for 15 minutes at 375 and they were amazing. This lets me bake just a few at a time for my 3 kids’ breakfast so they aren’t tempting me!
This was so easy to make. I followed the recipe and its amazing!!! I was wondering if I made the scones a bigger size, would they still cook all the way through?
This recipe was delicious! Now whenever I’m craving these scones I can make them at home instead of driving 10 minutes to Starbucks lol.
My daughters (and I) love the Starbucks scones, I knew I had to find the recipe. This one is great! Have made it 3x. The first time I didn’t have a vanilla bean so I added vanilla extract to the glaze and it was good. The next two times I used 1/2 a bean and it was fabulous. I still added a bit of vanilla extract to the glaze because I liked the full flavor. I also cut the circles into eight triangles to get more scones and make them a bit smaller.
Since I don’t really use heavy whipping cream except for this recipe, I freeze 1/2 cup servings end thaw the night before I want to make them.
Amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
These are amazing. Quick and easy to make. Delicate and yummy.
could i make the dough ahead of time and bake the next morning?
I have not tried that.
Turned out perfect! So happy I found this recipe
Mine turned out more like a shortbread cookie. A little disappointing.
Something must have gone wrong- sorry!
Mine too. I think I may have let the food processor go too long and the dough overworked…like how it does with pie crusts and you lose that flakiness and it gets tougher.
But the high butter ratio maybe makes it or more crumbly? I think I’ll do the grated butter mixed in by hand trick next time to make sure I at least have that part right.
My son and daughter made these for their YouTube channel, I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the inspiration!
Cute!
This is a great recipe – and we’ve tried a few for vanilla bean scones – by far our favorite and most like Starbucks! I didn’t have any issues with the dough like other posters (used a food processor), but the icing I did add another tablespoon or so of milk and it was fine. Great recipe – thanks!
It seemed that the liquid measurements were a little off. I had to add 2 TBSP of heavy whipping cream to the dough so it was able to come together. Otherwise it would have been too dry. Then to the frosting, I added 2 TBSP of heavy whipping cream as well. The frosting couldn’t even come together. I also used vanilla bean paste and for me, 1/2 TBSP was plenty. Thank you for the recipe, after these adjustments they were really good!
Will this recipe be enough to make regular sized scones?
Probably.
I really enjoyed this recipe. The scones come out just like Starbucks. My family loves them too and its hard to keep them hidden until morning coffee
Can I use vanilla paste instead of the vanilla bean seeds? If so how much?
Use one tablespoon vanilla bean paste in place of the pod.
how long are they good for?
If you keep them sealed at room temperature, they should be good for a few days.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it three times now and they’ve tasted amazing every time! I do typically find myself having to add a little bit more heavy cream in order for the dough to form a ball but other than that i never have any issues! I also have used a hand mixer in place of a food processor and it works just fine! The only thing with using a hand mixer was that i eventually had to use my hands to fully combine the heavy cream with the dry ingredients but it was still really easy and quick (just a bit messier lol!) These taste so good and my family is always asking me to make more!
Where do you find vanilla beans
or the paste?
You should be able to spot them in the spice section at your regular grocery store. Try Walmart or Costco for the best prices on those.
Very easy to make. Delicious!
Handy tip: grate your cold butter with a cheese grater and then mix it into flour mixture with your fingers. Much quicker than a pastry cutter!
Would it be possible to make the recipe but make the scones regular sized instead of mini? would the oven temp/time change?
That would probably work- longer baking time, and they might not be quite as moist and tender.
I loved these scones! I cut back the sugar and will cut a bit more (because I prefer to put sweet things on the scones). But these were so good, they were gobbled up before I could frost them! Delicious.
This is amazing and so easy to make! I love them, they are so tasty!
yum. nice texture. I subbed the cream for 100g vanilla yogurt and 4 tbs. milk. thank you for the recipe!
TASTE JUST LIKE STARBUCKS!! I Luv luv them!!
Happy to hear!
I don’t have vanilla beans… can I use extract?
Sure!
Is there any way you could tell me how many calories there are per scone?
Hi! Calories per scone are included in the nutritional info on the recipe 🙂
Awesome super easy and fabulous. These scones are better than Starbucks!!!!
Does the glaze firm, to where I could stack them, or does the glaze stay sticky?
Yes, it should become firm after you let it sit.
Should you let these cool before adding the glaze?
Yes.
Can you use salted butter in this recipe?
Sure!
these are the best. how long do you refrigerate these?
They do not need to be refrigerated.
This recipe is amazing!!! 🙂
I have made scones twice following every step and it has been successful both times.
Thank you for sharing!!!
Hi! How long do these last after making? Thank you!
A couple of days, probably.
Made this recipe today. Very yummy. Thank you!
Hi!
No egg in this recipe? Just making sure
No egg!
Any thoughts on freezing these?
I think they’d probably be fine- though might toughen up a bit.
Those look scrumptious and would be perfect with Coffee, hot chocolate, hot t….well, anything actually.