Irish
Copycat Mary O's Irish Soda Bread Scones
- Prep time 10 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 12 large scones
Author Notes
These Irish soda bread scones were inspired by the viral Mary O's, an Irish soda bread shop in New York City. They serve theirs with homemade blackberry jam and Kerrygold butter, but I chose to serve mine with store-bought strawberry jam instead. Either way, you can't go wrong.
The dough comes together quickly and all in one bowl, then I scoop it into mounds in a cupcake tin for extra height and stability. —Nea Arentzen
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Ingredients
-
4 cups
(480 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1/2 cup
(100 grams) granulated sugar
-
4 teaspoons
baking powder
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
kosher salt
-
3/4 cup
(170 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
-
1 cup
raisins
-
2/3 cup
buttermilk (or milk plus 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice)
-
2/3 cup
heavy cream, plus more for egg wash
-
1
egg yolk
-
strawberry jam, to serve
-
softened butter, to serve
-
flakey sea salt, to serve
Directions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F with a rack placed in the center position. Generously grease a 12 cup cupcake tin.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter and press into the flour with your fingers until it resembles coarse sand and no large butter clumps remain. Do this quickly as you don't want the butter to have time to soften too much.
- Stir in the raisins, then drizzle in the buttermilk and cream. Use your hands to scoop and fold the dough together until the flour is absorbed, trying to mix and press as little as possible. Gently scoop the dough into the cupcake tin, evenly dividing between the 12 cups.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Brush over each scone. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, 22 to 25 minutes. (If using a kitchen thermometer, it should read at least 190 degrees F.)
- Serve warm with jam, butter, and flakey sea salt.
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8 Reviews
Redacura
March 17, 2025
These were so delicious with great texture. I used maybe 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 cup buttermilk + 1/3 cup cream to save on calories and it was still great. I did use Kerrygold butter in the dough and everyone got seconds! Easier to portion out and save vs a loaf. Baking time was 20 min. I made some with raisins and some without.
Curlyned
March 17, 2025
Outstanding flavor and texture.
I can't resist tinkering, so I substituted some of the flour with coarse Irish grind and soaked my raisins in Rivulet. As another reviewer stated, I used half and half because that's what I had on hand. I didn't bother with the egg wash before baking and they still look beautiful.
I was surprised there were no eggs in the batter--most of my scone recipes call for one. This resulted in a much better texture than I'm accustomed to.
I will be making these again!
I can't resist tinkering, so I substituted some of the flour with coarse Irish grind and soaked my raisins in Rivulet. As another reviewer stated, I used half and half because that's what I had on hand. I didn't bother with the egg wash before baking and they still look beautiful.
I was surprised there were no eggs in the batter--most of my scone recipes call for one. This resulted in a much better texture than I'm accustomed to.
I will be making these again!
kschurms
March 16, 2025
I have made many scones and soda breads over the years and none hold a candle to these. holy shit. perfectly crusty and soft and fluffy in the middle. mine were done at 20 mins. don’t skip the egg yolk/cream wash
Lizabeth L.
March 16, 2025
These came together very quickly and with ease! I followed the recipe as written, after 15 minutes at 425 they were perfectly golden. Compared to a loaf of soda bread these scones are perfectly craggy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside and much easier to serve and prepare. I did not use liners but I did butter the pan and they turned out wonderful!
pjpicciano
March 16, 2025
Cannot emphasize how easy this was. I didn’t have buttermilk so did the milk and lemon substitute listed in the ingredients. Also swapped half and half for cream because that’s what I had. My muffin tin has seen better days, So I used cupcake liners and then greased them and the pan with melted butter. All this to say that you can easily adjust also and this recipe will still come out fabulous. I had blackberry preserves so I was able to serve warm with salted Kerrygold and that like the original Mary Os. I bookmarked it everywhere because it’s going in my regular rotation. Incredible recipe that will bring so much joy to your morning.
Brenna G.
March 16, 2025
so easy. so quick. SO insanely good. The scone contains so much moisture. Obviously best served exactly like Mary's - instantly out of the oven, cut down the middle with a slab of butter and scoop of loose jam. Perfection.
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