Spiced Chai Tea Scones (Printable)

Aromatic chai-spiced scones combined with black tea, perfect for a cozy snack or breakfast treat.

# Ingredient List:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
07 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
09 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 - 2 black tea bags, contents finely ground

→ Wet Ingredients

11 - 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
12 - 2/3 cup cold whole milk
13 - 1 large egg
14 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Topping (Optional)

15 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk for brushing
16 - 2 tablespoons turbinado or coarse sugar

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and ground black tea.
03 - Add cold cubed butter; use a pastry cutter or fingers to incorporate until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together cold milk, egg, and vanilla extract.
05 - Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and gently stir with a fork until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
06 - Turn dough onto a floured surface and pat into a 1-inch thick circle.
07 - Cut dough into 8 wedges and place them onto the prepared baking sheet.
08 - Brush tops with heavy cream or milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.
09 - Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
10 - Allow scones to cool slightly before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The chai spices bloom beautifully as they bake, filling your kitchen with the most comforting aroma—your whole house smells like a spice market by the time they come out of the oven
  • They're genuinely easy to make with no fancy equipment, just a bowl, a whisk, and about 20 minutes of your time
  • Soft, tender crumbs with just the right amount of spice—not overwhelming, just a warm whisper of cardamom and ginger that keeps you reaching for another
  • Vegetarian and naturally elegant enough for company, yet humble enough for a quiet morning with coffee
02 -
  • Cold ingredients are non-negotiable—I made dense, sad scones for years before realizing that room temperature butter and milk were my enemy; take the butter out of the fridge just before you need it, and chill your mixing bowl if your kitchen is warm
  • Overmixing is the second killer of good scones; you want just-combined dough that still has texture, not a smooth, developed dough like bread—think rough and rustic, and you're on the right track
  • Your oven temperature matters more than the exact timing; if your oven runs hot, they might be done in 15 minutes, and if it runs cold, they might need 19—watch for that deep golden brown rather than setting a timer and walking away
03 -
  • If you have access to a spice grinder or powerful blender, grinding your black tea into a fine powder rather than leaving it in pieces makes it distribute more evenly and delivers more consistent flavor throughout every bite
  • The dough should come together with just a few stirs—count to ten while you're mixing and then stop; most people undermix scones less often than they overmix them, but overmixing is the harder mistake to recover from

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