They Scottish Potato Scones are not a pastry, like traditional scones. This recipe is more of a potato pancake. The scones are crispy on the outside and soft delicious mashed potatoes on the inside. While you can easily make these scones from scratch, they can be such an amazing use of leftover mashed potatoes!
I always try to make use of my leftovers from the holidays when possible because there always seems to be a lot! I sure feel guilty throwing all the food out that doesn’t get eaten. These are sure to be a family favorite!
Scottish Potato Scones are fried on the outside to give you the crispy potato pancake like texture. They are great with breakfast as alternative to hashbrowns or homefries and must have addition to a Scottish breakfast! Another alternative would be to serve them as you would a potato pancake with apple sauce or sour cream on the side.
You will be making these for years to come when you have an abundance of that leftover mashed potatoes! They are quick to make and can be frozen for up to a month or two depending how well they are wrapped to be kept in the freezer.
Potatoes are naturally gluten-free so you would just need to use gluten-free flour to make this recipe suitable for those with an allergy to gluten. These potato scones are particularly delicious when using leftovers from my potato, Make Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole recipe.
The ingredients are simple:
- 1 lb boiled Russet potatoes (about 4 large potatoes, cooked in salted water)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp flour, sifted (Gluten-free flour)
- 1/4 stick butter (28 g) softened, good quality butter
- 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
Instructions:
If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, skip to adding flour in Step 4.
- Peel potatoes and boil until they are easy to peirce with a fork. Drain and let cool for a few minutes.
- Use masher or ricer to breakdown the boiled potatoes. Ricing them tends to give them a lighter texture.
- Add the butter and salt to taste.
- Very lightly mix in the sifted flour (gluten-free if needed). Knead potatoes and flour together until it a smooth ball is formed.
- Divide ball into 4-5 equal portions and form each portion into a ball. Roll each ball out to about quarter inch thick.
- Prick with rolled out dough with a fork and carefully cut into 4-6 equal triangle shaped portions.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
- Add tbsp of oil to a frying pan or lightly oil a griddle. Heat pan or griddle to medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, cook the scones until brown and crispy on each side. Place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- These are fully cooked and may be eaten as is.
- Traditionally, they are crisped up in the same pan as the bacon was fried in.
Notes:
If you are going to freeze these, you can put them in a container with pieces of wax paper in between them so they will not stick together and it will be easier to grab a few at a time.
To cook frozen potato scones, you can just fry them frozen. There is not a need to defrost them. However, if you let them thaw for 10-15 minutes they will cook up faster.
Scottish Potato Scones
Ingredients
- 1 lb boiled Russet potatoes (about 4 large potatoes, cooked in salted water)
- 1/2 cup (plus 1 tbsp) Flour, sifted for Gluten-free version, use gluten free flour
- 1/4 stick Butter softened Kerri gold butter would be perfect!
- 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
Alternatively you could use about 4 cups of leftover mashed potatoes. If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, skip to adding flour and kneading the dough.
Instructions
-
Peel potatoes and boil until they are easy to peirce with a fork. Drain and let cool for a few minutes.
-
Use masher or ricer to breakdown the boiled potatoes. Ricing them tends to give them a lighter texture.
-
Add the butter and salt to taste.
-
Very lightly mix in the sifted flour. Knead potatoes and flour together until it a smooth ball is formed.
-
Divide ball into 4-5 equal portions and form each portion into a ball. Roll each ball out to about quarter inch thick.
-
Prick with rolled out dough with a fork and carefully cut into 4-6 equal triangle shaped portions.
-
Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
-
Add tbsp of oil to a frying pan or lightly oil a griddle. Heat pan or griddle to medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, cook the scones until brown and crispy on each side.
-
Once browned to your liking, place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
-
These are fully cooked and may be eaten as is. They can also continue to be crisped up in the same pan as bacon was fried in.
Recipe Notes
If you are going to freeze these, you can put them in a container with pieces of wax paper in between them so they will not stick together and it will be easier to grab a few at a time.
To cook frozen potato scones, you can just fry them frozen. There is not a need to defrost them. However, if you let them thaw for 10-15 minutes they will cook up faster.
