How to Make Queen Elizabeth’s Drop Scone Recipe

Queen Elizabeth II has been gone for a few years now, but she’s still remembered all around the world—including at the National Archives. You may know that the queen was a fan of corgis and scrambled eggs, but you might not know that she had a beloved recipe for incredibly simple scones. The story goes that, in 1959, she served President Eisenhower these delicious British tea biscuits at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and he was such a fan that she sent him the recipe. 

Drop scones are considered the easier, more rustic version of the pastry, but getting them right is the difference between a stone-like dry carb and a soft, flavorful complement to your afternoon tea. The queen’s recipe says her recipe is enough for sixteen people, but she doesn’t give information about how small to make each scone.

Using a teacup for measuring milk, the queen beats two eggs with a teacup of milk. A teacup can hold about six to eight ounces, so you can use a regular measuring cup if you prefer, though there’s something whimsical about using a cup. As long as it’s a uniform amount, it may not matter much. 

Next, the queen beats in 4 tablespoons of sugar. Then she mixes in four cups of flour (again measuring with the teacup), plus two teaspoons of baking soda and three teaspoons of cream of tartar. To get it all combined, she adds in another teacup of milk, but just a splash at a time as needed to get everything mixed well. Finally, she folds in two tablespoons of melted butter. 

Since there’s some information missing from the recipe included in the archives, we have to do a little guess work on our own. Based on something like our Blueberry-Oat Scones with Flaxseeds recipe, you may want to bake these at 400 degrees F for 16 to 18 minutes. 

There are many variations on how to make a scone. While the queen used melted butter, the more popular method nowadays is to cut up cold or frozen butter with a pastry cutter or in the food processor, along with the dry ingredients. From there, mix in the wet ingredients. Recipes like the queen’s opt for milk or cream, but many people like using yogurt or sour cream to create a rich, tangy flavor. 

The queen didn’t specify add-ins, and traditional scones are plain, but the options are myriad. Citrus, even just some orange or lemon zest mixed into the batter, can take a plain scone to the next level. Many traditional scone recipes use currants, but dried cranberries are also a tasty addition. Any fruit, chocolate, nut, seed or add in can work with scones. Coconut and white chocolate scones are particularly fun and festive.

Another way to beautify the scones, but also give them more flavor, is to brush the tops with milk before they go into the oven. You can also sprinkle turbinado sugar, zest-infused sugar or any other toppings on the milk before baking. The finished product will have a nice golden top.

As the days get shorter and we fully embrace sweater weather, making the queen’s scones to go with your coffee or tea is a lovely way to honor her memory and enjoy the cozy season—with or without a corgi at your feet.