Part banana bread, part scone, and plenty of Nutella, these Banana Nutella Scones have the perfect moist and tender center with flaky edges and a gigantic swirl of Nutella in the center. Brunch is solved.
Banana bread is a classic baked staple for good reason. The bananas as ripe and sweet and make for such a perfect subtle backdrop for breads. These banana and Nutella scones are no exception. They combine the best of that banana bread texture and flavor but in a tidy scone package.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking powder. This gives the scones their great height.
- Brown sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar pairs wonderfully with the bananas.
- Egg. Eggs are what makes a scone a scone and not a biscuit. The egg provides a slightly cakey texture.
- Over-ripe bananas. Super ripe bananas give you all the sugary goodness. Use the ones that you swore you would eat this week and never did (see other banana tips below).
- Buttermilk. This is my go-to liquid for scones, the texture and slight tang is a great background flavor.
- Nutella. No substitution could compete!
Tips for a Perfect Scone
I’m a scone fanatic. My buttermilk scone base is my favorite recipe to make. Full stop! Here’s a few tips for the best ever scones:
Don’t overwork the dough. Scones are not a bread that needs to the kneaded. Once the dough is together in the bowl, turn it out onto your surface and fold in any last bits of flour. Heavily kneading the dough will create a tough scone.
Don’t overthink the Nutella swirl. This can feel a little intimidating at first, but the great part is, this doesn’t need to be perfect, and doesn’t matter if it runs a bit! Nutella is fun, have fun with it!
Right amount of buttermilk. There is a range of buttermilk in the recipe because depending on the day, you may need a little more or a little less liquid to bring the dough together. You are looking for a “shaggy” slightly sticky dough, not a sloppy soup.
Find your favorite edges. If you like a slight crisp edge on your scones, keep your scones at least an inch away from each other when baking. If you like soft edges, keep the scones nice and close on the pans so they bake into one another and pull apart after baking. No wrong answers.
Cold ingredients. Scones are a food that relies on cold ingredients to provide flake and lift for the texture. It’s important to work with cold ingredients so once the cold butter goes into the hot oven, steam can form and create little puffy layers.
Chilling vs. Freezing Butter
I know a lot of people like to freeze and grate the butter to make sure it’s super cold. And I’ve tried this, several times in fact, and it’s just not worth it! Grating frozen butter isn’t that easy, and by the time you’ve grated the entire amount of butter, it’s defrosted anyway.
Second, I like the different texture of hand-mixing the butter into the dough. Leaving some larger clumps makes for interesting flakes.
So, how do I get super cold butter? I freeze the finished scone dough (and by default, the butter too) before baking – you get a better result with less effort!
Using Bananas in Baking
Banana baked goods are so darn good, but it’s so darn difficult to time it just right for the perfectly over-ripe banana. There’s a few tricks below!
Bananas are ripening too quickly. Have a bunch of bananas that are past peak on the counter, but don’t want to bake that day? Peel and slice your bananas and place in a freezer-safe bag until you are ready to bake! Defrost in the fridge and continue along with your recipe.
Bananas are a day or two away from over-ripe. Place mostly-ripe bananas in a closed paper bag. This will quicken the ripening process.
Bananas are barely ripe. If you have some bright yellow (but not green) bananas, you can really shortcut things by baking your bananas. Yes, baking. Place your yellow bananas on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 30-45 minutes to quickly ripen your banana for baking. Remove when peels start to split and cool completely before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, absolutely! Place your scones on a sheet pan and freeze through before transferring to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen.
Scones are best the day they are baked. You can refresh them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5 minutes. You can also freeze baked scones and refresh as above.
Not at all! Skip the Nutella completely if you are not a fan. These scones are great without too.
Looking for other scone recipes? Try these below:
- Want a more traditional banana bread, try these banana walnut scones instead!
- Get a little funky with these banana and pineapple hummingbird scones.
- Chai Swirled Scones
- Apple Cinnamon Scones or Cherry Chocolate Scones for more fruity options!
- Eggnog Scones
Banana Nutella Scones
Ingredients
- 375 g all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 53 g brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 150 g unsalted butter cold, cubed in ½" pieces
- 250 g mashed ripe banana about 3-5 bananas
- ¼ to ½ cup buttermilk cold
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons Nutella
- Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water)
- Sparkling sugar optional
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl.375 g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 53 g brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Using finger tips, rub cold butter into flour mixture until texture is sandy with some larger pea-sized clumps of butter remaining.150 g unsalted butter
- In a second bowl, whisk together banana, ¼ cup of buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture adding more buttermilk as needed until dough just comes together in a shaggy, slightly sticky dough.250 g mashed ripe banana, 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface. Fold in any remaining crumbs and pat dough into a rectangle about 6" x 12" wide. Spread Nutella over top of dough. Fold dough in thirds, like a letter, bringing the top third down and the bottom third up to create layers.5 tablespoons Nutella
- Divide dough into two. Pat each piece into a circle about 1" tall and 6" wide. Cut each into 6 wedges. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 20 minutes.
- While dough freezes, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Remove baking sheet from freezer, brush the top of the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar if using. Bake for 20-22 minutes until scones are golden brown, turning pan halfway through. Best enjoyed warm.Egg wash, Sparkling sugar
Notes
- Scone dough can be frozen completely after step 5. Transfer hardened dough to a freezer-safe bag and continue with step 6 when ready. Freeze up to 3 months.
- Day-old scones can be refreshed in 350°F (175°C) for 5 minutes.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
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