Vegan Treacle Scones

Vegan treacle scones - these easy Scottish scones have a rich flavour thanks to the addition of treacle and spices.

Serve them with butter and a drizzle of extra treacle or golden syrup and a cup of tea for an indulgent treat.

These vegan treacle scones are a delicious twist on a classic British scone.

Treacle scones are a Scottish variety, made with black treacle and warming spices; slightly sweeter than a classic scone, but not too sweet.

They are easy to make and are fantastic warm spread with vegan butter. I like to have them with a drizzle of extra treacle, or even golden syrup, but jam is also a great option.

Served with a cup of tea, they make a delicious mid-morning or afternoon snack, or even an indulgent breakfast.

What Do I Need To Make Vegan Treacle Scones?:

Black treacle: Lyle's is the most well-known brand, in it's classic red tin; most supermarkets in the UK sell it. It's not a perfect substitute, but molasses will work instead if you can't get treacle (not blackstrap).

Vegan block butter: For the best results you need to use a cold BLOCK butter/margarine, NOT the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.

I use Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant butter. Solid coconut oil would also work. The butter needs to be fridge cold, not room temperature.

Milk: Any kind of unsweetened non-dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut milk) but I like soy milk best.

Plain flour: Most scone recipes use self-raising flour rather than plain, but not everyone has access to self-raising so I’ve switched it to plain (all-purpose) with extra baking powder instead. You can use self-raising flour instead if you want, just reduce the baking powder to 1 teaspoon in that case.

Baking powder: Scones need quite a bit of baking powder – 5 teaspoons in this case.

Note that you need to use a proper measuring teaspoon which is 5 ml, not just a regular spoon. Spoon measurements should always be a LEVEL spoonful, never rounded (unless a rounded spoonful is specified in the recipe).

Sugar: I use caster sugar. Granulated or brown sugar will also work.

Spices: I use mixed spice and cinnamon. Pumpkin spice will work instead of the mixed spice, or you can use ground ginger.

How to Make Vegan Treacle Scones:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Place the milk and treacle in a jug, microwave for a few seconds, just until it is warm enough to stir the treacle into the milk.

Pop the mixture in the fridge until cool.

Mix the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl.

Add the cold butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of fat remain.

Stir in the sugar.

Pour in the cooled treacle mixture and stir to form a soft, sticky dough.

Pat the dough out on a floured surface to about 4cm / 1 ½ inches thick.

Use a floured 6cm round cutter to cut out as many scones as you can. Bring together the scraps, pat out the dough again and cut out more scones.

Place the scones on a lined baking tray and gently brush the tops with milk.

Bake for about 15 minutes until well risen, browned and firm to the touch.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

For the best results, you need to chill the milk/treacle mixture before making the dough.

Make sure that you do not overwork the dough, you want to mix it until it comes together, no more than that. And never, ever knead it; this isn’t bread. The scones will be a bit craggy and rustic looking, but the texture will be so much better!

The dough should be on the soft, sticky side for the lightest, moistest results.

Pat, rather than roll the dough out and keep it quite thick, about 4cm / 1 ½ inches is ideal.

Don't twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, press it straight down through the dough.

When you glaze the scones, make sure that you brush the milk on the tops of the scones only, don't let any glaze drip down the sides as it can inhibit the rise.

Get the scones into the oven as soon as possible, don't leave them sitting around as the raising agents start to work straight away.

You can also pat the dough out into a round and slice it into 8 wedges instead of using cookie cutters. They make take a little longer to bake (about 18-20 minutes).

Scones are best eaten as soon as possible, ideally just cooled, and definitely on the same day as they are baked. If you do happen to have any leftovers the next day then they are best eaten split, toasted and buttered.

Can I Freeze These Scones?:

Yes they freeze really well. Ideally they should be frozen on the day they are baked to preserve freshness.

Allow them to cool completely then freeze in a ziplock bag or freezer-proof container for up to three months.

Allow to defrost at room temperature (or give them a quick blast in the microwave if you are in a hurry) then refresh them in a low oven for 5-10 minutes before serving.

More Vegan Scone Recipes:

• Vegan pumpkin scones
• Vegan marzipan cherry scones
• Vegan banana scones
• Basic vegan scones
• Vegan chocolate raspberry scones
• Savoury vegan scones
• Vegan Welsh cakes
• Vegan rock cakes

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