These super easy and quick savoury scones are the perfect side for a soup or a salad. They are essentially almond flour biscuits - light yet deliciously buttery. Suitable for low carb and Keto diets.
What is the difference between a scone and a biscuit? It depends on which continent you live on.
Here in the UK, a biscuit is what Americans call a cookie - a crispy, sweet morsel you enjoy with a nice cuppa. Only when you add chocolate chips, it becomes a chocolate chip cookie - don't ask me why.
Across the pond, a biscuit is what we over here might call a savoury scone. It's soft and buttery, slightly crumbly (yet never sweetened) and eaten with a meal. US biscuits, and by extension keto biscuits, are particularly useful for mopping up gravy or dipping into soup. They are also quite wonderful with a generous lathering of butter.
You could argue that almond flour scones are drier and flakier in texture than almond flour biscuits. In fact, I have a recipe for grain free English scones on this website which is an absolute treat served with fresh strawberries and cream (or clotted cream and sugar free strawberry jam, whichever rocks your boat). I used the traditional method of kneading cold butter into the almond flour for supreme flakiness and only used one egg.
The method in this recipe is MUCH quicker and actually tastes quite similar to the classic scones, maybe a little richer and moist. You simply melt the butter and stir the ingredients together with a fork - no kneading required! To get the same rise, I added an additional egg, which worked a treat.
How to make speedy savoury scones AKA almond flour biscuits:
1.) Combine the ground almonds, baking powder and salt, if using, in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then stir in the melted butter. Add the eggs and butter mix to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
2.) Stir with a fork until a dough forms.
3.) Roll the dough into balls (weight: around 30g each) and flatten into fat disks, about 1 inch thick.
4.) Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes until gently browned on the top.
Recipe tips and variations
I used ground almonds in this recipe. This is equivalent to regular / coarser almond flour in the US. Don't use super-fine almond flour to make these low carb biscuits - it is more absorbent than ground almonds and the end result would be too dry. If you INSIST on using super-fine almond flour, I'd use less - 200 g or 2 cups is probably enough - maximal 225g / 2 ¼ cup.
For those of you who don't like baking with almond flour - I have not yet tried to substitute it with coconut flour in this recipe. If I were to attempt a coconut flour version, I'd probably go with 1 cup and take it from there. Coconut flour is more absorbent than almond flour, that's why you need less.
I get a lot of questions about xanthan gum. It acts as a binder and helps with crumb structure, but always at the expense of crunch. We enjoyed the gentle crunch on the outside of these scones. If you use xanthan gum, you may get less cracking over the top, but they will less crispy.
Definitely don't attempt to handle the scones while hot - they'll be too fragile. Wait until they are cooled down and have firmed up.
These almond flour biscuits are a great starting point for flavour experiments. Here's a few ideas:
- Add ¾ cup of grated parmesan or mature cheddar for easy cheesy keto biscuits (click the link to head over to the full recipe, it's so good I have written an entire post about it!)
- Swap out 2 tbsp of the butter for sour cream and add 1 tbsp of chopped chives to the batter
- Add an Italian twist by adding 1-2 tsp of tomato paste, a pinch of rosemary and chopped black olives.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Speedy Savoury Scones (Almond Flour Biscuits)
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- oven
- Fork
- Baking Paper
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups / 250g ground almonds / almond meal (use coarser/regular almond flour - NOT super-fine)
- 2 eggs
- 5 tbsp / 70g melted butter
- 1 ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl - almond flour, baking powder and salt, if using.
- Whisk the eggs and stir in the melted butter. Then add to the dry ingredients and combine into a dough with a fork.
- With your hands, roll balls of circa 30g each. Flatten into a disk with a thickness of about 1 inch and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for around 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Mel says
Can i use coconut flour instead.
Katrin Nürnberger says
You would have to change the recipe. I would use 1/3 the amount stated for flour as coconut is a lot more absorbent. Then, add another egg and also 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum because coconut flour is more brittle.
Jennifer says
These are easy and really good! I added cheddar cheese.
Anthony Bickley says
works very well, even with a small amount of xanthan gum added
Mona says
Hi just wondering to get the net carbs do I take away the fibre from the carbs?
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes that's correct!
Claudia says
Hi do i need to sieve the almond flour before baking?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I never do. If you mix by hand it can be helpful, though.
Manar Jaradat says
Thank you! Definitely I'll give it a try. They look delicious . Can I use coconut oil instead for a dairy free alternative? If yes how much can I use?? Are they gona end nice?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi there, I would use roughly the same amount, maybe a teeny tiny bit less. Butter and coconut oil are pretty much interchangeable.
Carol Arsenault says
Can I use almond flour instead of almond meal? Think I made these once before with almond flour and they came out delicious. Will try again as I have no almond meal.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Of course! The finer the flour the less you'll need. I've given guidance in the post of how much I recommend you use.
Sally Shearn says
Hi, I'm really excited to try this recipe! Can I just check if the oven temperatures are for fan ovens? Thanks 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Sally, they are for electric ovens, not for fan. Temperature for fan ovens shuld be a little lower, I think 160C.
Sally-Anne Shearn says
Thank you! I will give them a go 🙂
Susan says
I don't normally like working with dough but this recipe was so easy to make, the smell from the oven while the scones were baking was fab, and the end result was delicious. Will def be making these again.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I try to keep all my baking recipes as simple as possible - glad you liked this one and hope you'll try some others from my site too!
Suzie says
I’m making these ahead for Thanksgiving. Do they store well and what is the best way to store them? I’m excited to try them I’m already on your email list and enjoy immensely the recipes you send. I can always trust your recipes to absolutely be Keto! Thank you for that!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Suzie,
you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze them 🙂
Betty L. Moehle says
Followed the recipe to a "T", and I'm happy to say that they're perfect. Especially like the crunchiness. Although, I'm a US Southerner, I like these better than Southern style biscuits. Thanks.