If there’s one type of baking I feel I’ve mastered, it’s pancakes! I’ve even joked about writing my own recipe book solely of different pancake recipes. And it all started with these little beauties. Drop Scones, also known as Scotch Pancakes, are something I’ve been baking since my childhood and something that Granny has always been on hand to help perfect. Similar to American Pancakes but way simpler, they make a great treat for breakfast or just for snacking.
We best enjoy Drop Scones for breakfast, straight from the griddle with a little bit of butter on top. They also make great snacks for wee ones, topped with fruit, yogurt or lashings of jam – our boys can’t get enough of them!
Best of all you can even freeze them, popping them in the toaster for a minute or so to bring back to life whenever you fancy one. And if you plan on batch baking some Drop Scones then Granny’s top tip of adding a little oil to the batter is a clever way of stopping them from drying out and tasting stale.
So whatever your preference this Shrove Tuesday, you won’t go wrong with a plate of Drop Scones!
“I struggled to find a pancake recipe for many years, but since finding these I have only used this recipe. I must have used it 20 times by now and every time the pancakes are gorgeous and delicious! Thank you!!”
Ingredients:
Self-raising Flour
Using self-raising flour as opposed to Plain Flour will help give your Scotch Pancakes a little extra lift, keeping them nice and light.
Pinch of Salt
This works hand-in-hand with the raising agents in the flour, creating a chemical reaction that helps make bubbles in the pancakes, making them rise.
Caster Sugar
These pancakes are definitely sweeter than they are savoury! Try swapping the sugar for Golden Caster Sugar for a more caramel-y taste.
Free-range Eggs
The traditional binder ingredient for Drop Scones. I don’t tend to stress to much about the size of eggs in a loaf cake, as long as they’re free-range. For vegan alternatives, see below.
Milk
The moisture in your batter! You can use whatever milk you have to hand but for extra indulgent pancakes, opt for full-fat milk.
Oil
A little trick from Granny; pop a little oil into your batter before cooking, as it’ll stop the pancakes drying out and they’ll keep better if you don’t finish eating the batch in one sitting.
Drop Scones are perfect for:
• Pancake Day of course!
• Weekend breakfasts
• Kids snack times
• Summer picnics
• Midnight snacking
Drop Scones (Scotch Pancakes)
Ingredients
- 220 g Self Raising Flour
- Pinch Salt
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Free-range Eggs
- 280 ml Milk
- 1 Tbsp Sunflower/Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Sift the flour, salt & sugar into a large bowl.
- Whisk the milk & eggs together in a separate bowl with a fork and then gradually add them to the dry ingredients whilst mixing together. Once combined add the oil and mix again until just combined.
- Grease your griddle or frying pan with a little oil. Once hot, spoon a small amount of the batter (around 2 tablespoons) onto the griddle.
- Your pancakes are ready to flip once bubbles have started to pop on top & they appear dry. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes & cook the other side for around a minute or until a golden brown.
- Remove from the heat & enjoy with your topping of choice.
Free-from & Vegan
Gluten-free: Simply switch out the self-raising flour for gluten-free self-raising flour.
Vegan: Use your favourite dairy-free milk and swap the egg for a over-ripe (mashed) banana or a tablespoonful of applesauce.
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These look so lovely and uniform. Brownies, cookies and pancakes are my top three sweets that I have always had a obsession with getting just right. I’ll be halving the batter but trying these for breakfast tomorrow. How many does this recipe make? Thanks!
My first attempt at drop scones was very good but the recipe given made 14 good sized scones, I think I may halve the amounts next time.!
I think this is an American recipe as we would never put oil in the pancakes in Scotland and also two eggs are too many the traditional Scottish recipe is is 200g of self-raising flour a pinch of baking powder, a tablespoon of golden syrup, 25 grams of caster sugar , only one egg with milk making up the food required and the batter should drop off the spoon not run of the spoon and you’ll get perfect pancakes
Hi, Just wanted to say that thanks to pinterest I found your blog and recipe and I have to say we loved it, I’ve blogged about our pancakes and linked back to yourself
Thanks again x
What’s up to every body, it’s my first visit of tnis blog;
this weblog contains awesome and trly excellent
materioal foor readers.
The first 6 drop scones I made with this recipe were millimetres thick. So stopped and checked recipe against others.. The difference was this one included no Baking Soda. Added 2 tablespoons, gave mixture a quick whisk and tried again. Turned out just fine after that..
Thanks for your feedback, Jacq. This recipe goes along the lines of traditional Drop Scones, only relying on the raising agents already in Self-raising Flour.
By adding Baking Powder you would certainly get the taller, fluffier pancakes but these would then be along the lines of American Pancakes and not the good old fashioned Drop Scones.
I hate the taste of soda in my pancakes
Of course you are already aware that there is nothing ‘traditional’ about self-raising flour – it is simply a convenience food comprised of plain flour with additives which include ‘baking powder’ [which itself is a convenience option being a ready-made mix of bicarbonate of soda & acid – if you are being completely traditional you go back to BoS & cream of tartar as you do when you make traditional scones]. The addition of extra baking powder is simply adding a bit more raising agent to what is already in the mix, which as Amy points out will produce higher, fluffier pancakes. But worry not there is nothing un-traditional about adding baking powder or indeed eschewing self-raising flour altogether and going back to basics & using plain flour, BoS & CoT (although it might take a few batches to get the balance right for inexperienced cooks) in fact the product you end up with would be strictly speaking much more good old fashioned drop scones as great granny used to make. :)
Traditional Scottish dropscones have raising agents. This recipe is not traditional at all for dropscones. It’s a pancake recipe.
And while the two are similar they are not the same. Dropscones are a regional pancake most common to Scotland and the regions of England that border it.
Not having a dig. Just wanted to make you aware that pancakes as this recipe makes are not dropscones.
Well, what is the recipe for Scottish pancakes? (dropped scones in English)
My mum added a tablespoon of golden syrup which she warmed up with some of the milk. Only warm enough to slightly melt the golden syrup which makes it easier to mix in. The tablespoon is based on her recipe which made approximately 3 dozen pancakes.
Hello. I can only drink goats milk and so I used that instead of cows milk. Whenever I use goats milk, all the pancakes and recipes I try always come out flat like crepes. Does different milk types affect the thickness of the pancake. Thank you and please reply. Lily
Hi Lily. I’ve not tried baking with goats milk personally but I am aware that the composition does differ to that of cows milk. The main factors which could influence a difference in baking recipes is that of the fat and sugar content, which is where a bit of experimenting would come in. If you find that the batter is too thin, perhaps try adding a little less milk, or even a little extra flour and see how you get on.
I made these scotch pancakes for my new year eve starter. Kids loved them ! Delicious.! Thank you. For your recipe.
I struggled to find a pancake recipe for many years, but since finding these I have only used this recipe. I must have used it 20 times by now and every time the pancakes are gorgeous and delicious! Thank you!!
Love this recipe. I add some vanilla paste for flavour. Makes enough to have them tossed a few days in a row! Used to make these a lot as a teen, Mum never had any (at work) grandparents and inusd to polish them off! Have rgytedcthat wrong with this recipe, several times over. Ned to try some of the other recipes…
Hello from Sunny Malta (in Europe) Amy, does the brand or quality of flour effect the end result of the baking?
Thanks in advance x
Good Morning from Malta again. Doing the drop scones as I write. Amazing!!!! XXX
Love your recipe, I use gluten free self raising flour for my husband who is a coeliac and they turn out perfectly.
You really make it appear really easy along with your presentation but I in finding this matter
to be really something that I think I would by no
means understand. It sort of feels too complicated and very
vast for me. I am looking ahead for your subsequent post,
I’ll attempt to get the grasp of it!
made these drop scones with rice milk as hubby is on a low potassium diet couldn’t tell the difference and they just disappeared
I have tried hundreds of scotch pancake recipes and this recipe is by far the most delicious, making moist fluffy pancakes. You have found just the right balance of ingredients and far easier than CoT and baking powder recipes which I find always taste odd. Thank you!
My grandmother used to make these,using a bakestone, only difference is she used to thinly slice a cooking apple into small bits and stir the apple into the mix before cooking, result = magnificent
This is what my granny did when I visited at lunchtime from primary school! Fabulous. Im 74 now and this is the first time I have seen anyone acknowledging this can be done. I was beginning to think I had dreamt it!! Off to get some cooking apples.
I live in Denmark where self-raising flour is not available so my question is very simple :how much baking powder do I need per 100 grams of plain flour?
Your recipes look delicious and I’m looking forward to trying everyone or at least a whole lot of them
1/2 teaspoon to 100gms
Thanks for a great recipe. I’ve tried a few fo drop scones and these consistently turn out the best. Thank you for sharing :)
In Scotland, your ‘griddle’ is traditionally called ‘A GIRDLE’ which is a thick metal plate no sides and a high overhead handle across the diameter.
Excellent. Oenone Wollaston
recipe was good but tastes too eggy so added a little bit of vanilla made all the difference
Best scotch pancake recipe I’ve ever used!! I have made these about 3 times in the past couple of weeks because they are so easy and tasty. Mine used to always come out a bit too thick but these are the perfect compromise as they are still ‘thick’ pancakes but thin enough to stack and cook quickly and evenly. YUMMM
Hi! I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and they always turn out perfect! They don’t taste like baking powder which other pancakes usually do, and I hate that taste. Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you so much for, to my taste, a perfect pancake.
I got 12 good-sized pancakes -6 plain and 6 with sultanas.
I didn’t have sunflower or vegetable oil so I used Rice Bran oil
The first time I attempted to make, as we know them,
‘pancakes’ they were crepes and not what I had intended.
I since realised the ‘pancakes’ I like are also known as
Drop Scones or Scotch Pancakes.
Thank You!
OMG!! I have just made these for the first time and can not believe how easy they were and they came out perfect and delicious! I have tried so many complicated ‘fluffy’ pancake recipes, making my own buttermilk etc etc. These are better than any other I’ve tried. Good old fashioned recipes are the best. Thank you!!
I tried recipe however was very runny even with less milk made them more like a crepes I added more flour and 1/2 tsp cream off tarter & 1/4 tsp baking soda came out perfect
I halved the recipe as my nieces have small appetites however they loved them after sneaking a couple :) I ended up having to make more:) my 8 year old niece helped too.
The recipe and instructions were super easy and simple, now they’re making it at home too.
I don’t care where the recipe originates from; all I know is that this is the first time I made scotch pancakes and they turned out perfect.
And today, I’ll be making them with my little cousins who saw the pictures and wanted I on some of the scotch pancake action:)
**correction: wanted IN (not I on like I wrote)
**correction: wanted IN (not I on like I wrote)