Tattie Scones
Traditional Scottish recipe for potato scones, or as they’re better known in Scotland, Tattie Scones.
Let me be honest here. This is a recipe I have made time and time again, with the intention of sharing it here on Baking with Granny. But every time I make some Tattie Scones, I face the same issue… I eat them all before I get a chance to photograph them!
Let me be honest again. The only reason these ones actually got photographed was because Granny was present and apparently has more self-control than I!
And for those readers who aren’t fluent in Scottish dialect and have never heard of a Tattie Scone, let me explain…
The word “tattie”, translated to English, is “potato”, so you might also hear these being called Potato Scones. These are a type of gridle scone made using potatoes (aka. tatties) and are generally served alongside sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding, and tomatoes as part of a cooked breakfast (aka. a “fry-up”).
You might also hear them called Tottie Scones, but that’s more down to regional dialect and pronunciation, and it means the same.
You will find them in any Scottish supermarket, in the bread aisle, usually in a half-circle shape, but sometimes in little individual circles too. The shop-bought ones are what we all know and love. Dense, potato-y, with a bit of a chew to them; ready to be fried in the pan, alongside your other breakfast items, soaking up their flavours too. There are some folk who enjoy a Tattie Scone in a morning roll with their meat/eggs and sauce, but who am I to judge?!
However, once you make a batch of these fresh and from scratch, you’ll enter a whole new world of Tattie Scone enjoyment – hot from the pan, smothered in butter… No fry-up is even necessary to enjoy them! That’s because homemade is most definitely the best when it comes to a Tattie Scone.
Oh, and did I mention they are super easy to make?
Ingredients for Tattie Scones:
Potatoes
For the perfect Tattie Scones, you need a good floury potato – waxy potatoes have no place in this recipe. You can, of course, use leftover mashed potatoes too; just be sure to adjust your seasoning if you have already seasoned your mashed potatoes.
Self-raising Flour
When it comes to flour, plain will suffice if it’s all you have, but self-raising is preferable, as it will give your potato scones a little lift as they cook. We’re not looking for cake-like Tattie Scones, just a little rise as the heat goes through them; otherwise, they may be a little dense in terms of texture.
And be prepared with a little extra flour close at hand. Much like when it comes to making Macaroons, every potato is different, so the water content from one bag of potatoes to the next can vary; so sometimes a little more/less flour is required.
Butter or Margarine
It’s personal preference, but I opt for margarine to omit any dairy from this recipe. Again, just watch your seasoning if you are using a butter/margarine that is salted.
(Optional) Cheese
Not the most traditional, but so, so tasty! Once you add some finely grated cheese to your tattie scones, you won’t go back. Cheese tattie scones, with a generous helping of butter, equal top-tier snacking!
Top Tips for homemade Tattie Scones:
• Make sure you have plenty of extra flour to hand when it comes to rolling and shaping your potato scones. As the potatoes hold a good amount of water, the dough can very quickly become sticky and difficult to work with. So plenty of flour on your work surface, hands and rolling pin!
• You can transfer the dough in a circle to your frying pan and cut into triangles once cooking; however, I find it much easier to cut your triangles before frying. One, it makes transferring to the pan easier. And two, it means you get nice crisp edges when they do cook.
• Alternatively, you can cut your tatty scones into whatever shape you desire. Another popular choice is to use a cookie cutter and have them in individual circles.
• Roll out your potato scones one circle at a time. If you roll all 3 circles at once, they will stick to your work surface. Only roll and shape your next potato scones right before you are ready to transfer them to the frying pan.
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Tattie Scones
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel your potatoes and cut into even sized halves/quarters. Place in a pan with enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Boil gently for 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes break apart easily when pierced with fork.
- Remove the pan from the heat and drain the water. Allow your potatoes to air dry for a few minutes before mashing them with a potato masher. Add the butter/margarine and mash through the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Add the flour to the bowl and using a wooden spoon, mix the flour through to potatoes to create a dough. You may need more/less flour depending on how moist your potatoes are.
- Once you have a dough-like consistency, tip your potato mixture onto a well floured surface and gently knead it briefly, before dividing the dough into 3 even sized balls.
- Warm a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat (with no oil/butter). Roll your first ball into a circle about 20cm diameter and 5mm thickness, using lots of flour on your surface and rolling pin so they don't stick. Cut your circle into quarters, making 4 even-sized triangles. Using a spatula, transfer the potato tringles to your hot [dry] frying pan.
- Allow the potato scones to cook, checking the underside every few minutes. Once the underside has a good colour to it, flip the potato scones to cook the other side too.
- Once our potato scones have a good colour on both side, remove from the heat and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with your remaining potato balls.
- Enjoy warm with a slathering of butter, alongside your cooked breakfast, or in a roll with some sausages/bacon and sauce!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
Despite being called Tattie Scones, they aren’t really a scone. Or, at least, not the familiar sense that we all know and love. Tattie Scones are, in fact, a savoury snack, made with potatoes, some flour and butter. They are fried until golden and usually served as part of a breakfast. Traditionally, they would be made with leftover potatoes. They don’t have a particularly strong taste to them, meaning they can be enjoyed alongside a variety of options.
Tattie Scones are incredibly easy to make. With only a handful of ingredients, the most difficult part is mashing the potatoes! Once you’ve got your potatoes mashed, you simply mix them with a bit of flour and butter (or margarine). And that’s your tattie scone dough, ready to go. It’s then a case of rolling & shaping them, before frying to finish.
Free-from & Vegan:
Gluten-free: You can make these gluten-free Tattie Scones by swapping out the flour for a gluten-free flour, but some experimenting will be required regarding quantities, as different flours will absorb the moisture from the potatoes in different ways.
Vegan: To make these vegan Tattie Scones just use a dairy-free/vegan margarine.
N.B. Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely that – suggestions. Please be careful to double-check all ingredients individually, taking extra caution when serving to those with allergies & intolerances.
For more info on common food allergies, please see food.gov.uk | For more info on coeliac disease, please see coeliac.org.uk | For more info on a vegan diet, please see vegansociety.com
Originally published in November 2021. Updated in May 2023.
Loved everything you said and everything the commenters said about Tattie Scones. I always make my own as I am a Coeliac and gluten-free Tatties scones seldom appear in shop. I make a load and freeze them so there’s always some for breakfast.
Absolutely delicious, topped with bacon, haggis and left over whisky sauce, one night; the following night enjoyed with bacon, egg and mushrooms. Just one question – can you freeze them?
Just about to make these, the bakers in Dunbar used to make them on a Saturday they were the best!
My grannie, used makes then, but following a broken hip she bought them from the local bakery. That was until they started to charge 4pence per scone so went back to baking them herself. She used to make a big batch, so there was enough for her and my aunt who stayed with her, my other aunt and family as well as my family. She was known to many across the world as friends of my cousins in Australia were told if your in Glasgow go and see Granny Livi, as well as some nurses who looked after her whilst she was in hospital. Granny’s recipes were always the best.
My Great-grandmother came from Scotland to the US before WWII and made these for us as kids. Once cooked, she put them under a towel to keep warm and soft. Without the towel they dry out into saltines. (My experience) We would top them with maple syrup or jellys or sugar and cinnamon then roll them up to eat. Good memories.