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Tattie Scones

November 25, 2021 By Amy 30 Comments

Tattie Scones recipe from Baking with Granny. Traditional Scottish Potato 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 me!

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 hear these also being called Potato Scones. These are a type of gridle scone that is made using potatoes (aka. tatties) and are generally served alongside sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding and tomatoes, as part of cooked breakfast (aka. a “fry-up”).

You will find them in any Scottish supermarket, in the bread aisle, usually 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 even necessary to enjoy them! That’s because home made is most definitely the best when it comes to a Tattie Scone.

Oh, and did I mention they are super easy to make?

Tattie Scones recipe from Baking with Granny. Traditional Scottish Potato Scones.

Ingredients:

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 left over mashed potato too, just be sure to adjust your seasoning if you have already seasoned your mash 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 left 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 to 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 as 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, equals top tier snacking!


Tattie Scones recipe from Baking with Granny. Traditional Scottish Potato Scones.

Tattie Scones

Recipe for traditional Scottish Potato Scones
5 from 16 votes
Print Rate
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: British, Scottish
Servings: 12 scones
Author: Baking with Granny

Ingredients 

  • 500 g Potatoes
  • 25 g Butter or Margarine
  • 125 g Self-raising Flour

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. Using your rolling pin or a large spatula, transfer the potato circle to your hot [dry] frying pan. Score the top of the circle with two lines evenly down the middle, two create 4 triangular shapes.
    (Alternatively, cut the circle into the 4 triangles before transferring to the frying pan, if you find moving the circle to be too tricky).
  • 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. It is usually easier to divide the potato scones into it's triangles at this point, if you haven't already..
  • 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!
Tried this recipe?Tag @bakingwithgranny or use the hashtag #bakingwithgranny!

Free-from & Vegan

Gluten-free: You can make this recipe gluten-free by swapping out the flour for a gluten-free flour but some experimenting will be required in regards to quantities, as different flours will absorb the moisture from the potatoes in different ways.

Vegan: To make this recipe vegan just use a dairy-free/vegan margarine.


Tattie Scones recipe from Baking with Granny. Traditional Scottish Potato Scones.

Filed Under: recipe

Comments

  1. Maxine says

    November 25, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    Absolutely love these. Can’t buy them here in London. Going to try this recipe very soon. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Barb Thompson says

      November 26, 2021 at 11:21 am

      5 stars
      Alot of supermarkets sell potato cakes, which we have with breakfast. I don’t know if they are the same though! Not with cheese though.

      Reply
  2. fREDA says

    November 25, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    5 stars
    Grew up in Belfast and Edinburgh. My family called this “fadge.” Delicious, ThANK YOU.

    Reply
  3. Ann says

    November 25, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    Been making these potato cakes as we call them for years. Delicious

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      November 25, 2021 at 4:38 pm

      5 stars
      Me too! And – I have cold mashed potato in the fridge right now…

      Reply
  4. Jayne says

    November 25, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    5 stars
    Gotta love potato bread, it makes an Ulster Fry, look forward to mine on a Saturday morning. Can’t wait to try this recipe with a wee bit of the cheese. I also love champ potato bread, as we say in Belfast, “you couldn’t beat it with a big stick”

    Reply
  5. Barry Walton says

    November 25, 2021 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent. I personally like them at about 3mm thick.
    Best in a bacon, Haggis and tattie scone bap with genuine Scottish baps. (English Tesco stores do a canny bap )

    Reply
  6. marie says

    November 25, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    5 stars
    would love the recipe for your potatoe bread Jayne thanks

    Reply
  7. marie says

    November 25, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    5 stars
    i make them all the time love the recipe so thank you

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth Deveson says

    November 26, 2021 at 6:52 am

    5 stars
    Love ❤ them big time x0.

    Reply
  9. Bob says

    November 26, 2021 at 9:50 am

    5 stars
    All really nice any time of day and very easy for fishing trip or camping try cooking them in pork dripping just a nother level many thanks.

    Reply
  10. Mawd says

    November 26, 2021 at 10:59 am

    5 stars
    These are ❤ Would love to make them from leftover mash as I ALWAYS over do and have fridge leftovers which 9 times out of 10 ends up in the bin after sitting in the fridge forgotten after a week or so
    Could you please advise on flour quantity/ratio as I never get it right

    Reply
    • Kate says

      June 6, 2022 at 1:01 am

      Funny you asked that
      I just did the math to figure that very thing…500 to 125
      is 25%
      So 1/4 cup flour for every full cup of potato

      Reply
  11. Alison Fairgrieve says

    November 26, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    5 stars
    Please tell me what to look for as a floury potato. All I ever see are waxy ones. In Edinburgh, when Iwas wee, floury potatoes were easily obtained. We called anything bakked on a hot metal plate a girdle scone. You can, of course bake normal scones this way as well..Baking without an oven must have originated in the early iron age after using hot stones.from the discovery of flour.

    Reply
  12. Paul Fraser says

    November 26, 2021 at 3:18 pm

    5 stars
    Just perfect and exactly what I was looking for to rustle something up :-)

    Reply
  13. Kayleigh Burdett says

    November 26, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness this is out new favourite! My son asked me to put tomatoes in his, with the cheese and said it was better than pizza.
    Thank you so much for sharing this….you’re right the cheese ……mmmmmm

    Reply
  14. June Penman says

    November 26, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    LOVE THESE, mu Irish Granny used to make these for us and they definitely were delicious.

    Reply
  15. Carmen says

    November 27, 2021 at 4:14 am

    We had them when l was growing up, they were rolled out and filled with leftover roast beef which had been minced up with onion and sealed and then fried in a pan with little dripping ( l made them and friend with oil) loved them. I hadn’t thought about them till l saw your recipe for Tattie Scones

    Reply
  16. Vivien CremerGoogle says

    November 27, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    Hi to you all, my grandmother used to make these for us as children. That’s over seventy years ago. An absolute favourite then and now. Just love them!!! Yum yum !

    Reply
  17. Herbert harbinson says

    November 27, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    These are potato bread made in Ireland for over 100years someone said they are tatty bread

    Reply
  18. H stubbs says

    November 27, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    The first time l tasted these l thought l’d died and gone to heaven. Served with bacon, egg, black pudding and tomatoes, sheer bliss even if it looks like a heart attack on a plate.

    Reply
  19. Mrs Isabell Mozart says

    November 28, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    5 stars
    These are amazing and so easy to make!

    Reply
  20. Maureen Humphreys says

    November 29, 2021 at 12:20 am

    I’ve always loved these in an Ulster fry since I was wee. My dad used to sprinkle his with sugar, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since, as well as on my fried pancakes. You’d be surprised how yummy sugar makes them.

    Reply
  21. Sandra says

    November 30, 2021 at 10:06 am

    Oh my…this is right up my alley. Thank you from Canada. Someone was asking about starchy potatoes and we use Russets in my part of the country. You are so kind for sharing your recipes, can’t wait to try these in the a.m.

    Reply
  22. Pauline says

    December 5, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Can these be frozen once cooled?

    Reply
    • Maggie Moore says

      December 31, 2021 at 9:08 am

      I froze a batch and they were fine….

      Reply
    • Jessica says

      March 8, 2022 at 12:00 am

      My family are from Belfast and we always called it a potato farl, I’ve never heard fadge before , is that from the Belfast area or Edinburgh?

      Reply
  23. Alison says

    January 2, 2022 at 1:46 pm

    5 stars
    I made this gluten free by swapping to Asda gluten free self raiding flour and adding a 1/4 tsp of baking powder. Same quantities and came out great. I added some grated cheese. My daughter and I ate them with butter and some slices of cheese (red Leicester) on top as a brunch- very yummy

    Reply
  24. Marion says

    January 14, 2022 at 4:03 pm

    I love this and all your recipes. Keep up the good work

    Reply
  25. Roxanne Donaldson says

    February 25, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    Amazing! xXx

    Reply

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Hello & welcome!

Hello, I’m Amy, the voice-behind and creator-of Baking with Granny.

So many of us have fond memories of baking with our parents and grandparents. Good old fashioned home baking, made to traditional family recipes, which are passed down through generations. It was from my own experiences and memories of this that Baking with Granny was born…

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