Scottish potato scones (tattie scones) are a quintessential part of a full Scottish breakfast. You’ll see how easy they are to make, and learn all about British Breakfasts, too.
If you’ve gone to Britain, you will surely have experienced “the full British breakfast.” Depending on which part of the UK you’ve visited will determine what you see on your plate.
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What is a British Breakfast?
It’s often called a “fry-up” because of the fact that almost everything is fried. It may also be called “heart attack on a plate,” but as long as you are not having this on a regular basis, it’s just too delicious to pass up once in a while!
Sometimes, you may hear the term, “a full English”, which refers to a full English breakfast. This means that all the options will be on your plate. Read on…
In Great Britain, breakfast will consist of several common items, such as eggs, bacon, tomato, toast and beans. The rest of the plate will be filled with different items, depending on the part of the country in which you are located.
English Breakfast
England offers their regional sausages and usually adds mushrooms to the plate. Sometimes, black pudding is included in the options (usually more in the north of England, although the photo below is from London).
Irish Breakfast
Northern Ireland has their Ulster Fry with local sausages and soda scones. My dad was stationed in Ballymena when he was in the army (as a cook, no less) and has always raved about the soda scones. Ireland’s breakfasts are much the same and can include “potato farls” much like potato scones, and white and black pudding.
Welsh Breakfast
Although I’ve been to Wales, I’ve never had a typical Welsh breakfast (I do love Welsh cakes, though!) In addition to the basics of a British breakfast, the Welsh add laverbread (made from seaweed) and cockles on their breakfast plates. Have you tried this breakfast?
Another type of Scottish scone made on a griddle: girdle scones
Scottish Breakfast
And last, but certainly not least, Scotland serves potato scones (also known as tattie scones), local sausages, and black and/or white puddings. I’m showing my bias here and saying that I think Scottish breakfasts are the best in Britain. This photo was taken at Rufflet’s, just outside St. Andrews.
So now that we’ve decided on a Scottish breakfast (and that the Highland cow is the cutest!) I’m going to show you how to make delicious potato scones. Like so many of the recipes I make, they are quite simple to make and freeze well, so I usually make a double batch and freeze* most of them, so I can cook some whenever we want them.
As far as the black and white puddings go, I’ll leave that for you to decide if you want to try it (if you can find it where you live) as I ABSOLUTELY adore black pudding, but I understand if someone has not grown up with it, why they might have a less than positive feeling about it.
I was going to link to Wikipedia’s page on black pudding, but the first photo of black pudding isn’t the most appealing image that would encourage someone to try this tasty food!
Are Potato Scones the Same as Potato Cakes?
The answer to this question is yes, they are the same: potato scones are the Scottish name and potato cakes are the Irish name, but they are BOTH served as part of a savory meal, like breakfast. In addition, potato scones can also be eaten with butter (even jam) and served with a cup of tea.
How are Tattie Scones Made?
Potato scones are made from mixing boiled, riced (or mashed) potatoes, a little butter, salt, and flour. These ingredients are combined to form a dough, then rolled out, and cooked on a griddle. You may hear them called “tattie scones” in Scotland, but they are one and the same, and here’s how to make them.
*NOTE: you can use leftover mashed potatoes as long as they’re quite dry. It won’t work if you’ve added too much liquid.
You may also ask~
How do I Cook Potato Scones?
After being cooked on the griddle (no oil, butter or grease is added, so they are not fried), they can be eaten as is. However, as you’ve seen in the photos here, the best way to serve them is to fry them with the rest of your breakfast items (preferably after you’ve fried the bacon!) This way, they are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
Can I Freeze Potato Scones?
Absolutely yes, tattie scones are perfect for the freezer! I usually make a large batch and freeze all of them. They’re perfect to have on hand anytime you want a quick meal, just add eggs, if you like. To freeze: place them individually separated on a floured tray in the freezer until frozen, then place in a freezer bag. This way they won’t stick to each other. Alternately, you can put them in a container with pieces of wax/parchment paper in between them.
To cook frozen potato scones, there’s no need to defrost them, you can just fry them straight away. However, I usually take them out of the freezer about for about 10 minutes though, so they cook more quickly.
Scottish Potato Scones Recipe
(Tattie Scones)
From the Scottish Lofty Peak Recipe Book Serves 10 (2 each)
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
- russet potatoes
- flour
- butter
- sea salt
Special equipment: a potato ricer
First, peel the boiled potatoes.
If you absolutely refuse to peel boiled potatoes, you can make your children do it peel them before boiling. Use a potato ricer, if you have one. If not, just mash them, but what makes better potato scones is having light, dry potatoes, and ricing them gives them more air.
Add the butter and salt. Taste the potatoes at this point, add more salt if needed, then very lightly mix in the sifted flour.
It will come together into a dough very quickly and easily. Turn out onto a floured workspace…
and gently fold over until smooth. Divide into 4 or 5 equal portions and form each into a ball. Roll one ball out to about 1/4″ thick, then prick with a fork and cut into quarters or sixths, whichever you prefer, with a large knife. Repeat with the rest of the balls of dough.
Heat a pan or griddle to (almost) high heat (between med. high and high.) I love my scraper for
picking up the scones to put into the pan.
When the pan is hot, cook the scones until brown on each side. (You can cut them into round shapes with a cookie cutter, but this takes more time to rework the scraps of dough.)
Place on a clean dish towel, then cover with the other half to cool.
These are fully cooked and may be eaten as is, but traditionally, they are fried in the same pan as the bacon was fried in, for a Scottish breakfast.
You can also toast them to heat them up, or even fry them with a tiny bit of light olive oil for a crispy, yet less artery-clogging breakfast :) You can also just have eggs, bacon and toast with potato scones, as I’ve done in the photo below.
Or you can do it “right” and serve the potato scones with eggs, bacon, toast, black pudding (this one is really good), grilled tomato halves, sausages, Heinz Beans, HP Sauce a piping hot cup of tea. You can add any of the other delicious items you see in the photos above: delicious beyond words!
Oh, and did I mention you won’t be eating lunch or dinner that day? 😂
Leave a comment below if you agree that Scottish breakfasts are the BEST!!
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Scottish Potato Scones and British Breakfasts: a Tutorial
A traditional part of a full Scottish breakfast. Mostly made with mashed potatoes, these scones are a potato lover's dream come true.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (453 g) boiled Russet potatoes (see notes)
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (70 g) flour, sifted
- 1/4 stick butter (28 g) softened, good quality butter
- 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
Instructions
- First, peel the boiled potatoes. If you absolutely refuse to peel boiled potatoes, you can peel them before boiling. If you have a ricer, use it to rice the potatoes, if not, just mash them, but what makes better potato scones is light, dry potatoes, and ricing them gives them more air.
- Add the butter and salt. Taste the potatoes at this point, add more salt if needed, then very lightly mix in the sifted flour. It will come together into a dough very quickly and easily. Turn out onto a floured workspace and gently fold over until smooth.
- Divide into 4 or 5 equal portions and form each into a ball. Roll one ball out to about 1/4″ thick, then prick with a fork and cut into quarters or sixths, whichever you prefer, with a large knife. Repeat with the rest of the balls of dough.
- Heat a pan or griddle to (almost) high heat (between med. high and high.) When the pan is hot, cook the scones until brown on each side. Place on a clean dish towel, then cover with the other half to cool.
- These are fully cooked and may be eaten as is, but traditionally, they are fried in the same pan as the bacon was fried in, for a Scottish breakfast. If you are going to freeze these, place them on a floured tray in the freezer until frozen, then place in a freezer bag, this way they won’t stick to each other. Alternately, you can put them in a container with pieces of wax paper in between them.
Notes
- To freeze: place them individually separated on a floured tray in the freezer until frozen, then place in a freezer bag. This way they won't stick to each other. Alternately, you can put them in a container with pieces of wax/parchment paper in between them.
- Potatoes should be weighed after cooking - about 4 large potatoes, cooked in salted water -preferably cooked with the skin.
- To cook frozen potato scones, there's no need to defrost them, you can just fry them straight away. However, I usually take them out of the freezer about for about 10 minutes though, so they cook more quickly.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 88Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 137mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information is only estimated and is before being cooked/fried a second time.
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[…] then into quarters, pricked and grilled. Potato scones in the morning, could it get any better? HERE is a recipe to make them if you want to give it a […]
Hi Christina, I am an ex-pat Scott from Glasgow now living in New Zealand. I have just spent the last hour or so reading through your web site and all the Scottish recipes, you can be sure I will be trying some of them out, starting with the Tattie Scones.
Potato Scones are one of the things I miss most from back home, so I will be out in the kitchen tomorrow having a go at making them and seeing if I can get them as good as my Gran’s. There is just one other thing you may want to try with the old tattie scone which you do not mention here. My Gran used to give them to us cold with butter and Strawberry jam for our afternoon tea. This, in my opinion, is by far the best way to eat them, not all covered in grease in a fry-up.
Thank you for your fabulous web site and I hope you enjoy your visit to Scotland. G.B.
Hi Gordon, I’m so sorry I missed this comment, but looking at the date I see that I was traveling in the UK on this day. I’m so glad you found my site and all the Scottish recipes as I know you will truly appreciate them! :) I have never heard of eating them cold with butter and jam, but I just asked my dad and he said he used to eat them cold with butter, too! Something new for me to try! Thanks, Gordon!
oh my gosh..i wish it wasn’t 1:00 a.m in the morning..lol..i will be making these tomorrow..or i should say later in the day..i can almost taste them just from reading thru your recipe..i have always wanted to visit Scotland..i will be able to virtually visit thru you and your wonderful recipes..i am so glad i found your site..Loving all the recipes i see already!!!
So happy to hear it, Maggie (a good Scottish name, my Dad always says!) You’ll love the potato scones and you can virtually visit along with me as I’m going to Scotland on Wednesday! I’ll be updating via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so everyone can follow me on my travels! :)
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I most definitely will drop in and see you. I was aware of the ridiculous Haggis ban; astounding considering how awful hotdogs are – don’t know what they’re missing! You can fill up when your over. It might be worth getting a lesson in haggis making from a decent butcher here and replicate it when you get home. Hx
What a good point you make about the hot dogs, it’s absolutely true! Don’t know if I’d be brave enough to make haggis or black pudding for that matter! ;) See you soon! CC
Hey Christina,
Fellow Bailliestonian here. I love my weekend Full Scottish which may be Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner – never fails but for me is incomplete without a cheeky we slice of haggis and the sausages have to be square, the bacon back, the eggs soft n luscious, mushrooms sautéed in butter, tomatoes grilled n beans have to be Heinz. Toast is bonus and a mug of tea (from a pot) perfects the whole ensemble. Yum. See you in the SECC in October. Hx
Oh dear God, Helen! Your description was pure torture for me to read! I don’t know if you know, but haggis is banned here, it’s hard to find a good black pudding (they’re all frozen, anyway), I have to make my own square sausage, but the rest is manageable. I’m looking forward to making up for lost time when I’m over! Come say hi when you come to the show! :) CC
Looks fantastic Christina, I had many breakfast that looked just like those! Well done!
Thanks, Cynthia! I bet you miss them, too. CC