Potato Scones and British Breakfasts: a Tutorial from a Scottish Girl
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: in Scotland, you’ll surely see potato scones.
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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 add 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. Read all about black pudding here.
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. And don’t forget the HP Sauce!
Scottish Potato Scones Recipe
(Tattie Scones)
From the Scottish Lofty Peak Recipe Book Serves 10 (2 each)
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- russet potatoes
- flour
- butter
- sea salt
Special equipment: a potato ricer
Directions for Potato Scones
First, peel the boiled potatoes.
If you absolutely refuse to peel boiled potatoes, you can make your children do it peel them before boiling. You can 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. To be honest, though, I don’t know anyone in Scotland who uses a ricer, haha!
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.
Cook the Potato Scones
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. Can you spot the HP Sauce? Don’t forget to buy some!
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
Ingredients
- 1 lb Russet potatoes boiled, see notes
- ½ cup flour sifted
- 2 tbsp butter softened, good quality
- ½ tsp Kosher salt or sea salt
Instructions
- First, peel the boiled potatoes. 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. I
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.
- If you absolutely refuse to peel boiled potatoes, you can peel them before boiling.
Nutrition
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Each time I went to visit her in Glasgow, My mother in law used to treat me with potato sscones that she bought from the Baker’s. She knew I loved them. Back to France (I am French) I have often thought of trying of to make them but… could not find a nice recipe… not enough time… and so on. Now with this time of lockdown I have found and tried your recipe. Easy and delicious. Probably even better then the Baker’s scones.
Thank you!
The sad thing is I was planning a walking trip to Scotalnd in August but I think it might not be possible to travel then.
Too bad! I’ll be treating my Scottish nostalgia with your scones.
Cheers from the South of France.
Danielle
Thank you so much for your lovely note, Danielle! There are good and bad things happening during this time, the worst is not seeing our loved ones, in fact, I just lost my godfather in Scotland this week :( Hope you find other Scottish recipes to enjoy. CC
I made these tonight. We are under stay at home orders and was completely bored of everything. I’ve been reading a lot about Scotland, lot of family from there originally. And wanted to try the recipes. Some of these look a lot like what my grandma and her best friend (who came from SCotland in the 60’s) would make. So in a way I grew up with some of these but never learned to make. We had had a Scottish breakfast for supper tonight. Made the Lorne Sausage as well,which I remember from being a kid and never understood why my grandma’s sausage was square, she made her own like her mom did. My kids loved it! They said I should cook like that more often lol. My husband did too and I don’t think we will be buying sausage at the store any more,it was so easy. My grandma made the potato scones,but called them tatties, I think she might have added milk sometimes,but I can’t remember. I don’t know if this was a Scottish thing or not, but my grandma made something similiar to these out of smashed up brown beans, it had an egg added. We called them bean cakes. Imake bean cakes outof white beans sometimes and eat them with jelly.
Oh this is such a wonderful comment, Anne! I love everything you wrote! SO happy to have brought a little bit of Scotland into your home which is exactly what I am trying to do. :) Tattie = potato, so your grandma would have called these “tattie scones.” I don’t know the dish with the beans and egg. So happy everyone loved the Scottish breakfast and the Lorne sausage. I have SO many more Scottish recipes for you to explore, and if you children are old enough, they can join in, too! My Empire Biscuits and Apple Scones have been popular recently, so those are two simple ones they might try! Enjoy and thank you for the lovely review! (If you can click on the 5 stars within the recipe card in the recipe, I’d very much appreciate it!)
I sent my inlaws some of the sausage to try and they loved it! Now I have to make them some for the freezer,and my grandpa. My kiddos have gotten into making it with me and love doing it. We did sausage sandwiches for lunch,my 13 year old comes in, “Is that the sausage from Scotland?” She was so excited. She has autism, and can be a picky eater. But she loves tries food from around the world.
Oh Andrea, this is so wonderful to hear!! It makes me so happy that your daughter loves the Lorne sausage and other foods from around the world! Thank you so much for letting me know! Please leave a star rating in the printable recipe box if you can! Most people miss it. :) Stay safe and hope you find some other international recipes on my site to enjoy with your family! :)
When you first cook them, do you dry fry them?
My Gran made these for our whole family when I was little, but we were mainly interested in eating them as soon as they came off the hot plate rather than learning how to cook them ourselves. I recall Gran dry frying with flour sprinkled on the hot plate or in the frying pan (no butter or oil in the pan), I was a lot younger then so I am not 100% sure if I am right or not. They felt powdery when we ate them and we always ate them warm with melted butter on top.
P.s. I will be crucified by my family if I don’t live up to the expectations of my Gran’s Scottish Scones (we could them Tottie Scones). Ha ha 😊
Yes, that’s exactly how my recipe is written, Renee! :) Nothing on the griddle or pan except the potato scones (there will be some flour from the board when they are rolled out and cut. And yes, you absolutely can eat them fresh off the griddle! My family prefers to fry them in bacon fat first! ;) Enjoy, I’m sure everyone will be very pleased! CC
Christina, because frying food is so closely related with the use of oil, it wouldn’t hurt to mention that the scones be cooked in a un-oiled, or dry frying pan. Some of us get quite nervous and feel under pressure when cooking, and so go into analysis paralysis. 🙀 Pleeeeease be kind 🙏
Yes, I wondered about that too ! Some of us get nervous about reading a recipe properly. Don’t worry. 😍
I’m confused? Where was I unkind? Frying is only when oil is used, so it’s not closely related, it IS that, exactly. The potato scones are cooked on the griddle after being made; they can be fried afterwards. Hope this helps.
Just made these and used Yukon potatoes as they were the only I had on hand in the midst of this lockdown we’re having! They were SO SO good! Thank you for sharing your recipe and if you don’t mind me asking since I can’t imagine them getting any better…but why russet potatoes?
I’m so glad that they turned out well for you, Michelle. It’s just that russets are a more dry potato, which is better for the potato scones. My daughter was making them today, too! Enjoy!
Very good recipe, Christina. Just made some and they lasted all of 20 minutes. Served with a generous helping of butter…..yum,yum.
As regards the black pudding, are you familiar with the incredible Stornoway Black Pudding? Not sure if it’s available in LA but make sure you get some next time you’re in Scotland.
Glad you enjoyed them, Bill! Yes, I’ve had Stornoway, but to be honest, I like a spicier pudding, so it’s not my favorite even though I know most people like it best. Give me a good old chip shop pudding and I’m happy! :)
Stonroway black pudding is nice but like you Christina we like it a bit spicier in our house, the Coop used to do a particularly nice one.
YES!!! I loved that one!
Hello ,
A little thing to give the tattie scones an extra flavour – is to fry some onions with a lid on – salt them to bring out the liquid and drain
then put the liquid in the potato and flour mix – gives the scones an oniony flavour MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,
and we used to have a slice of French toast with our eggs, Ayrshire bacon, black pud , fruit pud, Lorne sausage, McKellar Watts round
slice and links, Ulster Fry, Tottie scones and crumpets – boy it makes me hungry just listing it.
Have you tried to make Grants A & B Roll ???
That does sound good (adding the onions!) Yum! Now you’re making ME hungry, too! No idea what a Grant’s A & B roll is?
Tinned luncheon meat but very tasty. Comes in a red tartan can.
Now I’m wondering if you can make mash using cauliflower can you make cauliflower scones?
I have no idea as I don’t like cauliflower, so cauliflower scones do not appeal to me at all, sorry!
At last ive found a website that has scottish recipes. Im live in Scotland and love your tattie scones. Next empire biscuits. I dont suppose you have a recipe for the rice crispy cake covered in chocolate?
Yippee! That makes me so happy, Paul! I’m not sure which cake that is, but let me do some searching for you! CC
Is it this recipe? You don’t have to shape into nests.
I think he might be talking about this crispy cake. My mum makes it. It is very good. I’m from Scotland.
https://www.bakingmad.com/recipes/traybakes/cake-traybakes/mars-bar-slice
Thanks, Fraser!