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Do you love Starbucks Petite Vanilla Scones? Well, you’re in luck! This is a Copycat Petite Vanilla Scone, even better than the original!
Copycat Petite Vanilla Scones are just like that scone recipe at Starbucks but they’re better because they’re made at home. This is the best scone recipe because it’s made with pudding mix – the scones are pillowy soft and stay soft for days. The flavor of these scones is amazing!
Mel and I have had a ritual almost as long as our relationship: we love to walk to Starbucks on Sunday mornings, have coffee, and read the paper. It still is one of my favorite things to do on the weekend, although it’s fewer and far between. Life gets in the way too much!
I’ll never forget one walk back in 2001. We were newlyweds, and it was about a mile to the Starbucks. On our way, there was one of those trailers the cops set up to track your speed, you know, to tell you how fast you’re going.
It was probably no later than 8am on a Sunday morning, so it was totally dead outside. Mel took off running at a sprint to see if it would clock his speed. I think it said 10 mph or something. To this day, every time I see one of those road things, I think of that morning.
For several years our walks included Jordan and no newspaper reading because dealing with a toddler is hard enough without trying to read the paper. Then we added Ginger and had fun watching her try to eat the crumbs from our breakfast. Now our Sunday morning ritual usually is just Mel and I and Abby, because Jordan is either sleeping in (she’s a teenager now and is rarely up before 9 or 10) or she’s at a sleepover and we’re alone. It’s weird to be at Starbucks and be able to read the newspaper again!
When Jordan was little, we always got her a petite vanilla scone on our Starbucks Sundays, and now that’s my indulgence. I love all the petite treats they make, because it makes me feel better to eat one. Plus, when Jordan was 3, it was a perfect size for her. Jordan loves those petite vanilla scones…and so did Ginger. Abby just sees a Starbucks cup and hopes it’s her Puppuchino.
I’m a little scone obsessed, ever since I made Lemon Scones and Funfetti Chip Cake Batter Scones. I’m also obsessed with Starbucks Copycats ever since I made those Blueberry Crumb Muffins and pumpkin scones. These Petite Vanilla Scones are just another addition to my favorite breakfast recipes. They’re perfect for Sunday brunch or any day you want a homemade scone!
Copycat Petite Vanilla Scones are homemade and stay soft for days. They’re better then the recipe from Starbucks!
I wanted to make a scone version from scratch – without the cake mix. But I’m always so worried that a from-scratch scone will be dry. I’ve had dry scones and they aren’t good! So I did what I always do to keep a baked good soft:
I added pudding mix.
And it totally worked!
These scones are made traditionally, with flour, butter, and cream. For vanilla flavor, you can use extract or vanilla bean paste, or even a vanilla bean. I mixed in some vanilla instant pudding mix and they turned out soft and puffy and delicious. Scones are hard to keep soft and fresh, but adding pudding mix ensures the perfect petite vanilla scone recipe every time.
The frosting for these scones is to die for. It’s a simple glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. I love that stuff so much! You can totally substitute regular vanilla extract for any of the paste/beans in this recipe, but using the bean and/or paste will totally punch up that vanilla flavor.
And like with the chocolate in my cookies, I like to have vanilla flavor that punches me in the face.
Now I can make Jordan (and myself) happy even on those Sundays we can’t get to Starbucks. I can make petite vanilla scones at home!
How to make the perfect Copycat Petite Vanilla Scones:
- Be sure to use cold butter and dice it in using a pastry blender or forks. Don’t over mix either; over-mixing of scone dough will cause it to become tough.
- Use any flavor pudding mix for a new flavor scone!
- Heavy whipping cream is a must; don’t sub milk!
- You can make 8 large scones instead of 16 petite, if you prefer.
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Copycat Petite Vanilla Scones
Ingredients
For the scone
- 2 cups 248g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons 24g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons 86g cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1 small box approximately 3.4 ounces or 96g) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 vanilla bean scraped (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon 134ml heavy cream, divided
For the frosting
- 1 cup 113g powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon 15ml vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2-3 tablespoons 30-45ml cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add cold butter and cut it in using a pastry blender or two butter knives until it forms small crumbs.
- Stir in pudding mix. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the vanilla, egg and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Stir gently with a fork until just incorporated. Bring the dough together with your hands.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form into two small rounds. Cut each round into 8 triangles and place each on the prepared baking sheet. Brush each triangle with a little of the remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Bake for 8-10 minutes until just golden. Cool before frosting
- To make the frosting: Whisk powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons cream. Add more cream as needed for desired consistency. (I made mine thinner, so I could dip the scones in it.) Frost cooled scones with a knife or dip them upside down in the frosting. Let it harden, then serve.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to one month.
Recipe Nutrition
If you love Starbucks copycat recipes, be sure to check out Averie’s Lemon Loaf, these Maple Oat Scones, my pumpkin cream cheese muffins, or Holly’s Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake.
You might also like:
Starbucks Copycat Blueberry Muffins
**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
Your vanilla scones with pudding mix just doesn’t work
Can you let me know what happened? These have worked whenever I’ve made them.
I just made these and they are awesome. Thank you for sharing this recipe. But I also agree with Barbara’s comments a month ago; I think 1 Tbs is a bit too much vanilla extract in the frosting. Next time I make them. I’m going to try using just 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Can you make the dough and refrigerate one day ahead to make them the following day?
I haven’t tried that but I don’t see why not.
The scones themselves were very good, but the icing was not. I even cut the recommended 1 Tbsp. Vanilla to 2 tsp., and it was still too strong for the one cup confectioners sugar icing. It gave it a bitter flavor that I thought ruined the taste of the scones. I’ll stick with the lemon petite scones. They were better.
I had trouble getting the post done and didn’t realize it had already gone through.
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