Traditional Scottish Tattie Scone Recipe - Scottish Scran (2024)

It’s a well-known fact that no full Scottish breakfast is complete without a tasty tattie scone!

When we started looking into what traditional Scottish food to make, it was one of the first things mentioned by our friends. They also said it would be really easy to make…

Our first couple of attempts at making Scottish tattie scones, however, didn’t really go as planned.

Numerous tattie/potato scone recipes said they were “easy”, and yet we ended up with tough and chewy scones the first time around and undercooked tattie scones the second time.

However, when we finally made it work, our tattie scones were divine! Light and delicious, and just perfect with a cooked breakfast or even with butter and jam.

When you know what you’re doing, it’s an easy dish to recreate, but you need the full instructions on how to get there.

I kept saying to Phil that I just wished there was someone in the kitchen to show me where I was going wrong. So we’ve laid out all our tricks so we can be that person for you!

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Why are they called tattie scones?

Tattie is another word for potato, commonly used across Scotland, where tattie scones originated. You might hear them called Tottie in Glasgow and fadge or potato bread in Ireland.

You’ll also hear it in relation to , Tattie Soup, and . All of which you’ll also find recipes for on our site!

Potatoes are definitely a strong feature of Scottish food. You’ll also find them in Stovies, and Scottish Macaroons – yes, that’s right, a sweet made of potato!

How do you eat a tattie scone?

There are a few different ways to enjoy a tattie scone but it’s most commonly found alongside a full Scottish Breakfast.

The exact items a Full Scottish consists of can be a bone of contention and it’s not to be confused with a Full English!

You’ll generally find it includes most of the following; eggs, bacon, link sausage or square/Lorne sausage (another Scottish speciality), baked beans, black pudding, haggis, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, possibly even fruit pudding (not what you might think) and toast.

Plus, of course, a tattie scone or two!

The tattie scone is fried in the remnants of the bacon fat or in butter and can be used to mop up the egg yolk or eaten with a bit of brown sauce.Delicious!

If a Full Scottish isn’t for you, you can pop your tattie scone in a bread roll (known as a morning roll here!) with other breakfast items, or eat straight from the toaster with a slather of butter.

Finally, some people even enjoy theirs with butter and jam, like traditional scones.

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Why make tattie scones?

Tattie scones are pretty cheap to buy in supermarkets across Scotland, but they’re not quite the same as the homemade variety. Homemade tattie scones turn out soft and light rather than stiff and a little salty like the bought kind.

Making your own offers a little extra something to a cooked breakfast and really gives you a taste of Scotland.

Traditionally Tattie Scones would have been made after a midday meal when any leftover potatoes were still warm. They’d be cooked on a dry girdle (griddle), liberally smeared with butter and rolled up to eat. Any cold leftovers could be re-heated by toasting or frying with butter.

This recipe really is simple once you learn one or two tricks to help you make it work along the way. It’s something a little bit different from making bread and uses up potatoes when you need to.

Not only can the potato scones be eaten in a variety of delicious ways, but they also freeze well too!

Things you’ll need to make Tattie Scones

While a girdle or griddle pan is often recommended for making Scottish Potato Scones (and many other Scottish foods in fact) it’s not strictly necessary.

You can make them in a large flat-bottomed frying pan as well.

Other than that, you’ll need a pan to boil the potatoes in, of course, and a masher.

If you have a potato ricer, this is useful to get all of the lumps out and make the potato a little fluffier, but again, not necessary and plain old mashed potatoes will do!

Ingredients for Tattie Scones

The ingredients for tattie scones are simple:

• 500g Potatoes
• 125g Plain Flour
• 20g Butter

That’s it! You don’t need anything else, except maybe a pinch of salt.

There are recipes floating about that include an egg, but this makes it more of a fritter than a traditional tattie scone, and it shouldn’t be needed to bind the scone together if you follow the step-by-step method below.

The amount of each ingredient varies depending on how many you want to make and what type of potatoes you use.

King Edward potatoes are generally considered to be the best option because they are light and floury when cooked.

Our recipe makes roughly 12 scones depending on how big you cut them but you can easily do more or less.

Plain flour is preferred over self-raising as you don’t actually want the potato scones to rise at all, they should stay flat and thin.

How to Make Tattie Scones – Step by Step

There’s a common misconception that Tattie Scones are made from leftover mashed potato.

While it’s certainly possible to make them with leftovers they won’t be as light and fluffy as potato scones made with still-warm freshly boiled potatoes.

We peeled our potatoes because we found that easier, but you can boil the potatoes in the skins and carefully remove them afterwards too.

The recipe calls for 500g but we weighed them before peeling and boiling so you’ll lose a little weight which is fine.

Don’t cut the potatoes too small if you peel them, just make them as small as the smallest potato you use or cut in large chunks/halves to allow for a nice and even cook.

Once the potatoes are boiled drain the water and allow them to air dry for a few minutes. This will help to remove some more of the moisture.

Next, add in the butter, ideally softened to room temperature, and mash well to remove any lumps.

Adding the flour is the next step and how much you use depends on the potatoes. Here’s where you may need to go a bit off-piste! I measured out 125g of flour but keep more on hand to add as you flatten out the tattie scones later.

Add the flour slowly, one tablespoon or so at a time to make sure it’s thoroughly mixed into your mash and that you don’t add more than necessary.

The potatoes should come together to form a stiff dough, once you see this happening you can stop adding flour and turn them out onto a floured surface. I used a wooden chopping board as our worktop proved too sticky.

Separate the dough into 3 even-sized balls, adding in a little flour whenever you need to to ensure it doesn’t stick to anything.

Now importantly, leave these to cool just a little!

While you want to use warm potatoes to get fluffy tattie scones, you won’t be able to make the dough thin enough or shape and lift it into a pan to cook if it’s still too hot, it will just break apart when lifting or stick to the surface. You don’t need long, maybe only 5 minutes or so.

Most of the recipes we researched said to now “roll” out the dough into rounds, but I found that when using a rolling pin to do so it would just stick to the surface immediately. Instead, I did this by patting them with my hands, constantly flipping and adding a little flour as I did so, to prevent them from sticking into the board.

You’re aiming for roughly the size of a side-plate and you can actually place one on top and cut around it to get a perfect circle once it’s big enough.

Remember to keep flipping and lightly flouring so they don’t stick!

I did them one at a time but if you have a big enough workspace you can do all three. You want them to be about 5mm thick, or slightly less.

Once you have a circle then you can score into 4 and prick all over with a fork. There are two options for cooking. Fry it whole and then cut into 4 afterwards, or cut into 4 and fry individually. It’s easier to do it individually but I quite liked doing them whole as well and then cutting after.I’ve shown both options below.

Preheat the pan on a high heat and then reduce the heat to medium when you put them in.

Use a hot, dry pan, rather than frying in butter. This is because when you’re doing multiple scones the butter will burn and you’ll be left with that taste on the scone. A light dusting of flour will stop them from sticking.

Fry for 3-4 minutes each side, depending on thickness. You can flip more than once and should keep an eye on them so they don’t colour too quickly on the outside without heating and cooking through the middle. If they start to brown too quickly turn your heat down.

Remove and eat!

You can then eat them freshly cooked straight from the pan or return to them to the pan with a little butter to fry, adding a little more flavour and crispness. You can, of course, save them for later to reheat in a buttered pan or even in the toaster.

Our top tips for getting the perfect tattie scones are:

• Use freshly boiled or still warm floury potatoes, rather than old mash.
• Allow the potatoes to air dry after boiling before moving on to the next steps.
• Let the dough sit for a few minutes to cool slightly if the potatoes are still really warm, as it’ll make it easier to work with.
• Keep flipping and flouring the dough as you push and flatten it into a circle
• Use a dry pan rather than greased.

Tattie Scones Printable Recipe Card

Other Similar Scottish Recipes to Try

• Simple Scottish Bannocks Recipe
• Easy Scottish Oatcakes Recipe
• The Perfect Scottish Morning Rolls Recipe
• Butteries Recipe