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Chewy Date Scones with Honey Glaze

These cardamom date scones are made with butter and cream for a tender, rich texture that’s wonderful plain but even better with a delicate orange blossom glaze.

Cardamom date scones drizzled with orange blossom icing and topped with crushed cardamom seeds from green cardamom pods

As a child I loved the fluffy date-filled buns from a Lebanese bakery. They were stuffed with date purée and scented with orange blossom water. I was the only one in my family who ate them, and I still think of that flavor combination fondly.

The pairing of orange blossom, cardamom, pistachio, and dates is a comforting flavour profile from my upbringing. In this scone recipe, chopped dates and a bright orange blossom glaze recreate those bakery buns in scone form: tender, lightly spiced, and fragrantly floral.

Ingredients to make date scones included cubed butter, salt, baking powder, cream, chopped pitted dates, sugar, flour, and ground cardamom all in bowls for mise-en-place

Choose your dates based on texture and sweetness:

  • Medjool dates – largest, plump, and very tender.
  • Noor (deglet) dates – a good, slightly firmer alternative.
  • Dried pitted dates from the baking aisle – drier than Medjool but still work well, especially if you rehydrate them in a liquid for fillings.

These are essentially fruit scones made with dried fruit. If you prefer fresh-fruit scones, consider recipes that use rhubarb, apple, or canned fruit instead. The orange blossom glaze in this recipe preserves the delicate floral note better than baking the floral water into the dough, where it can dissipate in the oven.

Cutting fruit scones into wedges from a disk of date scone dough

I usually skip glazing scones when the flavor is baked into the dough, but these date scones really benefit from the orange blossom icing. The glaze I prefer is fairly thick — thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to cling to the scones. If you want a thinner finish, add a touch more milk to the glaze.

Six (6) triangle wedge scones on a parchment-lined sheet pan before baking

For the photos I halved the recipe, which is why you’ll see six scones instead of a full dozen. To get the best tender crumb, this recipe uses butter and high-fat cream. I tested versions made with buttermilk and whole milk, but the scones made with 35% cream had the most satisfying texture.

Parchment-lined sheet pan with 6 triangle wedge fruit scones, unglazed

If you prefer to use whole milk or buttermilk instead of cream, make these adjustments so the dough handles the same:

  1. Add extra cold butter: +58 grams (¼ cup) so the total butter becomes 175 grams (¾ cup).
  2. Reduce the liquid to 250 mL (1 cup) milk or buttermilk so the dough is easier to handle without excessive flouring.

These small changes help maintain the richness and structure of the scones when swapping out cream for lower-fat milk.

Six (6) glazed fruit scones with icing drizzled on from a bowl with a spoon, sprinkled with freshly ground cardamom from pods

Recipe

Date Scones

These tender date scones are a traditional fruit scone made with chopped dried dates and lightly spiced with cardamom, finished with a fragrant orange blossom water glaze.

Ingredients

  • 375 g bleached all-purpose flour
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 15 mL baking powder
  • 10 mL ground cardamom
  • 2.5 mL fine kosher salt (reduce if using table salt)
  • 115 g unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
  • 240 g pitted dates, chopped
  • 310 mL whipping cream (35% fat), plus extra for brushing

Orange blossom water glaze

  • 160 g icing sugar
  • 45 mL whole milk
  • 2.5 mL orange blossom water (or rose water)
  • Freshly crushed cardamom seeds, optional for garnish

Equipment

  • Sheet pan
  • Whisk
  • Rolling pin or hands for shaping

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt.
  3. Work the cold butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until large, flaky pieces remain (about the size of corn flakes).
  4. Stir in the chopped dates.
  5. Use a fork to mix in the cold cream until the dough starts to clump — avoid overmixing. The mixture should be shaggy and clumpy.
  6. Gently press the dough together with your hands to form a thick disk. Divide the dough into two disks.
  7. Pat each disk to about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter and roughly 1 inch (2 cm) thick. Cut each disk into 6 wedges for a total of 12 scones.
  8. Place wedges on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze for 15 minutes to help maintain shape while baking.
  9. Brush tops lightly with cream just before baking.
  10. Bake for 25–30 minutes until edges and tops are golden brown. Let cool slightly while you prepare the glaze.

Orange blossom glaze

  1. Whisk icing sugar, milk, and orange blossom water in a bowl until smooth and thick but still drizzle-able. Adjust the orange blossom water to taste.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over warm scones and sprinkle with crushed cardamom seeds if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  • If using self-rising flour (common in the UK), substitute 375 g self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt.
  • Nutrition information is an estimate and should be used only as a guide.

Other recipes to bake with dried dates

If you enjoy baking with dates, try other date-forward recipes such as date squares, date bran muffins, or a savory-sweet date and chorizo loaf cake.