Raspberry Lemon Cottage Cheese Scones

Yield: 8 large scones
Prep: 20–25 minutes
Chill/rest: 15 minutes
Bake: 18–25 minutes
Oven: 200°C / 400°F

The recipe below is a carefully balanced version designed to reproduce the appearance and texture in your photo rather than claiming to be the exact original recipe from the image.

FULL INGREDIENT LIST
For the scones
Ingredient Amount
All-purpose/plain flour 2¾ cups / 330 g
Granulated/caster sugar ⅓ cup / 65–70 g
Baking powder 2 teaspoons
Baking soda ½ teaspoon
Fine salt ½ teaspoon
Unsalted butter, very cold ½ cup / 113 g
Cottage cheese 1 cup / 225–250 g
Large egg 1
Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Fresh lemon zest 2 teaspoons
Fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Raspberries ¾–1 cup / 100–125 g

For brushing
1 tablespoon milk or cream
OR

1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water for a shinier finish

Optional topping
1 tablespoon coarse/granulated sugar

Lemon glaze
½ cup / 60 g powdered sugar

1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Optional: ½ teaspoon lemon zest

Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla

The cottage-cheese technique is consistent with published versions of this style of scone; blending or smoothing the cottage cheese helps it incorporate into the dough and contributes moisture and tenderness.
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STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE
1. Prepare the oven
Preheat oven to:

200°C / 400°F

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

For especially flaky scones, put the butter in the freezer for 10–15 minutes before starting. Cold butter is important because it creates pockets of fat that help produce flaky layers.
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2. Prepare the cottage cheese
If your cottage cheese is very lumpy, blend it briefly until mostly smooth.

Don’t worry if it isn’t completely silky.

You want approximately:

1 cup / 225–250 g cottage cheese

3. Mix the dry ingredients
In a large bowl combine:

330 g flour

65–70 g sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Whisk thoroughly.

4. Add the lemon
Add:

2 tsp lemon zest

Rub the zest into the sugar/flour mixture with your fingertips for about 30 seconds.

This releases the lemon oils and gives the finished scones a stronger lemon aroma.

5. Add the cold butter
Grate the very cold butter directly into the flour mixture.

Alternatively, cut it into small cubes.

Rub or cut the butter into the flour until you have a coarse mixture.

Do not completely eliminate the butter pieces.

You ideally want some pieces around pea-sized.

Those pieces help create flaky layers.

6. Make the wet mixture
In another bowl whisk together:

1 egg

1 cup cottage cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix until reasonably smooth.

7. Combine wet and dry ingredients
Pour the cottage-cheese mixture into the flour/butter mixture.

Use a spatula or wooden spoon.

Mix very gently.

Stop as soon as the dough starts coming together.

Important:
Do not knead the dough like bread.

Overworking it develops gluten and can make your scones tough and dense.

8. Add the raspberries
Add:

¾–1 cup raspberries

Frozen raspberries are particularly useful because they are less likely to collapse and release excessive juice while you’re mixing. One published version specifically recommends freezing fresh berries for 15–20 minutes before folding them into the dough.
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Fold them in very gently.

Some berries will break.

That’s actually desirable for the appearance in your photograph — those beautiful red raspberry streaks throughout the dough.

9. Chill the dough
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.

If it’s extremely sticky, sprinkle a little flour over it.

Shape into a thick disk approximately:

20 cm / 8 inches wide

and roughly:

2.5–3 cm / 1–1¼ inches thick.

Place it on your lined baking sheet.

For better structure, refrigerate for 15 minutes.

10. Cut the scones
Cut the circle into 8 wedges.

Separate the wedges slightly.

Don’t make them too far apart — the scones can spread slightly during baking.

11. Brush the tops
Brush the tops lightly with:

1 tbsp milk or cream

For a deeper golden/shiny finish, use:

1 egg + 1 tsp water

Avoid getting egg wash heavily onto the sides because it can restrict the rise.

Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.

12. Bake
Bake at:

200°C / 400°F for approximately 18–25 minutes
They’re done when:

tops are golden

edges are lightly browned

center feels set

bottom is lightly golden

The exact time depends on the size and moisture of your scones. Published versions range from about 18–20 minutes to around 28–30 minutes.
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If the tops brown too quickly, lower the oven to 190°C / 375°F for the remainder.

13. Make the lemon glaze
While the scones cool, combine:

60 g powdered sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix.

Add more lemon juice a few drops at a time until you have a thick but pourable glaze.

For stronger lemon flavor, add a little zest.

14. Glaze
Let the scones cool for approximately 10–15 minutes.

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the tops.

Don’t glaze them immediately from the oven — the glaze will simply melt and disappear. Published recipes likewise recommend glazing after cooling.
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EXPECTED TEXTURE
You should get:

Outside: lightly crisp and golden
Inside: soft, moist and tender
Butter: noticeable but not greasy
Raspberry: juicy/tangy pockets
Lemon: bright and fresh
Cottage cheese: mostly disappears into the dough

The cottage cheese shouldn’t make the scones taste strongly “cheesy.”

NUT INFORMATION / ALLERGEN INFORMATION
As written, the recipe contains:
Milk/dairy: cottage cheese, butter, milk/cream

Egg: egg

Wheat/gluten: all-purpose flour

Tree nuts
None are required.

So the recipe is nut-free as written, provided your individual packaged ingredients don’t contain or have cross-contact warnings.

If you’re baking for someone with a serious nut allergy, check the labels on the flour, cottage cheese, butter, chocolate/add-ins, powdered sugar and other packaged ingredients and follow their allergy guidance.

Optional nuts
You can add approximately ½ cup chopped nuts, such as:

walnuts

pecans

almonds

8. Add the raspberries
But that will obviously make the recipe no longer nut-free. A published version also notes that almonds, pecans and walnuts can be incorporated as optional additions.
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EASY SUBSTITUTIONS
Cottage cheese
You can use:

full-fat cottage cheese

2% cottage cheese

lower-fat cottage cheese

ricotta

Blended cottage cheese gives the smoothest dough.

Raspberries
Substitute approximately the same amount of:

Tree nuts
blueberries

blackberries

chopped strawberries

frozen mixed berries

Raspberries give the closest result to your photograph.

Lemon
You can substitute lime or orange, although the flavor will change.

Butter
For the best traditional scone texture, use real butter.

Solid coconut oil can work, but the flavor and texture will be different.

Flour
For a whole-wheat version, replace up to about half of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour. A straight 100% whole-wheat substitution will produce a considerably heavier scone.
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COMPLETE Q&A
Q: Can I use frozen raspberries?
Yes — and I actually recommend them.

Use them straight from frozen and don’t thaw them first. This reduces bleeding and makes the dough easier to handle.
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Q: Can I use fresh raspberries?
Yes.

If they’re very soft, freeze them for 15–20 minutes first.

Q: Why did my scones become dense?
Usually one of these:

Dough was overmixed.

Butter wasn’t cold enough.

Too much flour was added.

Baking powder/baking soda was old.

Dough was compressed too much.

The biggest rule is:

Mix only until the dough comes together.

Q: Why is my dough so sticky?
Cottage cheese varies considerably in moisture.

Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you can shape the dough.

Don’t dump in a large amount of flour, or you’ll end up with dry scones.

Q: Why did the raspberries turn the dough pink?
That’s normal.

Raspberries release juice as they’re folded into the dough.

For distinct raspberry pieces rather than pink streaks, use frozen berries and fold them in very gently.

Q: Can I make these without eggs?
Yes, although the texture will change.

You can replace the egg with approximately 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or another suitable egg substitute. The finished scones may be slightly less rich and less golden.

Q: Can I make them without the glaze?
Absolutely.

They’re delicious plain, especially when warm.

You can also simply sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar before baking.

Q: Can I reduce the sugar?
Yes.

For a less-sweet breakfast scone, reduce the dough sugar to approximately ¼ cup / 50 g.

Keep the glaze off or use only a very small amount.

Q: Can I make mini scones?
Yes.

Make 12 smaller wedges instead of 8.

Start checking them around 12–15 minutes because smaller scones bake considerably faster. Published recipes also suggest reducing the baking time for mini versions.
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Q: Can I prepare the dough ahead of time?
Yes.

Shape the scones, cover them well and refrigerate overnight.

Bake directly from the refrigerator, adding a few minutes if necessary.

Q: Can I freeze them?
Yes.

For best quality, freeze unglazed baked scones individually, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container.

They can generally be frozen for around 2–3 months; one published version recommends up to 3 months.
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Q: How do I reheat frozen scones?
Thaw and warm at approximately:

150°C / 300°F for 8–12 minutes

A toaster oven works particularly well.

Don’t microwave for too long or they can become rubbery.

Q: How long do they last?
For best texture:

Room temperature: about 1–2 days
Refrigerator: about 5 days
Freezer: about 2–3 months

Published recipes give similar storage ranges.
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APPROXIMATE NUTRITION
Nutrition varies substantially with the cottage cheese, butter, flour, raspberry quantity and glaze.

As a useful ballpark, comparable published raspberry/cottage-cheese scones report roughly 245–340 calories per scone, with approximately 8–9 g protein for an 8-scone batch; these figures are estimates rather than laboratory measurements for the recipe above.
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For the exact nutrition, the ingredients would need to be entered using the specific brands and quantities you use.

MY KEY TIPS FOR THE PHOTO-STYLE RESULT
Use very cold butter.

Use frozen raspberries for cleaner raspberry pockets.

Don’t overmix.

Don’t add excessive flour while shaping.

Keep the dough about 1–1¼ inches thick.

Chill the shaped dough before baking.

Bake until genuinely golden rather than pale.

Let the scones cool before glazing.

Use fresh lemon zest + lemon juice rather than bottled lemon juice for the brightest flavor.

For those dramatic red raspberry streaks seen in the photograph, allow a few raspberries to break naturally while folding rather than deliberately mashing them.

This gives you the soft, raspberry-filled, lemony cottage-cheese scone represented in the image, including the complete ingredient list, substitutions, allergen/nut information,

Author
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Sara Mitchell

Sara Mitchell is an expert restaurant content creator who writes easy-to-read guides about CAVA and other Mediterranean fast-casual chains in the United States. She covers locations, menus, prices, and hours, making it simple for visitors to find nearby restaurants and what to order quickly.

With years of experience in restaurant research and local SEO, Sara creates accurate, user-friendly guides that work for both people and search engines. Her goal is to help users go from search results to their nearest restaurant or menu choice with as few clicks as possible.