Pista Elaichi (Pistachio Cardamom) Scones

Among our family friends, my mom is famous for her scones. Her go-to is an apricot pecan variant that is DELICIOUS. Wanting to pay tribute to her delicious scones but with my own twist, I experimented with one of my favorite flavor combinations: pistachios (pista) and cardamom (elaichi). These two are a dream pairing and feature in many of my favorite Indian desserts. These scones will make you wonder why you don’t put cardamom and pistachio in everything.

As a note, because this is a baked item, I actually will be including measurements in this recipe!

Scone Dough Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1.5 cups shelled pistachios, chopped
• Zest of two limes
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Glaze Ingredients

• Additional 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons brown or granulated sugar

Get Baking!

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper or by buttering.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. You can buy cardamom powder pre-ground, but you can also use green cardamom pods and break them open with the side of your knife to retrieve the seeds, which can then be crushed or ground.

Using your hands, blend your butter into the dry ingredients until fully incorporated and crumbly.

Once all your butter is incorporated (no obvious butter pieces), add your chopped pistachios (either raw or roasted is fine— I used raw) and lime zest and toss to combine.

Add your buttermilk and maple syrup and combine until the dough becomes shaggy (but don’t overwork it!). Again, your fingers are your best tools here!

Divide your dough into two evenly sized balls and place on a work surface. It may be helpful to flour your work surface to prevent sticking. Pat down until you have somewhat flattened circular disks (not too flat so your scones have a little height).

Pro Tip: You can then proceed onward for baking immediately or tightly place in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for later use!

Pour a little buttermilk or cream on top of each mound and spread evenly over the entire top of the dough mound with a pastry brush. Then sprinkle your sugar so that it covers the surface of the dough.

Cut each circular mound into 8 wedges. Place the scones onto your prepared baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. If you used brown sugar on top, they’ll look a little browner on the outside but should still be fluffy and perfectly cooked inside!