Traditional potato scones recipe for making a classic Scottish breakfast

When Scots find themselves away from home, they usually find they miss the comforts of home.

Though Irn-Bru and our incredible tap water is often top of any list of things they miss, it's often at breakfast time when they'll realise what they've really been missing.

Square sausage, black pudding, haggis, and of course, the journeyman of any Scottish breakfast, the humble and delicious potato scone.

Food historian Fraser Wright believes the popularity of the humble tattie scone came about due to the combination of the ubiquitous potato and the girdle - an early precursor for the frying pan that was popular in Scotland in generations past.

Created from leftovers, they were then often enjoyed the next morning or even as a teatime treat.

Cheap and relatively simple to make, they are easy enough to have a go at mastering if you have time on your hands.

Fraser's easy potato scone recipe

The recipe makes making your own simple and easy (Daily Record)

What you'll need:

• 500g floury potatoes (such as the King Edward variety) all roughly the same size
• 100g plain flour
• 25g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp salt

How to make them:

You can flip the tattie scones more than once to make sure they are thoroughly cooked (Daily Record)

1. Fill a pot with cold water and add your potatoes (unpeeled). Cover with a lid and bring to the boil before leaving to simmer for around 30 minutes.
2. Drain the water then leave the potatoes to dry and cool down for about ten minutes or so.
3. Once cool enough to handle peel away the skin by hand.
4. Next, mash them with the butter and salt until completely smooth.
5. Now work in half the flour by hand, once the mix is worked in, add in the rest of the flour - add more if the dough is a bit wet. You want a fairly soft but not sticky dough.
6. Heat up a girdle or heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat so it is ready to go.
7. Divide the dough into the size you want, the smaller they are, the easier they will be to cook.
8. Roll out each piece to half a centimetre thickness on a floured surface. Then immediately transfer it to the girdle or pan – you don't need any fat to cook them.
9. Prick the scone all over with a fork. Bake them on either side for 3 – 4 minutes.
10. You can flip them more than once to make sure they are thoroughly cooked. They can be served then as they are or they can be stored in the fridge to be re-heated in a frying pan for breakfast.

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