Gluten Free Banana Drop Scones

These gluten free banana scones with maple glaze bursting with banana flavor are the perfect breakfast treat. All you need is that one lonely overripe banana on your counter. Serve these Gluten Free Banana Drop Scones warm straight from the oven or allow for them to cool and drizzle with a quick and simple maple glaze.

Several years ago I worked with a Pastry Chef who introduced me to drop biscuits made with ice-cold buttermilk and melted butter. When combining those two ingredients, the butter will clump up and form small chunks of butter in the liquid. These little clumps of butter, once the gluten-free banana bread scones are in the oven, form little bursts of steam that are going to help these delicious scones to rise.

Make sure to check out my other scone recipes like my Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones or my Gluten Free, Egg-less Chocolate Chunk Scones. If you love Bananas check out my Chocolate Banana Bread and my Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I have tested this recipe with my own gluten-free flour blend and King Arthur Measure for Measure. Both blends work great in this recipe. If you plan on using a different brand, I highly recommend one containing several different flours as well as a binder like xanthan gum. For a more hearty scone, you may substitute 50 grams of the gluten-free flour blend with oat flour. This recipe has not been tested with almond flour (almond meal) or coconut flour.

Bananas: I like to use ripe bananas, with a lot of brown spots but aren’t mushy. You can also use frozen bananas for this recipe. To freeze bananas, just place them with their peel in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I place them in a bowl and allow for them to thaw at room temperature. Please be aware that they will release some liquid. You may discard that liquid.

Heavy Cream: Heavy Cream adds fat and flavor to this Gluten-Free Banana Drop Scone recipe. To make this recipe dairy-free, please substitute with full-fat coconut milk.

Add-Ins: I like to use a mix of dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts in this recipe. Omit the nuts to make this recipe nut-free. This recipe is also delicious with chopped up heath bars or a chocolate bar containing toffee bits.

How to make Gluten Free Banana Drop Scones

This recipe for gluten free banana bread scones comes together in a pinch. Make sure to use a bowl or liquid measuring cup big enough to hold 500ml and does fit into your freezer.

Step 1: In a small mixing bowl whisk together the heavy cream, mashed banana, large egg, and vanilla extract. With a fork or a small whisk, whisk until fully combined. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. To mash banana, place the peeled banana in a small bowl. With the bottom of a fork press down on the banana until mashed up.

Step 2: Wwhisk or sift together your dry ingredients in a medium bowl making sure all the dry ingredients (including the add-ins you are using) are well combined.

Step 3: In the meantime place the diced butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 45-60 seconds on high until melted. Remove from the microwave and allow to cool.

Step 5: Once the banana mixture is old enough, remove them from the freezer and add the melted butter. Stir the mixture with a fork until lumpy and there are small chunks of butter visible. SHOULD your butter not clump up, you most likely did not leave the wet ingredients in the freezer long enough.

Step 6: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated and the batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Make sure all the dry ingredients are fully mixed in. Sometimes there are pockets of the dry flour mixture hiding at the bottom of the bowl.

Step 7: With a large portion scoop (like a large ice cream scoop) or a greased ½ dry measure cup portion out the gluten-free banana scone batter on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Make sure to space them out evenly. (This recipe should give you 6-7 scones). You may also make these scones small but please be aware that the baking time will drop. It depends on which size you choose to make.

Step 8: Once all the dough has been portioned out, place the scones in the fridge and preheat the oven to 375F.

Step 9: Once the oven is fully preheated, remove the scones from the oven and brush with heavy cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake the gluten-free scones at 375F for 23-26 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the drop scone comes out clean (If you use a digital thermometer the internal temperature should be 200F)

Step 10: Remove the scones from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve them either warm or once fully cooled top them with maple icing before serving. Enjoy!

How to make Maple Icing

This simple maple icing might be the best part of this recipe. To make the maple icing melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Remove the bowl from the microwave and whisk in the maple syrup, powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until smooth. The maple icing can also be made with vegan butter.

Drizzle over the baked and cooled scones.

Store any leftover icing you may have in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 7 days. This glaze is also delicious with my Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing

Clearly, these gluten free banana bread scones are the best the day they were baked but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can reheat the scones in the oven or a toaster oven at 300F for 10 minutes. Please be aware that if you have already glazed the scones, it will melt when you reheat the scones (which means the glaze will most likely be soaked up by the scones which is not really a bad thing)

If you would like to make these Gluten Free Banana Drop Scones ahead of time, you can make the dough, portion them, and refrigerate them up to 12hrs before baking. You can also freeze them before baking. Freeze the portioned-out scone dough on a sheet tray or plate until solid frozen. Once fully frozen, place them in an airtight container or zipper bag and keep frozen until ready for bake. You can either bake them from frozen (make sure to increase the baking time by a few minutes) or thaw them in the fridge overnight and bake as directed in the recipe.

FAQ about Banana Scones

My Butter did not clump in the banana-heavy cream-egg mixture
Most likely this happened because you did not leave the banana - heavy cream - egg mixture in the freezer long enough. If you add the melted butter to the mixture and realize it does not clump up right away, place the bowl back in the freezer for a few minutes. This should normally do the trick.

Can I make this recipe dairy-free?
Yes, this recipe can easily be made dairy-free or even turned into vegan scones. Substitute the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk and replace the butter with a product like Miyoko’s European-style vegan butter. Make sure the product you use comes in sticks and it's not a spreadable version. I don't recommend using coconut oil.

Can I make this recipe egg-free?
To make this recipe for Gluten Free Banana Drop Scones egg-free,  use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba or a flax egg to replace the egg used in this recipe. To make a flax egg combine 1 Tbsp flax meal (ground raw flaxseed) and 2 .5 Tbsp water and allow to sit for 5 minutes before using in this recipe.

Can I shape these scones into regular scones?
You may but please be advised the dough will be sticky and can be tricky to work with. This is why I prefer using an extra-large cookie scoop or a lightly greased ½ cup measuring cup to portion out this recipe.

Can I make this recipe with regular flour?
To make this recipe with "regular" flour, please use 265 grams of AP Flour.