Apple Cinnamon Scones Recipe – How to Make it in 20 Simple Steps

Similar to an American biscuit, scones are frequently thought of as a British tea time treat. However, that doesn't mean that you can't learn to make tasty scones in your kitchen. Our recipe for Apple Cinnamon Scones includes fresh apples and cinnamon with a sweet apple cider glaze on top.

Scones are most similar to an American biscuit. This quick bread combines flour, a fat, sometimes an egg, and uses baking powder as a leavener. Milk or buttermilk is frequently used to provide moisture and more fat to the recipe. Fat allows the scones to be nice and tender after baking.

Apple Cinnamon Scones Recipe

April Freeman

Scones sound like something out of the Great British Baking Show, but there is no reason that Americans can't enjoy this delicious quick bread as well. Our recipe for Apple Cinnamon Scones is perfect for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, or for a not-too-sweet dessert.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Cooling Time 20 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Course Breakfast Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Snack Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• Large bowl
• Pastry blender
• Flat dough disk about 8 inches across
• Baking sheet with parchment paper
• Refrigerator
• Oven
• Sharp knife
• Small bowl
• Wire whisk

Ingredients

  

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• DOUGH
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 1 stick cold butter
• 1 pc chopped apple of your favorite variety
• 2 cups buttermilk
• APPLE CIDER GLAZE
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp apple cider

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  
• Stir these ingredients with a fork to fully combine them.
• Cut the cold butter into small bits, and then add it to the bowl.
• Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles cornmeal with tiny bits of butter distributed evenly throughout the mixture.
• Add the apple, tossing the mixture with a fork to fully distribute it in the mixture.
• Add 1 cup of the buttermilk and stir quickly.
• Add more buttermilk, a little at a time until the dough just comes together. You may not need all of the buttermilk.
• Using your hands, scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Gently press the dough ball into a flat disk that is about eight inches across.
• Transfer the dough disk to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  
• Place the dough in the refrigerator for about twenty minutes to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and using a sharp knife, slice it into eight wedges.
• Separate the wedges on the baking sheet so that they are about two inches apart.
• Slide the pan into the center of the oven and bake the scones for about fifteen to twenty minutes or until they are golden brown.
• Let the scones cool for about five minutes on the pan before removing them to a wire rack.
• In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and the apple cider with a wire whisk.
• Use only enough cider to create a glaze that you can pour over the scones.
• Let the scones cool on the wire racks for about ten to fifteen minutes before you drizzle the glaze over them.
  
• Serve the scones warm.

Notes

Scones can be sweet or savory. Sweet scones frequently add sugar to the dough and often use fruit or berries for flavoring. Sometimes sweet scones will have a glaze or sugar-cinnamon coating on the tops of the scones. Savory scones feature herbs, cheeses, and occasionally meat.

Scones are usually mixed up in a mixing bowl, gently patted out on a floured surface, and cut in a variety of shapes. Commercially sold scones in the United Kingdom are often round, but at home, you can cut them in any shape that you prefer.

Most commonly, scone dough is shaped into a circular piece of dough, and the dough is sliced into wedges. The baker gently transfers the wedges to a baking sheet where they are baked in a hot oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Scones are usually served warm, but if they happen to be really tasty, most people won't turn down a room temperature scone.

Our recipe for Apple Cinnamon Scones is rich and buttery with a somewhat crispy exterior and a light, fluffy interior. When you bite into these scones, you’ll get the flavors of cinnamon, butter, and buttermilk, studded with sweet bits of apple pieces. Using buttermilk in these scones is what ensures that they are moist and tender, never dry, and tough.

To keep the texture of the finished product tender, handle the dough lightly. Save your pounding and kneading for yeast bread, because scones need a gentle touch. Just stir wet ingredients into the dough until it is just incorporated. Do not overbeat the dough!

Scoop the dough onto a floured surface, pat it into a round shape and cut it in the classic scone triangles.

One common problem with butter-based scones is that they spread too much in baking, losing their shape. The butter is the culprit, as it tends to melt quickly in the hot oven needed for baking scones. Our recipe avoids this by chilling the shaped dough for a few minutes before baking to firm up the butter as much as possible before you pop them into the oven.

You can use any type of apple in these scones. We used a gala apple with the peel on. If you don’t want the peel in the finished product, feel free to remove it.

Keyword Apple, Apple Cinnamon Scone, Breakfast, Cinnamon, Dessert, Quick bread, Reicpe, Scones, Snack

Meals: All Recipes | Breakfast | Dinner (Mains) | Dessert | Side Dishes | Soups | Appetizers | Salads | Snacks

Dishes: Pasta | Chicken | Ground Beef | Casseroles | Rice | Potato | Pies | Cookies | Sausage | Bread | Cakes | Pancakes | Cheesecakes | Scones

Key Ingredients: Cream Cheese

Other: Quick Dinners (Under 45 min.)

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