I wanted these Apple Cinnamon Scones to truly taste like fall in your mouth. A burst of autumn in every bite.
I also had some very specific goals with this specific scone:
- The recipe needed to be incredibly easy, the kind you can make on a sleepy Sunday morning. This recipe is one of my one-bowl-ish recipes: you’ll need just one bowl and one liquid measuring cup.
- They needed to be bursting with flavor! I wanted a big hug from warm spices and cozy flavors. The finely diced apples are tossed with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and then more spice is added to the scone dough. So flipping cozy.
- Low-maintenance ingredients. What do I mean by this? You should already have all of the ingredients. If you don’t have the buttermilk, you can easily substitute it with milk + an acid (apple cider vinegar or regular white vinegar will do just fine). For more information, see the Notes section immediately below the recipe.
Planning ahead? You can totally make the apple scone dough the night before. Freeze the unbaked scones overnight, and in the morning, they’ll bake up just as puffy and fabulous—just add a couple of extra minutes to the oven time. Check the Notes below the recipe for more info!
Light a candle, put on your favorite fluffy socks and make some delicious and easy apple scones!
The Baker’s Guide to Measuring Flour
One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes in baking is how we measure flour. If you find yourself without a scale, see my top tips on how to properly measure flour for the perfect amount every time!
My Favorite Pro Baking Tips for Making Perfect Apple Scones!
Make Sure All of Your Ingredients Are Very Cold
Scone dough comes together so quickly, I’m not even exaggerating. One of the first things I do when I make scones is turn on the oven, and then I whisk together the buttermilk and egg, cut up the butter and set both items in the fridge while I gather the remaining ingredients to assemble the scone dough.
This ensures that they’re super cold when you’re ready to mix them into the dough.
Don’t Over-mix The Butter
You don’t want the butter well blended into the dough. You want to stop mixing the butter into the flour mixture once you still see pea-sized chunks of butter.
Definitely Don’t Over-Mix The Scone Dough
Over-mixing the dough will lead to tough scones, and nobody wants that! *Just* barely mix the buttermilk into the dough. You want to still see visible streaks of flour. When you add in the spiced apples, mix until just blended again. This will ensure that you use a gentle hand with your scone and are rewarded with tender, moist scones!
Let’s bake the best cinnamon apple scones!
Step-by-Step Photos & Instructions for
Making Delicious Apple Cinnamon Scones
More Delicious Apple Recipes
Don’t miss this Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (that will make your house smell like heaven!) and this dreamy Easy Apple Cake with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar top!
You can find all of the apple recipes here!
I hope you love these moist apple scones as much as we do!
Absolutely Perfect Homemade Apple Cinnamon Scones
Brace your taste buds for all of the fall flavors: finely diced fresh apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar all nestled in the apple scone of your dreams!
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine Scottish
Keyword Apple, Cinnamon, Scones, Rebecca Firth, DisplacedHousewife Well-Tested Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
Servings 8 Servings
Author Rebecca Firth
Ingredients
To Start
- 1 1/2 cup (148 g) apples finely diced; about 1 to 2 small, unpeeled, cored apples
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
For the Scone Dough
- 2 2/3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (73 g) light brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 9 tablespoons (127 g) unsalted butter very cold and cut in 32 pieces
- 3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk cold and shaken; see Notes below recipe
- 1 large egg cold
To Garnish
- 1 batch Perfect Egg Wash
- Demerara or sparkling sugar
Instructions
To Start
- Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the finely chopped apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixing to evenly coat the apples in sugar and spices. Set aside.
For the Apple Scone Dough
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and sea salt.
- Cut the cold butter pieces into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your hands. I like to mix until I see small pieces, about the size of peas.
- Mix the cold egg and 3/4 cup (180 g) of buttermilk together in a small bowl, and then drizzle over the flour mixture. Use a fork, stirring until it just starts to form into a rough dough and you still see streaks of flour in the dough.
- Add the apple mixture to the scone dough. I like to use a fold and press technique when adding the apples (or you can use a fork, like in the photos). Fold half of the dough onto itself and gently press down so that the apples are in the middle. Don't overmix your dough. It will look shaggy and barely holding together, with some visible scant flour patches. That's perfect.
- Cover and set the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375℉ (191℃).
- Use a 1/2 cup muffin/cupcake scoop or 1/2 cup measuring cup to portion out 8 mounds of dough on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 3-inches (8-cm) between scones. Gently press down the tops to level a bit and press in any jagged areas on the sides of the scones. You want the dough cohesive but not packed.
Garnish & Bake
- Make 1 batch of my favorite Egg Wash and then brush it over the tops of the scones. Take care not to let the wash pool on the tops or sides of the scones. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with Demerara sugar or sparkling sugar.
- Set the baking sheet in the freezer or refrigerator for 10 minutes and then immediately bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 22 minutes. You want these *just* baked, so keep an eye on them. As soon as the top is set, they're done. They will be golden brown around the edges and lightly golden over the tops. Once out of the oven, transfer the scones to a wire rack to finish cooling. Slightly warm scones are heaven, dig in!
Notes
Great Apples for Scones
Some of my favorite baking apples: Granny Smith Apples, Cosmic Crisp, Honeycrisp Apples, Fuji and Gala…and I think these are all pretty readily available at your local grocery store. I am having a love affair with Cosmic Crisp at the moment; they are just SO DELICIOUS.Buttermilk Substitute
You can use milk in place of the buttermilk. Measure out 3/4 cup (180 g) of buttermilk and remove 1 tablespoon (13 g). Replace with 1 tablespoon (13 g) of either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (you can even use fresh lemon juice; you just need something acidic). Do this as soon as you decide to make the scones, so it can curdle the milk a bit.Scone Variations
Spices: Allspice, cardamom and ginger would all be delicious in here. I would start with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, depending on how much flavor you’re looking for. Nuts: Finely chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans tossed with the apples at the beginning would be delicious.Making More Scones
You can make smaller scones (yay, more scones for everyone!). Use a 1/3 cup to portion them out, which will yield about 11 scones. Bake them for 18 to 19 minutes.Adding Glaze
These are really delicious with some vanilla glaze over the tops. I tested them with just a drizzle as well as fully dunking the fresh-baked (and cooled) scone. These latter scones had apple fritter vibes, and I was here for it! This cream cheese glaze would be equally delicious!Storing Scones
Scones are best, I think, the day they are made. Store any remaining scones at room temperature in an airtight container. They’ll last for several days.Freezing Scone Dough
This is my favorite way to store scones if I know that we won’t be eating all of them. Mix and prep the dough all the way up to just before baking them. Set the baking sheet in the freezer for several hours. Once the scones are frozen solid, wrap each individual scone in plastic wrap and then set in an airtight container in the freezer. When ready to bake, unwrap the scone(s) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and then pre-heat the oven. They will need 2 to 3 extra minutes of bake time. Enjoy!These Are Different Then My Usual Scones:
If you love my usual scones, I promise you will love these too! This scone doesn’t use any cake flour or heavy whipping cream. These also bake at a slightly lower temperature, for slightly longer. If you’re looking for a cream scone, check out my favorite Maple Oat Scones! If you’re looking for buttermilk scone that uses cake flour, check out these Blueberry Scones (swoon). You can find all of the scone recipes here! Ok, get your scone on! xoThe post Absolutely Perfect Homemade Apple Cinnamon Scones Recipe appeared first on DisplacedHousewife.
