These deliciously spiced apple cinnamon scones are a quintessential fall deal with, excellent with a heat cup of tea. They’re buttery comfortable with flaky facilities, crisp-crumbly edges, and loaded with bits of sweet-tart juicy apples. Crunchy coarse sugar and caramel sauce are the proper ending touches!
I initially printed this recipe in 2015 and have since added new images and some extra success ideas.
I discovered the way to make completely scrumptious scones 10 years in the past once I attended a cooking occasion in a check kitchen. Seems that I had been making all of the incorrect scones up till that time! Since that fateful afternoon, I’ve perfected chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones, and even ham & cheese scones.
I exploit the identical primary recipe for every taste and you’ll find that base recipe right here: scones recipe. It’s my trusted formulation to supply the tastiest scones. Readers have liked it for years.
One reader, Lindsey, commented: “I’ve made plenty of completely different scones (together with your primary scone recipe, which can be glorious!) and these are by far essentially the most requested! The home made salted caramel can be 100% well worth the effort. My MIL liked it a lot, she simply eats it by the spoonful. Wonderful recipe!”
In the present day we’re making apple cinnamon scones, a best choice 12 months spherical, and particularly when the autumn season arrives. Right here’s why you’ll love them, too:
- Candy crisp-crumbly edges
- Smooth and moist but flaky facilities
- Crunchy golden brown exterior
- Cinnamon & brown sugar flavors
- An overflow of juicy apples
- Drizzles of salted caramel on high—simply how we like our apple turnovers, too!
Seize These Elements:
Right here’s how all the components work collectively to make these scones a pleasant success:
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my normal quantity for home made scones, however put aside some further for the work floor and your palms.
- Brown Sugar: I exploit both white granulated or brown sugar in my scone dough—it depends upon the add-ins. I really like brown sugar with apples. Keep on with about 1/2 cup. Be at liberty to barely lower, however remember that the scone taste and texture will barely change.
- Baking Powder: Provides raise.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Vanilla Extract: These 3 components add taste.
- Frozen Butter: Apart from flour, chilly butter is the principle ingredient in apple scones. It provides taste, flakiness, crisp edges, and rise.
- Heavy Cream: For the best-tasting pastries, keep on with a thick liquid equivalent to heavy cream or complete milk buttermilk. For a nondairy possibility, attempt utilizing full-fat canned coconut milk. Keep away from thinner liquids equivalent to milk or almond milk—the result’s typically dry, bland, and flat scones.
- Egg: Provides taste, raise, and construction.
- Apples: Use your favourite apple selection. I really like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji right here. No matter type of apples you get pleasure from in your apple pie or apple cobbler, you’ll get pleasure from right here.
Frozen Grated Butter
I’ve discovered that frozen grated butter is vital to scone success.
Like after we make pie crust, work the chilly butter into the dry components. The chilly butter coats the flour. When the buttery flour crumbs soften because the scones bake, they launch steam, which creates pockets of air. These pockets add a flaky middle, whereas retaining the sides crumbly and crisp. Refrigerated butter would possibly soften within the dough as you’re employed it, however frozen butter will maintain out till the oven. Timing is KEY! And the finer the items of chilly butter, the much less the scones unfold and the faster the butter mixes into the dry components. Bear in mind, you don’t wish to over-work scone dough.
I like to recommend grating the frozen butter with a field grater.
In Images: The way to Make Apple Cinnamon Scones
As a result of there’s no yeast, these apple cinnamon scones go from the blending bowl to the oven comparatively shortly. First, combine the dry components collectively. Second, reduce shredded butter into the dry components. You need to use a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your palms for this step. A meals processor works too. To keep away from overly dense scones, work the dough as little as attainable. I at all times use a pastry cutter.
Subsequent, whisk the moist components collectively. Pour the moist components into the dry components, add the apples, then gently combine collectively.
Type the dough right into a disc, then reduce into 8 wedges.
To acquire a flaky middle and a crumbly exterior, scone dough should stay chilly. Chilly dough received’t over-spread, both. Due to this fact, I extremely suggest refrigerating the formed scones for no less than quarter-hour previous to baking. You possibly can even refrigerate in a single day for a fast breakfast within the morning.
Earlier than baking, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. These extras add a beautiful golden sheen with a bakery-style crunch. After that, bake the scones till golden brown.
The scones are INCREDIBLE proper out of the oven, however style even higher with salted caramel on high. 🙂 What doesn’t?!
Different topping choices: You possibly can actually preserve the scones plain or mud with confectioners’ sugar. Or attempt the maple icing from these maple brown sugar cookies, the brown butter icing from these pumpkin oatmeal cookies, or just vanilla icing.
Extra Apple Recipes
Apple Cinnamon Scones with Caramel
Prep Time: half-hour
Cook dinner Time: 25 minutes
Complete Time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 scones
Class: Breakfast
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
These apple cinnamon scones are buttery and moist with crisp-crumbly edges and comfortable flaky facilities. Crunchy coarse sugar and salted caramel are the proper ending touches. Learn by way of the recipe earlier than starting. Refrigerate the formed scones for no less than quarter-hour earlier than baking, to assist forestall the scones from over-spreading.
Directions
- Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt collectively in a big bowl. Grate the frozen butter utilizing a field grater. Add it to the flour combination and mix with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers till the combination comes collectively in pea-sized crumbs. Place within the fridge or freezer as you combine the moist components collectively.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla extract collectively in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour combination, add the apples, then combine collectively till the whole lot seems moistened.
- Flippantly mud a piece floor with flour. Pour the dough combination on high and, with floured palms, work dough right into a ball as greatest you’ll be able to. Dough can be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add just a little extra flour. If it appears too dry, add 1 extra Tablespoon of heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a pointy knife or bench scraper, reduce into 8 wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and if desired for further crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You are able to do this earlier than or after refrigerating within the subsequent step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (in case your fridge has house!) and refrigerate the formed scones for no less than quarter-hour and as much as 1 day.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a big baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, organize scones 2–3 inches aside on the ready baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 22–25 minutes or till golden brown across the edges and evenly browned on high. Take away from the oven and funky for a couple of minutes earlier than topping with optionally available caramel sauce.
- Leftover scones preserve nicely at room temperature for as much as 2 days or within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Earlier than Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. As soon as comparatively frozen, you’ll be able to layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, including a couple of minutes to the bake time. Or thaw in a single day, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones earlier than topping with caramel. I often freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, pass over on the counter for a number of hours or in a single day within the fridge. Heat within the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- In a single day Directions: Put together scones by way of step 5. Cowl and refrigerate in a single day. Proceed with the recipe the next day.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Field Grater | Pastry Cutter | Silicone Spatula | Bench Scraper | Brush | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Coarse Sugar
- Over-spreading: Begin with very chilly scone dough. Count on some unfold, but when the scones are over-spreading as they bake, take away from the oven and press again into triangle form (or no matter form) utilizing a silicone spatula.
- Apples: I say 1 “heaping” cup as a result of this quantity doesn’t must be terribly correct. Something from 1 cup to 1 and 1/4 cups works. Don’t use an excessive amount of or else the scones received’t maintain their form.
- Caramel Sauce: If utilizing my home made caramel sauce, please take note it is a salted caramel. For a sweeter caramel, cut back salt to 1/2 teaspoon. You may make the caramel sauce prematurely—see make-ahead tip within the caramel recipe.