Apple & cinnamon scones. Autumn has arrived and what better way to celebrate but with a warm cinnamon spiced scone with apple slathered in melting butter!
Apple and cinnamon scones are a delicious treat at any time of the year. But never more so than during Autumn, when the weathers on the turn and we start to look to food that’s just a little more comforting. Apple and cinnamon is a well loved taste combination, one flavour bringing out the flavour of the other. Eaten warm straight from the oven, with butter and some homemade Apple Jelly is there anything better? I don’t think so, these scones make a delicious treat any time of the day.
How do I ensure a light scone?
I make a good scone, and it’s something I enjoy baking and therefore bake a lot. However, I have friends who say that they struggle to bake a decent scone. Some complain about the lack of rise, others saying they are too tough.
Scone dough needs a light hand. As with all scones it is essential not to overwork the dough mixture! Most of the problems people tell me about when they are baking scones are the result of too heavy a hand and overworking the dough.
Here’s some advice on baking the perfect scone.
First you need to bring the dough very gently together with your hands, take care not to be too heavy handed, try to use your fingers rather than the palm of your hand.
Once combined into a rough ball, place on a very well floured surface. If using a rolling pin add a generous amount of flour to that too. You don’t want the dough sticking to either the board or your rolling pin. Gently roll the dough to around 2.5cm in depth before cutting and placing onto the baking sheet and baking in the oven.
If you overwork the dough it will not rise, you will be left with flat, hard scones. The less you work the dough the better the rise and the fluffier the scone. Cut the first round of scones then gently bring the leftover dough together again before cutting more scones.
Recipe steps:
Adding flavour to scones:
The addition of grated, wet apple will stop the rise a little. This is the case when adding any wetter flavour ingredient to a scone.
Therefore some baking powder is added to the scone mix to help the dough to rise. However, again do not be heavy handed with the baking powder add only the 1/2 teaspoon asked for in the recipe. Anything more will result in a scone that tastes terrible. Add just enough to get the scone to lift.
Point worth noting:
This recipe requires you to add 1 medium egg. However, I thought it might be worthwhile adding what to do if you only have a large egg.
If you add a large egg and the same amount of buttermilk, you will have too loose a mixture and the scones will be tricky to bind together. Instead, when using a large egg cut back a little on the buttermilk, say by around 10ml. This will balance out the liquid element and should keep the dough nice and light.
Can you freeze apple & cinnamon scones?
I am firmly of the opinion that scones are best eaten when warm and fresh from the oven, the day they are baked. They will keep another day, but past 2 days the start to taste a bit stale. For that reason I prefer to freeze leftover scones, something to take out and enjoy at a later date.
When freezing scones, simply allow to them to cool completely and place them in a container suitable for the freezer.
When taking your scones back out of the freezer they are best when warmed up a little in the oven before serving.
Pin the recipe:
Additional recipe suggestions:
If you like this recipe then try our simple Buttermilk Scone which we use as a base recipe for all our flavoured scones. For something a little spicy try our Pumpkin Spiced Scone. For those of your with a savoury palette there’s my favourite recipe for our Savoury Cheese Scones.
If you enjoyed this bake have a look at our Ultimate Guide to Baking with Kids. This guide is full of great recipe suggestions, hints and tips for anyone who enjoys baking.
apple & cinnamon scones
Ingredients
- 250 g self raising flour
- 50 g soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 free range egg (medium)
- 100 ml buttermilk
- 2 apples (grated)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C for fan assist oven)
- Add dry ingredients to bowl, then add butter and work through fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
- In a measuring jug, mix egg with the buttermilk.
- Add liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a fork gently to just bring together. DO NOT OVERMIX!
- Fold through grated apples.
- Turn out onto floured work surface and either pat down to 1 inch or roll gently. Cut with a scone cutter or knife to desired shape and size. Brush top with egg wash or milk.
- Bake for 14-18 (depending on size) or until golden.
Notes
- This scone mixture before baking is wetter than that of a typical plain scone. Only handle the dough enough to bring together and liberally flour your work surface.
- The buttermilk in the UK is quite thick, if you are using milk, you may need to reduce the quantity.
- This recipe calls for 1 MEDIUM egg, using a large egg will make the dough too wet and not rise enough.
- Grating the apple allows it to be incorporated throughout the mixture but you can leave in small pieces if you prefer.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
This recipe has been shared to CookBlogShare, follow the link for recipes by fellow food bloggers.
Mike
Hi I made the scones as per the recipe and the mix did seem rather wet and the scones didn’t rise a great deal but they do taste great. Will have to try again
Michelle
Hi Mike, sorry to hear the scones didn’t rise very much for you. I have made a couple more notes on the recipe card to reflect that this is a “wetter” dough. I suggest only bringing it together on a well floured surface. The less handling the better.
Its one I’ve played about with a few times now and I’m not a huge fan of using too much baking powder as I find it can leave an aftertaste. You could possibly increase the baking powder content to give a better rise, although its not something I’ve tested.
Are you using buttermilk, again there are variations on brands and possibly the one you used could be more liquid, mine is quite thick.
Also, types of apples could vary and size – next time I make them I will weigh my apple and update to give readers a better idea of the apple size used here to produce these results.
I’m glad you enjoyed the taste of them though and really hope you give them another try. Happy to try and troubleshoot with you as we want our readers to enjoy our recipes. Michelle
David Macleod
Hi Lesley, thanks for replying.
The scones still worked out and were nice warm with butter, although a lot of the cinnamon flavour was lost, with me putting in too much flour.
I may have another go at this with a tad more flour with less milk.
Thanks
Davy
Lesley
No problem Davy. We’ve amended the recipe and plan to retest the recipe again ourselves. However, the base for this recipe is our basic scone recipe which is very well tried and tested. The recipe asks for 1 tsp cinnamon, however if you would prefer a stronger flavour you could add a further teaspoon. As someone who loves the taste of cinnamon, what I sometimes do is mix some ground cinnamon in a bowl with some demerara sugar. Then just after I’ve brushed the top of the scones with the egg wash, I sprinkle on a pinch of the cinnamon sugar and then pop into the oven. It adds a lovely hit of cinnamon.
David Macleod
Total nightmare. Followed your recipe to the letter and the mixture was far too wet to work with. As it resembled batter, I had to add another 50g of flour.
There are many people like me out there, with arthritis in their hands, but they love baking. Sorry, but this was an unfriendly recipe.
Davy
Lesley
David I am really sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. I’ve had a look at the recipe and the amount of flour doesn’t appear to be right compared with other scone recipes on our blog. I’ll amend this and thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Kim
How many eggs?
Michelle
Hi Kim! Thanks so much for pointing that out! It’s one medium sized egg. I’ll go and amend the recipe! Cheers, Michelle
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Oh my – these sound AMAZING!!! Drooling a little bit now… Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Lesley
Thank you Eb, these are delicious, particularly with some apple jelly! Lesley x
Laura - Mummy Lauretta
These sound lovely, I’ve never tried to make any flavoured scones apart from cheese. I will Pin for later x
Lesley
Thank you Laura, like you I love a cheese scone, my absolute favourite. However these make a lovely change as they’re not too sweet. Lesley x
Cat | Curly's Cooking
Such a delicious flavour combination. These scones look fantastic.
Michelle
Thanks Cat, I love these too – a classic but never tiring combo!
Cheers
Michelle x
Donna
Oh these look good! Apple and cinnamon is one of my favourite combinations.
Lesley
Thank you Donna, this is a favourite combination that makes the perfect scone. As for the smell in your kitchen when they’re baking, heaven! Lesley x
Johnb878
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Michelle
Thank you so nice to hear.