These apple cinnamon scones are the perfect fall treat to enjoy alongside a cup of tea or hot apple cider! Fluffy, buttery, pillowy goodness in every bite. With chunks of apples and swirling notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, these scones are sure to impress.
Sip and Scone
Sip and Scone embodies my philosophy around food and cooking which is to bring people together through delicious meals that nourish the body and mind. For me, scones are the ultimate comfort food, and they’re even better when dunked in a warm cup of tea alongside a good book. Every recipe on my blog is meant to remind you that nourishing meals don’t have to be complicated and a little butter isn’t gonna hurt.
I have to say that for a blog titled Sip and Scone, I don’t have many scone recipes, so I made it my mission this fall to bring you a delicious apple cinnamon scone recipe. After a few test runs, I think you’ll love this final version!
The key to the perfect scone
If you want a scone that’s fluffy and soft in the center, remember one rule: don’t over-mix!
Over-mixing and working the dough too much will leave you with a scone that is tough, dry, and crumbly. The key to that fluffy interior is to cut cold butter into the flour mixture until just incorporated. The mixture should be crumbly-the more lumps, the fluffier it will be!
After combining the wet and dry ingredients, form the dough into 2 balls without over-working the dough and spread them each onto a floured surface in a rounded shape about 1″ tall. Now you’re ready to cut the dough into even triangles and bake.
Butter, it’s gotta be cold!
One of the most important factors in getting a good rise in your scone is to use very cold butter. I like to grate frozen butter and incorporate that into the dry ingredients using two knives to cut the butter into the flour.
Cool temperatures help to slow down the development of gluten and allow the butter to melt and create pockets of steam that result in that flaky texture we look for in biscuits and scones.
Make sure to put your butter in the freezer for at least 30 minutes beforehand to allow the butter to get cold enough.
The ingredients
One of my favorite parts about making scones is all of the add-ins and flavors you can incorporate into a basic scone recipe!
For this scone, I decided to use cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to compliment the chunks of granny smith apples and bring all of the fall flavors out. The spices get incorporated into the dry ingredients and the apples into the wet ingredients before combining it all together in the final step.
I didn’t have buttermilk in my fridge, which is what I would typically use in a scone recipe to get a more tender dough, so I decided to use Kefir. If you don’t know much about Kefir, it is a fermented milk made of Kefir grains that has a sour taste much like yogurt. Because of it’s acidic nature, Kefir can be substituted for buttermilk in baked goods. While the probiotic benefits of Kefir are not present in baked goods (heat kills the bacteria) it remains an excellent source of protein, calcium, and is 99% lactose free! If you’re looking to add some more probiotic rich foods to your diet, try adding kefir to smoothies, or mix with fruit and granola to make a breakfast ‘yogurt bowl.’
The rest of the ingredients are pretty straightforward and are probably already somewhere in your pantry 🙂
What you need
- Flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Salt
- Butter (frozen!)
- Kefir or buttermilk
- Egg
- Apples
- Vanilla Extract
Mix-ins
The great thing about scones is that you can fill them with pretty much anything! This recipe calls for apples but you can also add in some nuts (I like walnuts) and any other dried fruit you like.
If you want to keep on the fall theme and switch up the flavors, try adding pumpkin spice to the mix with a spoonful or two of pumpkin puree! I have not tried this combination, but feel free to experiment and let me know how it turned out.
If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Apricot and Walnut English Scones!
Need some more snack/dessert recipes? Here are some you can try out from my blog.
- Zesty Olive Oil Zucchini Bread
- Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Homemade Fig Butter
- Lemon Turmeric Blueberry Breakfast Loaf
- Healthy Edible Chickpea Cookie Dough!
- Healthy Coconut Lemon Energy Bites!
I hope you get to give this recipe a try this fall, and if you do, be sure to leave a comment and rating on my blog and let me know your thoughts !
Cheers to more sipping and sconing 🙂
Apple Cinnamon Scones
Ingredients
Apple Cinnamon Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter frozen
- 1/2 cup Kefir or buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup Granny Smith apples peeled and diced
Maple Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Grate 1/2 cup of frozen or chilled butter using a box grater. Using two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture to incorporate it without over-mixing.
- To a separate bowl add the egg, kefir, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- Peel and dice 2 granny smith apples (~1 cup diced) and add it to the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together until just combined. Avoid overmixing- the dough should be lumpy and uneven. Form the dough into 2 balls.
- Press each ball of dough into a circle about 1" high on a floured surface. Using a large chef's knife, cut each circle into 6 even pieces and place the scones onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- In the meantime, make the maple glaze by adding powdered sugar, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and almond milk to a bowl and whisking together.
- Let the scones cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before adding a drizzle of the maple glaze over top. Enjoy!
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