These apple scones are soft and moist, with just the right amount of spice and a crisp cinnamon-sugar topping. The dough is enriched with heavy cream and butter (no eggs) giving them a rich, tender crumb that’s anything but dry. Chunks of apple throughout the scone create little pockets of flavor, and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom bring a fall vibe in every bite.
My Techniques for Getting Perfect Apple Cinnamon Scones
No more dry scones! I cracked the code for making buttery, tender, and moist scones with my Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, but I've been wanting to make a fruit scone for awhile. Getting the right texture when baking with fresh fruit is always a challenge, because the moisture from the fruit can make the inside of the scones gummy.
So here’s what I did to make sure these apple scones stayed moist without becoming claggy:
- Apples are added before the cream. After grating in the frozen butter, I fold in chopped apples before adding any liquid. This helps evenly coat the fruit in flour and avoid overworking the dough by trying to work apples chunks into a wet dough.
- Rest the dough before adding cream. I let the apple and flour mixture sit for a few minutes. This short rest allows the flour to absorb some of the juice from the apples, which was what helped me determine the right amount of cream to the dough.
- Reduced the heavy cream. I typically use 1-1/2 cups of cream in my scone recipes (see my Cardamom Brown Sugar Scones and Orange Cream Scones), but in this recipe, I reduced the cream to account for the moisture that would be released from the apples as the scones baked.
- A touch of orange zest. The orange zest adds brightness, balances the richness, and enhances the apple flavor and spice with subtle citrusy depth.
In case you're curious, I tested this recipe with grated apples, but the flavor was muted. Chopped apples ensure you get that joy of bitting into apple chunks as you devour these scones.
The sugar-cinnamon topping was a last-minute addition I used in one of the test batches, and it ended up being the perfect finish. It adds a nice sweet crunch to the top and balances the spice in the dough without making the scones overly sweet.
Tips for Making These Scones at Home
This dough easy to work with, but a few simple techniques will make a big difference in how your scones turn out:
- Weigh your ingredients. Especially the flour and apples. Weighing your flour saves time and ensures better results. Too much flour will result in a dry dough and dry scones, too little flour will result in a soft dough that is hard to handle and flat scones after they bake.
- Use a box grater for the butter. Frozen butter grated on the large holes blends quickly and evenly without warming up.
- Use the tri-fold method to build structure. Folding the dough like a letter a few times creates flakiness and helps bring in any dry bits without overmixing.
- Cool your baking sheet between batches. A hot or warm pan can cause the second round of scones to spread more than they should.
Key Ingredients for Apple Scones
See my notes below about some of the ingredients in this easy scone recipe.
- Fresh Apples: For this recipe I prefer an apple like Ginger Gold or Golden Delicious. They have a slight tartness, but the best part is that when they come out of the oven their texture matches the soft texture of the scone. If you prefer a more tart apple you can use Granny Smith or Cosmic, but the apple chunks may still be a little firm after baking.
- Heavy Cream: Most scone recipes use a combination of cream and eggs, but I Iearned through a lot of testing that heavy cream when combined with the butter produces a scone that is tender and buttery.
- Ground Spices: I love experimenting with ground spices and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom taste amazing in these apple scones. Don't skip the spices in this scone recipe, but feel free to experiment with different spices or different amounts, but definitely don't leave out the cinnamon.
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Scones
Step 1: Place the flour, spices. sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 2: Zest the orange into the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Cut the apples into 1/2-inch chunks.
Step 4: Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients.
Step 5: Use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour and spice mixture.
Step 6: Add the apples and toss them into the ingredients.
Step 7: After coating the apples with the dry mixture, let it sit for a few minutes.
Step 8: Add the heavy cream and mix it in until thoroughly absorbed.
Step 9: Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface.
Step 10: Use a tri-fold method to knead and shape the dough.
Step 11: Divide the dough and shape each piece into a circle.
Step 12: Cut each piece into 6 pieces.
Step 13: Place the unbaked scones on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Step 14: Bake the scones until they're risen and golden brown.
Step 15: Cool the scones for 5 minutes on baking sheet then move them to a wire rack.
What To Serve With These Scones
These apple scones taste amazing while still warm, especially with the crunchy sugar cinnamon topping. I like them plain, but they also taste good with this delicious homemade honey butter.
If you make these amazing apple scones please leave a rating and a comment below.
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Apple Scones with Cinnamon and Cardamom
Equipment
- Instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
Apple Scones
- 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) orange zest about 1 orange
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter frozen
- 200 grams chopped apples Ginger Gold or Golden Delicious recommended
- 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) heavy cream cold
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Sugar Cinnamon Topping
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the Scone Dough
- Place the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Zest the orange into the dry ingredients and then toss the orange zest until well combined with the other ingredients.
- Peel the apple. Typically, one large apple or 1-1/2 medium sized apples will produce enough fruit for this recipe. With the apple in the upright position and the stem pointing skyward, cut down and around the cores to remove the flesh in 4 lobes (you’ll be left with a square-shaped core). Chop the apple into 1/2-inch pieces until you have 200 grams.
- Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients using the large holes on a box grater. Toss the butter into the dough and then use your fingers to rub the butter in the dough for about 20 seconds.
- Add the chopped apples to the butter and dry ingredients and toss the apples until they’re completely coated with flour. Let this mixture sit for 8 minutes. This resting time allows the flour coating to hydrate from the moisture in the apples. When you add the cream, the dough will be moist enough to shape.
- Measure the heavy cream into a 2-cup measuring cup and stir in the vanilla extract. Add 1 cup of the heavy cream to the dry ingredients, and use a dough scraper to mix the ingredients together until the cream is absorbed. Add the remaining cream making sure to fold the dough from the bottom of the bowl to catch the dry flour bits. The dough will look shaggy and there will still be some flour not mixed in.
- Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Use a dough scraper to get all the dough out of the bowl. Flour your hands. Use the palm of your hand and a bench scraper to shape the dough into a rectangle shape. There will still be some dry bits of flour, but they will be worked into the dough. Use a bench scraper to fold the top third of the dough down towards the center. Fold the bottom third over the top fold. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Lightly press the dough into a rectangle and repeat the tri-fold method. Repeat this step one more time.
- Divide the dough into two pieces, about 480 grams each piece. Shape each dough into a 6-inch circle, that is 1-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 pieces. Place the wedges on a board or tray (that will fit into the refrigerator) and chill for 45 minutes.
Make the Sugar Cinnamon Topping
- Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use your fingers to break up brown sugar clumps and mix the ingredients together.
Bake the Scones
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the egg and water for the egg wash.
- Place 6 scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash, then generously sprinkle the top of each scone with the sugar cinnamon mixture.
- Bake the scones for 13-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the scones have increased in height. The internal temperature should be 203°F using an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the scones from the oven. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Let the baking sheet completely cool before baking the second batch.
Serving the Scones
- The scones taste best the day they are made because the sugar cinnamon topping creates a nice crunchy topping. Serve them plain, or with butter.
How to Store the Scones
- Store the cooled scones in an airtight container for up to 2 days, then in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to another 4 days. If refrigerated the scones can be reheated in the microwave or in a 350°F oven.
Barbara Pollak says
Made these last weekend to take to work (I work in a culinary supply store). They were met with rave reviews—I added a dash of Chinese Five Spice, which is also my favorite "secret ingredient" in banana bread and it provided an additional touch of depth. The texture was less scone and more extremely tender cake, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. It made for a wonderful breakfast treat as well as dessert.
Lisa W. says
This is a great recipe! It is not dry. The apples lend a lovely flavor and texture to this scone. I used Pink Lady apples, since that is what I had on hand. They did bake to a suitable softness. The recipe took 10 minutes longer to bake to the correct internal temperature. I’m not sure why, since my oven temp is very accurate. They were overall fairly brown, but the texture and flavor were not affected. I’m glad the temperature was given, since if I removed them after 15 minutes, they would have probably been gummy inside. I would recommend this recipe!
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Lisa
Thank you for making these scones and leaving this wonderful review. I appreciate your support and feedback. With regard to the baking time, I have an LG oven and found that it bakes faster than a lot of other brands.