Apple Cinnamon Scones

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Published on March 5, 2022 - Updated on April 26, 2023 - by Steve Cylka

Perfect for breakfast, these apple cinnamon scones are buttery, flaky and taste like a fresh baked apple fritter. They are great alongside a cup of tea or coffee.

Fresh baked scones on a cooling rack with one broken in half.

Scones are one of my ‘go-to’ quick breakfast treats. They are simple to whip up and use ingredients you typically have in your fridge and pantry. These apple cinnamon scones are one of my favourites. They remind me of a fresh baked apple fritter and the cinnamon glaze drizzled all over them is the icing on the cake…. or should I say scone.

A rack with 8 scones drizzled with glaze.

Making scones is very easy and I often make them any time we have guests visiting. It is a great morning treat and people love waking up to the smell of fresh baking!

The ingredients needed for this recipe collected together and placed on a cutting board.

All The Ingredients You Will Need

flour – I use all purpose flour when I make scones.
white sugar
cinnamon
baking powder
salt
cold butter
apple
milk
egg
icing sugar

Dry ingredients for the scones placed in a glass bowl.

The first step for making apple cinnamon scones is to mix together the dry ingredients. Dump the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, and whisk them until combined. Whisking the dry ingredients almost sifts the flour and keeps it light and not clumpy.

What Kind of Apple is Best for Scones?

There are many kinds of apples that I like to use for baking. Some of my favourites are honey crisp, gala, courtland, granny smith, and mutsu. These will all work very well with these apple cinnamon scones.

This recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of diced apple. This works out to be about one whole apple, but obviously that will vary depending on the size of the apple used.

Apple wedges peeled and diced into small chunks.

Before cutting the butter into the flour, I like to get the apples prepped. Core an apple and cut it into a wedges. You can use a knife or a special apple cutter. Peel the apple wedges and dice into small chunks. Do not cut the apple too early as the air will cause the apple chunks to discolour and brown. I cut them up right before I am ready to start mixing together the dough.

Cubes of cold butter in a glass bowl with the dry ingredients.

Make sure to keep the butter cold. I cut it into small cubes and keep the butter in the fridge right up until the point when I need to add it to the flour.

A bowl of dry ingredients with a pastry cutter that was used to cut in the butter.

What Does It Mean to Cut In the Butter?

Cutting the butter into the flour is a technique that allows tiny pearls of cold butter to be mixed throughout the scone dough. Once baked the butter melts and this creates the flakey layers that make scones and biscuits so delicious.

Use either a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Keep doing this until the butter is the size of tiny little beads. The flour mixture should have a crumbly consistency, and you should still be able to see little bits of butter all through the mixture.

A bowl of the flour and butter mixture with the diced apples on top.

Dump the diced apple into the bowl and stir into the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and egg together. I like to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately and then combine them.

Pouring the milk and egg mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Pour the egg and milk mixture into the large bowl with all the dry ingredients.

The scone dough being gently mixed together.

How to Mix Scone Dough

Gently mix the scone dough together. While you can definitely use a wooden spoon, I like to mix the dough together by hand. Slowly, turn the dough over and stir around in the bowl.

It is important not to over-mix the dough. Continue to gently mix just up to the point when there are no more dry pockets of flour in the dough. Make sure not to knead this dough like you would do for bread dough.

Scone dough on a lightly floured work surface.

Place the scone dough on a floured work surface and sprinkle a little extra flour on top of the dough. There is no need to continue working or mixing the dough. It is ready to be shaped and cut into scone wedges.

Pat the dough into a flat 8 inch circle. Try to ensure that it is an even thickness throughout. This will help all the scones to bake evenly. Use a knife to cut into 8 equal sized wedges.

Place the scone wedges on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or some parchment paper. Lining the baking sheet will help prevent the scones from sticking. Make sure that the apple cinnamon scones are evenly spaced and not touching each other.

How Long To Bake Apple Cinnamon Scones

Place them in a 400F preheated oven and bake the scones for 16-20 minutes. They should puff up and start browning on the top and sides.

Once finished baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool slightly.

How To Make The Cinnamon Glaze

While these apple cinnamon scones are delicious, the cinnamon glaze puts them over the edge. Making the glaze is very easy. Mix together the icing sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the milk, one tablespoon at a time. Add a little more or less milk than the recipe until it reaches your desired consistency. I like the glaze to be runny enough that it will drizzle all over the scones with a spoon, but thick enough that it holds its shape on the scones and does not completely run down the sides.

Other Scone Recipes

If you like these scones, then check out these recipes for some more fresh baked goodness!