Apple Cinnamon Scones
Recently our neighbors invited us over to pick however many apples we wanted from their apple tree. So, Andy went over and gathered a basket full of apples. I’m not much of a baker but when you have fresh produce how can you not put on the apron and do some baking? My uncle arrived that evening and I made a rustic apple tart. When then went on to demolish the chicken coop, my uncle took down all the pesky trees behind the barn and he and Andy pulled out numerous poles around the property. The weekend following that, I made compost bins and Andy, and I organized all our salvaged wood from all the demolish. Meanwhile, I still had a half a basket full of apples! With all that hard labor, I thought it was time I take a moment and return to the kitchen and address those apples. This time, I made one of my favorite scone recipes!
I’ve been collecting recipes for years going all the way back to the 1980’s. Usually I’m able to identify where a recipe came from but unfortunately it is not the case with this recipe, my apologies to the original author.
Apple Cinnamon Scone Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Ingredients:
Three cups all – purpose flour
2/3 cups granulated sugar
One tablespoon baking powder
One teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
5 oz (10 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
Two – two ½ chopped apples, peeled if desired
One cup heavy cream
Egg Wash (1 large egg, beaten with one tablespoon of water and a small pinch of fine sea salt
Turbinado or coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat the cubes with flour. Cut the butter into the flour by rubbing it between your forefingers and thumbs until the butter pieces are between the size of peas and walnut halves. Add the chopped apples and toss gently to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour into the cream. Toss the mixture with your fingers to combine, then knead gently to ensure everything is evenly moistened.
Scoop ¼ cup mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. The original author of this recipe suggestions doing this part by hand as it gives the scones a ‘craggy’ or more rustic appearance. If you do this by hand, butter your hands so the dough does not stick as much to your fingers. Leave at least one ½ inches between them. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and generously sprinkle with turbinado sugar (if you can’t find this sugar at the grocery store, you should be able to find it at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby in their baking section.)
These scones are best if eaten right out of the oven, but they will keep up to four days in an airtight container.
Bon Appetit!
