Apple Cinnamon Scones

These apple cinnamon scones bake up light, buttery, and full of cozy spice. Each bite has tender apple pieces tucked inside, making them perfect for a crisp fall morning. A drizzle of maple glaze adds just the right touch of sweetness and makes them feel extra special.

Love More Apple Desserts ? Try My Caramel Apple Empanadas or this Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These scones are tender, buttery, and full of warm apple-cinnamon flavor—nothing like the dry coffee shop versions you’ve had before. The buttermilk keeps them soft and moist, while the apples add little bursts of sweetness in every bite. Even the pickiest eaters can’t resist going back for seconds, which makes this recipe a true keeper.

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Ingredient List

For the Scones:

• 2 ¾ cups (357 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 1 cup (125 g) chopped apple (about 1 medium apple)
• 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (for brushing tops)

For the Apple Glaze:

• 1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar
• 2–3 tablespoons apple juice (or milk/cream with a splash of vanilla)

Substitution Notes: Out of buttermilk? Pour lemon juice in regular milk, wait five minutes, done. Apple juice ran out? Use whatever milk’s in your fridge. I’ve used everything from almond milk to that questionable half-and-half lurking in the back corner.

Why These Ingredients Work

Brown sugar saves your scones from tasting like sweetened cardboard. Regular sugar just sits there being boring while brown sugar actually does work, adding moisture and this caramel-ish flavor that makes people think you’re fancier than you are.

Buttermilk turned my disaster scones into something edible. The acid reacts with baking soda creating little air pockets while keeping everything tender. Cold butter chunks melt in the oven creating steam pockets that give you those Instagram-worthy layers everyone obsesses over.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big mixing bowl (use your largest one)
• Pastry blender or clean hands
• Sharp knife for cutting butter and apples
• Another bowl for wet stuff
• Measuring cups that actually measure correctly
• Parchment paper (don’t skip this)
• Cookie sheet
• Small whisk for glaze
• Brush for cream wash (or just use your fingers)

How To Make Apple Cinnamon Scones

Step 1: Crank your oven to 400°F and wait for it to actually get there. Impatience killed my first three batches when I shoved them into a lukewarm oven.

Step 2: Dump flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in your big bowl. Whisk it around until everything looks evenly mixed because nobody wants a bite of straight baking powder.

Step 3: Add your cold butter chunks and smash them into the flour using whatever method works. I use my hands because I can feel when it’s right – you want it looking like chunky breadcrumbs with some bigger butter pieces hanging around.

Step 4: Toss apple pieces into the mixture and stir gently. Don’t massacre the apples into mush, just get them coated with flour so they don’t sink to the bottom.

Step 5: Whisk buttermilk and vanilla in your second bowl, then pour it into the flour mess. Use a fork to stir until everything just barely sticks together. It looks ugly and wrong but resist the urge to keep mixing.

Step 6: Scrape this shaggy mess onto a floured counter and pat it together maybe four times max. Shape into a circle about 7 inches across and inch thick.

Step 7: Cut into 8 triangles with a sharp knife using straight down cuts. Don’t saw back and forth or twist because that seals the edges and ruins the rise.

Step 8: Plop wedges on parchment paper with space between them, then stick the whole pan in your freezer for exactly 30 minutes. Set a timer because I’ve forgotten and left them for two hours.

Step 9: Brush tops with cream and slide into that hot oven for 15-20 minutes. They’re done when golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them.

Step 10: While they cool for exactly three minutes (longer and the glaze won’t soak in right), whisk powdered sugar and apple juice until smooth. Drizzle over scones and watch them disappear.

You Must Know

That rough, shaggy dough isn’t a mistake – it’s exactly what you want. I spent years trying to make scone dough smooth like cake batter and wondered why they turned out dense and chewy. Ugly dough makes beautiful scones.

Personal Secret: I grate one-quarter of my apple and chop the rest because my sister-in-law who went to culinary school told me the grated apple melts during baking adding moisture while chopped pieces give you actual apple bites.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Everything stays cold or your scones turn flat and sad. I freeze my butter for 20 minutes before cutting it up, and even stick the mixing bowl in the freezer while gathering ingredients.

That freezer step isn’t optional unless you enjoy pancake-flat scones. Cold dough hits hot oven creating steam that makes them puff up tall and impressive instead of spreading into disappointment.

Sharp knife, straight cuts, no twisting. I learned this after making dozens of lopsided scones that looked like they’d been attacked by a toddler with safety scissors.

Mistakes That Ruined My Scones:

• Overmixing (created rubber circles)
• Warm butter (flat pancakes instead of scones)
• Skipping the freeze (more flat pancakes)
• Opening oven door early (collapsed middles)

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Cranberry Apple: Replace half your apples with dried cranberries for this tart-sweet combo that makes people think you’re sophisticated.

Maple Pecan: Toss in chopped pecans and swap vanilla for maple extract. Drizzle with maple syrup mixed into powdered sugar instead of apple glaze.

Spiced Apple: Add nutmeg, allspice, and tiny bit of ginger. Tastes like apple pie had a baby with a scone.

Caramel Apple: Skip apple juice glaze, use caramel sauce instead. My teenagers literally fight over these versions.

Make-Ahead Options

Cut these into wedges and freeze them for up to three months. Bake straight from frozen adding just a couple extra minutes. Perfect for when unexpected company shows up and you need to look like you have your life together.

Already baked scones freeze great too but skip glazing until after reheating. Nobody wants soggy, sad glaze.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Apple Varieties: Mix sweet with tart for best flavor. Honeycrisp brings sweetness, Granny Smith adds bite. Avoid mushy apples like Red Delicious that turn to applesauce during baking.

Buttermilk Hack: No buttermilk? Add lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit five minutes until slightly chunky. Works perfectly every time.

High Altitude Problems: Above 3,000 feet, reduce baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 2-3 extra tablespoons flour. My cousin in Denver figured this out after many failures.

Serving Suggestions

These work with coffee, tea, or just standing in your kitchen eating them warm off the cooling rack like I do. Slather with butter and honey for weekend breakfast, or serve alongside scrambled eggs when you’re feeling fancy.

My book club loves them with clotted cream and apple butter. Makes us feel British and sophisticated instead of suburban moms arguing about whether the main character was unreliable.

Leftover scones crumbled over vanilla ice cream is pure genius. My kids discovered this accidentally and now I can’t keep scones around long enough to go stale.

These better become your new Saturday morning tradition because once you make them, you’ll understand why my whole neighborhood knows my baking schedule. Enjoy every buttery, apple-filled bite!

How to Store Your Apple Cinnamon Scones

Counter: Keep covered up to 2 days. First day they’re incredible, second day still pretty decent, third day feed them to the birds.

Refrigerator: Last up to 5 days covered but warm them up first. Microwave 15 seconds or oven at 300°F for 5 minutes to bring back some life.

Freezer: Baked scones without glaze keep 3 months. Thaw on counter and add fresh glaze when serving.

Reheating Tips: Low oven beats microwave every time. Microwave makes them tough and chewy like rubber erasers.

Allergy Information

Contains: wheat flour, dairy products

Gluten-Free Swap: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour but add extra ¼ cup because it soaks up liquid differently than regular flour.

Dairy-Free Version: Vegan butter works fine. Replace buttermilk with plant milk plus lemon juice. Brush with more plant milk instead of cream.

Vegan Option: Follow dairy-free changes above and skip cream wash entirely or use extra non-dairy milk.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My scones turned out dense and heavy. What went wrong?

You mixed too much or your butter wasn’t cold enough. Barely mix the dough and keep butter frozen until ready to use.

Can I use frozen apples instead of fresh?

Fresh works better but frozen works if you add them still frozen. Don’t thaw first or they’ll make your dough soggy.

Why did mine spread flat instead of rising tall?

Butter too warm or you skipped the freezer step. Both are absolutely crucial for tall, flaky scones.

Can I make mini versions?

Cut into 12-16 smaller pieces and bake 12-15 minutes. Perfect when you want to pretend you’re being portion-controlled.

How do I tell when they’re finished baking?

Golden brown tops and hollow sound when tapped. Internal temperature hits 200°F if you want to be precise about it.

What other stuff can I add instead of apples?

Dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, mini chocolate chips. Keep total add-ins around 1 cup or they fall apart.

💬 Tried making these yet? Tell me how yours turned out in the comments! Did you try any crazy variations? I’m always looking for new ways to jazz up this recipe.