These apple scones are tender, soft and studded with apple pieces. The scones need just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any eggs or refined sugar. The scones are easy to make and store well.
Apple scones with a glaze on serving boards

These scones are soft, tender, and taste of Fall. You can also customize them with cozy fall spices if you prefer, but they taste great just as they are.

Ingredients

  • Apples
  • Self-rising flour
  • Heavy cream
  • Butter

Apples: Apples are used two ways in this recipe. Some of the apples are cooked to make homemade applesauce and some of the apples are chopped into small pieces to be mixed into the scone batter. You can also use store-bought unsweetened applesauce to save time.

Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is a flour blend that already contains a leavening agent and sodium. Self-rising flour helps the scones spread and rise. You can also make a homemade self-rising flour blend if you don’t have self-rising flour.

Heavy cream: Heavy cream is the key to creating a soft and tender texture for these scones.

Butter: A little butter is added for richness and to make the scones more tender.

How to Make Apple Scones

  • If making your own applesauce, the apples are cooked until tender and blended in a small food processor until no visible apple chunks remain.
  • Add applesauce, flour, heavy cream and melted butter and mix until a soft dough forms.
  • Stir in the chopped apples.
  • Sprinkle your working surface lightly with flour and spread and shape the dough into a rough 7 inch circle.
  • Cut the dough into 6 triangles.
  • Place the scones onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden on top.
  • If desired, you can also add a drizzle of icing on top of each scone. I think they taste good even without the icing, but the icing does look nice for presentation or if you prefer sweeter scones.

Drizzling icing on top of an apple scone

Texture

The scones are soft, tender, and flaky, similar to classic scones. The scones are lightly sweet on their own from the apples. You can also add sugar or icing on top to make them sweeter.
Apple scones on a cooling rack

Expert Tips

  • This recipe makes large scones. You can also cut the dough smaller if you want mini scones.
  • You want to keep the chopped apples between 1/8 to 1/4 inch cubes. If the apple pieces are too big, it creates large holes and gaps in your dough.
  • Be careful not to overwork the dough. You should be able to easily shape and spread it with your hands.

Apple scones with an icing

More Easy Scone Recipes

5 from 1 vote

4 Ingredient Apple Scones

These scones are tender, soft and studded with apple pieces. The scones need just 4 ingredients and don't contain any eggs or added sugar. They are easy to make.
Servings: 6 scones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 109 g (about 1 cup) chopped peeled apples (about 1 inch cubes)  + 52 g (1/2 cup) finely chopped apples, cut into 1/8 to 1/4 inch cubes, divided, can also substitute store bought unsweetened applesauce for the 109g apples
  • 2 cups (286g) self-rising flour, see note before starting
  • ½ cup (4 fl oz/118ml) heavy cream, plus 1-2 tbsp more for brushing on top
  • 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • If making your own applesauce, add the 109 grams of 1-inch cubed apples into a pot filled with water. (If using store bought applesauce, skip to step 4). Bring to a simmer on the stove and cook the apples until they are fork tender. Drain and remove the cooked apples from the water and place into a small food processor or small blender.
  • Blend the apples until they reach an applesauce consistency with no visible chunks of apples. Your applesauce shoud have thick, grainy-like consistency but without visible chunks of apples.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the self rising flour, applesauce, heavy cream and melted butter. Stir until a soft dough forms, being careful not to overmix. Add in the chopped apples and mix gently until they are evenly incorporated.
  • Lightly sprinkle your work surface with flour and add the dough on top. Flour your hands then pat and spread the dough into a rough 7-inch circle.
  • Use a large knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 6 equal triangles.
  • Transfer scones to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Add 2 tbsp of heavy cream to a small bowl. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top and cooked through. Let the scones cool on a wire rack.
  • Scones can be served once cooled. You can also drizzle icing on top before serving. Store uneaten scones in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • This recipe makes large scones. You can also cut them smaller for mini scones. You can also double the recipe to make more scones.
  • Self-rising flour amount. There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30g) serving). The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour* (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup), or make your own self-rising flour with the recipe below.
  • Applesauce substitution note: To save time, you can use store bought unsweetened applesauce* instead of cooking apples and blending them. You will need 109 grams, slightly less than 1/2 cup (about 1/2 cup - 2 tsp) of unsweetened applesauce for the recipe.
  • If you have a kitchen scale, I recommend using it for weighing the apples as it is hard to get an accurate measurement for apples using cups. I use this kitchen scale.*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 2 cup all purpose flour, 3 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill. You do not want a high protein flour for these scones.
  • Optional Maple Glaze: The glaze I used does contain refined sugar. You can also also make it with a sweetener substitute.
    • ½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar 
    • 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
    • In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup until evenly combined and no lumps remain. Drizzle glaze over cooled scones.
  • Estimated nutrition does not include optional glaze.
Serving: 1scone, Calories: 281kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Sodium: 474mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, NET CARBS: 33
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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