Apple scones are a nice treat for breakfast or any time you want something sweet with a cup of tea or coffee.
Continuing with my scone making craze, this past week I chose to make apple scones since I had a bunch of apples I needed to use up. I used the cream scone recipe again since I’ve had so much success with them lately. I’ve used it to make strawberry and blueberry scones and I was excited to make an apple version.
What I Learned about Making Scones
I’ve made a lot of scones recently and have made a few mistakes and have learned a lot. Even though it can be disappointing when things don’t go quite right, I learn a lot experimenting with the recipes. Here’s what I’ve learned:
- For these apple scones, I really wanted to use up my extra apples so I increased the amount of chopped apples in the recipe. I think it was a little too much because the scones came out a little crumbly. They still tasted delicious, but you can’t overload the batter with too much fruit.
- When I made my blueberry scones, I forgot to brush the tops with cream and sprinkle them with sugar, which gives them a nice texture. For these apple ones I didn’t forget and I was pleased with how the tops turned golden as they baked.
- I’ve made drop scones before but I really like using my Nordic Ware mini scone pan* because you can get that classic scone triangle shape.
Ingredients for Apple Scones
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
- Chopped apples
- Heavy cream
- Raw sugar
Recipe Tips
- Making scones is sort of like making homemade pie dough because you need to use very cold butter and cut it into the flour. The easiest way to do this is with a food processor. All you do is pulse the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture is pale yellow and has the consistency of fine meal.
- Once you’ve added the apples to the mixture you will add the cream. You will want to make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the cream. Using your hand, pull in the flour and mix it with the cream. Do this just until all of the flour and cream are combined and the dough has come together.
- You can pull off pieces of dough to make drop scones, form pieces of the dough into a triangle shape or use a scone pan to bake your scones.
I really enjoyed these apple scones. They’re great for breakfast or anytime you want a treat. They keep well for a day or so at room temperature as long as you keep them in an airtight container.
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Apple Scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 sticks (6-oz) unsalted butter cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
- 1 1/2 cup small apple chunks
- 3/4 cup heavy cream plus extra for brushing the tops of the scones
- raw sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, and pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter, and pulse on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is pale yellow and the consistency of fine meal.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the apples. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Using one hand, draw in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Wash and dry your hands and dust them with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead a few times to gather it into a ball. You can roll the dough into a round shape and cut triangles. Or you can pat the dough into a scone pan (see note) (careful to only put about 2/3 full). Or to make drop scones, take chunks of dough and shape into round mounds. Place the scones 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the tops with the remaining cream. Sprinkle with raw sugar on the tops. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the surface cracks and they are slightly browned.
Notes
- I like to bake my scones in my Nordic Ware Cast Aluminum Mini-Scone Pan*
- Scone base modified from Food Librarian's ginger scones
- *Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I want to make these and have several apples I need to use up! But I need an alternative to the flour, something lower carb (my son is a Type 1 diabetic) can I sub in almond flour for the all purpose flour? If so, is there any change to the recipe?
Without testing it we can’t say how it will work with almond flour – It’s not a 1 to 1 sub for AP flour. A cup4cup GF flour may work but we haven’t tried it.
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by my site. I have this exact same scone pan but I haven’t used it nearly enough… I’ll have to give one of your scone recipes a try. They look fantastic!