Sisters Tea Company

Tea and Food Blog

Ultimate Apple Pie Scones

· ·

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Ultimate Apple Pie Scones

Irresistible Scones for Apple Pie Lovers

Love apple pie? You have to try this scone recipe. Just follow these step by step instructions on how to make Ultimate Apple Pie Scones–that might just be better than their namesake! A tender, buttery drop scone is filled with a cinnamon laced, not-too-sweet apple pie filling to make a perfect treat. These scones look irresistible, taste amazing and are simple to make with a few pantry staples and a couple of large apples. 
Pair these scones with a cup of naturally caffeine-free Sweet Dreams for an evening treat. This fruit and herb tisane is a calming blend of chamomile, apple and cinnamon and is a lovely match for these spicy scones. How about starting the day with an Apple Pie Scone for breakfast? Try a robust cup of English Breakfast black tea with a splash of milk. These teas and more are available at www.sistersteacompany.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Ingredients
  

Apple Filling

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • dash nutmeg
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 1/2 cups of your favorite type of apple, cored and diced into 1/2" pieces peeling is optional
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Scone Dough

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter chilled
  • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk chilled

Instructions
 

Apple Filling Instructions

  • Before making scone dough, prepare the apple filling. In a small saucepot, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well.
  • Stir in water and mix until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is thick and bubbly.
  • Add diced apples and cook for 10 minutes; stir often to prevent scorching. Once cooked, remove from heat and add lemon juice. Let filling cool.

Scone Dough Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and dash of nutmeg.  Toss together so that each ingredient is well incorporated.
  • Cut the chilled butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add chilled buttermilk and mix lightly until a soft dough forms. Be careful to not overwork the dough. Overworked scone dough produces tough scones.
  • Use a large cookie scoop to evenly portion the scone dough onto prepared baking sheet. Place scones about three inches apart. Press a large indention into the center of each mound of dough. Fill generously with one tablespoon of apple filling.
  • Bake 15 minutes or until scones are golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
  • Store scones in refrigerator for up to three days.

Notes

Diced honeycrisp apples are sweet and tangy and perfect for this filling
Dice your favorite apples–peel on–for the apple pie filling
These apple scones were a favorite flavor of our TEAm at Sisters Tea Parlor. The fragrance wafting from the kitchen filled the entire boutique and caught the attention of anyone walking through the door. My family loves these Ultimate Apple Pie Scones, too. My husband doesn’t like super sweet flavors so these rank high as a mid-morning or after dinner snack in our house.
The apple filling comes together in less than 15 minutes. Be sure to prepare it first so it can cool before filling the unbaked scones. You won’t believe the zesty flavor of this filling. It’s just sweet enough and not cloyingly sweet at all. The cinnamon flavor explodes with the first bite. Use your favorite type of apple and core and dice. Peeling is completely optional. I use organic apples and leave the peel on for convenience and the extra boost of nutrients. (That’s our secret though…my family doesn’t notice the peel so they don’t think it’s there LOL).
This homemade apple filling perfectly top these Ultimate Apple Pie Scones
This homemade apple pie filling is warmly spiced and not too sweet. The apples are tender with texture and not mushy, giving a delightful burst of apple goodness.
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small pot. Mix it well so there are no clumps of cornstarch. Add in the spices and salt, mix well again so there are no clumps. Next, add the water and stir until all the sugar and spices have dissolved.  Place the pot over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil for one minute then reduce heat and stir until it starts to thicken. I find that this goes from way too runny to really thick kind of quickly. That’s okay, though. Don’t fret if it happens to you, too. Just reduce the heat to low and add the apples. The apples will release some of their sweet juices as they cook. Be sure to stir the pot occasionally to prevent scorching. Let the apple mixture cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Apples should cook long enough to be tender and retain their shape and most of their texture. You don’t want to cook your apples to mush, at least not for this recipe. Remove the pot from heat, stir in the lemon juice and set to the side to cool. This filling is so, so good. It works perfectly in this scone recipe, but if you happen to have any left over and you happen to have a sheet of puff pastry hanging around in your freezer, you might feel tempted to make an apple turnover or two. I might. Actually, I probably have. I absolutely have!
Properly measured flour requires a dry cup measuring tool
For accurate flour measurement, always use a dry cup measure and level the excess with the back of a knife.
The scone dough for this recipe comes together in just a few steps. Don’t be intimidated to try your hand at scones if you’ve never made them before. Follow the steps and recommendations and you’ll have these Apple Pie Scones baking in your oven in no time! Start by measuring your dry ingredients. Be mindful when measuring the flour. Use a dry measuring cup meant for measuring dry ingredients. Scoop your flour up and use the back of a knife to scrape the excess off. Don’t tap the flour down to level it. You have to scrape it. Flour is filled with air and tapping it only condenses the flour. If you were to weigh a cup of flour that had the excess leveled off with the edge of a knife verses a cup of flour that had been tapped down, you would find the later weighed more and therefore actually contained more flour. Guess what happens to a scone mixture that has too much flour? Not anything good. Too much flour and you’ll need more wet. Adding extra flour and liquid causes the butter:flour:leavening ratios to be off, which in turn causes tough, possibly flat scones. No one wants that. Measure the flour with a light hand, scrape the excess with a knife and you’ll be fine. Toss in the remaining dry ingredients and blend together.
Frozen butter is easy to grate
Grating frozen sticks of butter is an easy and effective method of cutting butter for scones and biscuits
Now we need to cut in the butter. There are several ways to do this. If I’m making more than one batch of scones, I use a food processor to quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture. The blade of the food processor really breaks up the butter into the flour and helps to make a lovely scone. If I’m in a hurry to get one batch of scones out, I use a box grater to grate the butter. I am a big fan of grating butter instead of cutting it with a pastry blender. This technique works best if the butter is frozen. I’ve made a habit of keeping sticks of butter in  my freezer just for scone and biscuit making. I grate the butter directly into the bowl with my flour mixture. (I am totally against making extra dishes to wash.) Once the butter is grated, I take a fork and lightly work the flour and butter together. It takes a minute or two to reach the stage where the butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Be patient, don’t work the butter too much or it will become soft. When making scones, you should always keep your butter as cold and as solid as possible, so avoid overworking it. Keeping those little “crumbs” of butter intact is the key to making great scones.
Remember this as you add the wet ingredients into the butter and flour mixture. Slowly, add the buttermilk adding only as much as needed to make a soft dough. Mix the wet and the dry together gently. Never overwork your quick bread doughs, especially scones, as you are in the final stages of mixing. We are all familiar with scones that could double as hockey pucks. We are not making hockey pucks today (or ever). Be tender with the dough and the scones will be tender to you! Once the soft dough has come together, use a large cookie scoop to portion out the scones. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 3″ apart. 
Mounds of scone dough are filled with homemade apple filling
Generously fill mounds of scone dough with apple pie filling by making a large indention in the center
The crowning jewel of these Apple Pie Scones is that gorgeous apple filling. Once you have scooped the scone dough onto your baking sheet, make a large indention in the center of each scone. Fill with a generous tablespoon of filling. The filling needs to sit inside the scone, otherwise it will just roll off as the scone rises and bakes. We want that filling to stay where it’s supposed to so we can enjoy perfect bites of scone and apple, not scone and where-apple-used-to-be. Once all the mounds of dough are filled, I have a little trick that I’ll pass on to you. I put my tray of unbaked scones in the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes. Any butter that has softened will solidify and ensure I have tender, well-risen scones. Bake scones in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until the edges of the scones are golden brown. I would suggest letting these cool for at least 10 minutes before trying to eat one. The aroma of spicy cinnamon and sweet apple that slips out from the oven is going to make it hard to wait to indulge, but that filling is going to be hot! A little delayed gratification is required here. Once slightly cooled, enjoy and savor every delicious bite.
Ultimate Apple Pie Scones, Sisters Tea Company
Ultimate Apple Pie Scones are a scrumptious afternoon tea treat any time of day. Pair with a cup of Sweet Dreams Chamomile Tea for a delightful evening respite.
Keyword afternoon tea, apple pie scones, apple scones, fall flavor scones, fall scones
facebookShare on Facebook
FollowFollow us