Cinnamon Apple Scones

Sorry it took me so long to post anything new on this blog. Life got busy and priorities had to be set, but now I think I might be able to publish a couple posts per month. I decided to start with a scone recipe, because I just finished a Survey of British Literature course at college, and I'm in a Victorian mood.

Before I get started on the recipe, I should mention that I took a batch to school on Finals Day, and it received a thumbs up from my English professor. That is something I can brag about, because during college she lived in England and cooked for a posh retirement home where she made scones for the residents every week. She said my recipe was delicious, and the bowl was nearly empty by the time everyone left.

Here is a brief history of the scone if anyone is interested. To give credit where credit is due, I originally found the recipe on allrecipies.com and modified it to suit myself. Now let's get started!

Ingredients:

3 apples: peeled, cored, and diced or shredded        
sugar and cinnamon to taste
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4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter (almost room temperature)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream or buttermilk
~
3 or 4 Tbsp of cream, buttermilk, or butter
sugar and cinnamon to taste

Special Tools (if you've never used one before, click on the link and you'll be taken to a short tutorial): pastry cutter, box grater (for shredding apples)

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.

2. Peel, core, and either dice or shred the apples. I chose to dice the apples, because I like the chunky texture. Once the apples are ready, mix in sugar and cinnamon to suit your own taste. 







3. Sift flour, sugar, powder, soda, and salt into a separate mixing bowl large enough to accommodate
strong mixing movements without spilling batter all over the counter. (Yes, I learned that the hard way). Using the pastry cutter, combine the butter with the flour mixture until your flour has the texture of a course meal. 

Note** By "room temperature" I mean the consistency of Crisco. It just makes the cutting process a little easier.



4. Combine the apples with your flour mixture. Add cream or buttermilk until your dough is sticky but moldable.












5. Coat your hands in flour and carefully mold dough in balls about 3 or 4 inches in diameter (or, if you need a visual, somewhere between the size of a baseball and a softball). If your hands are well
coated, then the balls should become firm around the outside edge, maintaining it's sticky dough texture on the inside.

With a rolling pin, gently flatten the ball into a small cake about 3 or 4 inches in diameter and about 3/4 of an inch tall. Cut into four pieces.












6. Using a pastry brush, gently glaze the top of each cake with cream, buttermilk, or butter, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste.









7. Bake for 12-15 minutes in preheated oven, or until browned and risen. Separate the slices and transfer to wax paper or a cookie rack to cool. Serves 20-24 scones.

Sorry if that seemed inordinately long for a scone recipe. I tried to write this post so that someone who has never baked before might be able to understand it, and I included pictures for almost every step. These scones are a little sweeter than the ones I've bought from bakeries in the past, but I prefer them like that. If you want something more traditional, don't add the cinnamon sugar mixture to the apples in step two, and only add 1/2 cup sugar to the dough. Granny smith apples work the best, but any apples you need to use up in your kitchen should do.

If you try this recipe at home, please let me know what you think in the comment section below. Happy baking!