How to Make Cinnamon Scones

Guide Note As a scrumptious alternative to the usual muffins, bagels or toast, bake a batch of cinnamon scones to savor with your morning coffee or tea. Our guide walks you through the simple recipe and also provides delectable variations featuring ingredients like coffee, chocolate and fruit.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What You'll Need
• Making Cinnamon Scones
• Tips and Tricks
• Variations
• References

Cinnamon Scones Tips

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender.
3. Stop mixing when the butter is in pea-sized pieces so they'll melt while baking to give the scones a flakier texture.
4. Blend the egg yolk, honey, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing only until combined.
6. Avoid over mixing, which can lead to tough dough and heavier scones.
7. Form the dough into a circle about 1/2-inch thick.
8. Use a knife dipped in flour to cut the dough into 8 to 12 wedges.
9. Top the scones with an egg wash and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.
10. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

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Jam and clotted cream are popular scone toppings (Photo by Steve Woods)

Introduction

• Originally from Scotland, scones are a light and flaky quick bread often enjoyed with breakfast or afternoon tea.¹ While the Scottish like them topped with honey and the British often top them with clotted cream, you might prefer them with jam, butter or simply straight from the oven.^{2 3} Create a delicious batch of these flaky, simple baked goods with the flavor of cinnamon to enjoy with your next breakfast, brunch or holiday meal.

What You'll Need

• Gather the following ingredients and kitchen tools to make 8 to 12 cinnamon scones.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, separated⁴
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

A cinnamon and sugar topping gives cinnamon scones their signature flavor (Photo by YappsCotta)

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• 2 small mixing bowls
• Pastry blender⁵
• Wooden spoon
• Rolling pin
• Knife
• Greased baking sheet
• Pastry Brush⁶
• Oven
• Wire cooling racks

Making Cinnamon Scones

• Cinnamon scones are simple to make and even easier to enjoy. Follow these steps to make light, flaky scones.

Creating the Dough

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.⁷
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.⁸
3. Use a pastry blender to mix the butter with the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like large crumbs.⁹
   • -Leaving the butter in pea-sized pieces will allow it to melt as the scones bake, resulting in a fluffy texture.¹⁰
4. Blend the egg yolk, honey, buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.¹¹
5. Add it to the flour mixture, blending until just combined.⁸
   • -Avoid over mixing, which can make the dough tough and the scones heavy.¹⁰
6. Dust your hands with flour, then shape the dough into a circle about 8 inches round.⁷
7. Pat or roll the dough until it's about 1/2-inch thick.¹²
8. Use a knife that's been dipped in flour to cut the circle into 8 to 12 wedges.¹¹

Bake the scones until they are golden brown (Photo Vince Varga)

Topping and Baking

1. Make an egg wash by beating the egg white and water in a small mixing bowl.⁸
2. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.¹²
3. Apply the egg wash to the top of each scone with a pastry brush.¹³
4. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the egg wash.¹²
5. Place the scones on the greased cookie sheet.¹³
6. Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.¹¹
7. After they cool, store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature up to two days.¹⁴

Tips and Tricks

• Consider these helpful tips to make the baking and storage process even easier.

1. Test to see if the scones are fully baked by inserting a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean.¹⁵
2. As soon as the scones are done baking and the edges are starting to brown, place them on a cooling rack to keep them from drying out.¹⁶
3. Freeze leftover scones for up to three months and reheat them in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes.¹⁶
4. To create round scones, try using an ice cream scoop.¹⁰

Add chopped apples to the dough to make apple-cinnamon scones (Photo by Jason Nelson)

Variations

• Go beyond the basic recipe with these variations that evoke the flavors of cinnamon buns, cinnamon apples and even oatmeal raisin cookies.

1. Include chopped apples in the mixture for the classic apple cinnamon flavor.¹⁷
2. Add brewed coffee, cinnamon, raisins and pecans to create cinnamon coffee scones.¹⁸
3. Walnuts will give the scones a nutty flavor.¹⁹
4. Make a batch of cinnamon bun scones with the addition of cinnamon, oats, pecans and a sugar and orange juice glaze.²⁰
5. Create scones with the flavor of oatmeal raisin cookies by adding rolled oats and raisins.²¹
6. Mix in some pecans, currants and heavy cream for a sweet pastry with fruit morsels.²²
7. For something really sweet, substitute cinnamon chips for the cinnamon and add chocolate to the dough.²³

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References for How to Make Cinnamon Scones

1. ↑ Food Timeline: About Scones
2. ↑ Cookswares: Scones
3. ↑ Joy of Baking: Devonshire (clotted) Cream
4. ↑ Help with Cooking: How to Separate an Egg
5. ↑ Amazon.com: Dough blender with blades
6. ↑ Amazon.com: Pastry brush
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} About.com: Cinnamon Scones  
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Recipe Goldmine: Cinnamon Scones Recipe  
9. ↑ About Recipes: Cinnamon Scones  
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Bette's Diner: Scone Tips
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Recipe Rewards: Cinnamon Scones
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} Seeds of Knowledge: Cinnamon Scones
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Kitchen Link: Cinnamon Scones
14. ↑ Taste of Home: Storing Muffins, Biscuits and Scones
15. ↑ Cooking Software: Scone Making Tips
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Perfect Pantry: The Perfect Scone
17. ↑ Recipe Riot: Apple Cinnamon Scones
18. ↑ Recipezaar: Cinnamon Coffee Scones
19. ↑ Recipe Goldmine: Cinnamon Walnut Scones
20. ↑ Recipezaar: Cinnamon Bun Scones
21. ↑ Razzle Dazzle Recipes: Oatmeal Cinnamon Scones
22. ↑ Epicurious: Cinnamon Pecan and Currant Cream Scones
23. ↑ All Recipes: White Chocolate Cinnamon Scones

Additional Recipes for Cinnamon Scones

• Recipezaar: Cinnamon Scones
• About.com: Cinnamon Scones Recipe  
• Cookie Recipe Club: Cinnamon Scones Recipe
• That's My Home: Cinnamon Crumble Scones
• Yule Blog: Christmastime Cinnamon Scones