Apple Scones
Every fall I can at least 24 pints of applesauce and one of my favourite ways to use it is in my baking. Scones are a natural baked treat for firm, tart or sweet apples, and with the bonus flavour of the added applesauce these scones are an apple lover's dream. My favourite add-ins are currants or chopped cranberries but they are equally good with chopped raisins or even butterscotch chips. Because apples store extremely well, enjoy these beauties any day of the year.
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- pastry cutter
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon ground
- ¼ tsp cloves ground
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter cold, cut into small chunks
- 1 cup apple diced, skin on
- ½ cup currants or chopped cranberries or raisins
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
- 3 tbsp cream milk or water
- 3 tbsp coarse sugar such as turbinado
Instructions
- Arrange your racks in the oven so that one is at the top third and the other is at the bottom third. You will be baking the scones for half the time at the top and the other half at the bottom.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the butter into chunks and put it in the fridge or freezer. In fact, keep the egg and applesauce cold by leaving them in the fridge until you use them.
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt.
- Add the cold butter and use a pastry knife to cut it into the flour mixture. You can use your hands to squish the butter too. You want just small chunks of butter to remain, about the size of a small pea.
- Stir the apple chunks and currants, raisins or dried cranberries.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg, applesauce and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until the mixture just holds together. Do not overmix.
- Dump the dough onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pat the dough, approximately, into a 9” square and ¾” thick.
- Cut into four squares and then cut the four squares each on a diagonal. This will give you 8 triangles.
- Separate the triangles but no more than ½" apart. When the scones are close together they are forced to rise up rather than spread out. Put the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes. This will give the scones a better consistency. You can skip this step but the scones will not be as flaky and tender.
- While the scones are in the freezer preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Remove the scones from the freezer. Brush the tops with the cream, milk or water and then sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 8 minutes on the top rack and then rotate the pan and move it to the bottom rack and bake for another 12 minutes. (This will prevent the tops from overbrowning.)
- Remove the scones from the oven and cool on a wire rack. If you serve these the next day, reheat in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sconeCalories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 322mgPotassium: 170mgFiber: 2gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 489IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 119mgIron: 3mg
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