Oh, am I glad to be able to post a recipe again after the last 31 days of only thrift transformation posts! And what a recipe to start with – I had thought about calling these apple scones “Double Yum Apple Scones,” but that doesn’t sound too professional, does it?
Whatever – these ARE totally yummy and contrary to the decadent-looking photos, they aren’t too sweet. I known- crazy, huh? Plus they are made with whole wheat flour, so you don’t need to feel bad about eating them at all. Which you know doesn’t ever bother me, ’cause I’m all about moderation and portion control, right?
I adapted these from a recipe on the King Arthur Flour site and a different thing they recommended is to freeze them on the cookie sheet after shaping and before cooking. They’ve found that this relaxes the gluten and allows for a higher rise and a more tender scone.
I do know that scones can be dry and heavy, and these most definitely are not, so maybe it’s the freezing. I’m planning on trying this technique with one of my other favorite scone recipes and see if it makes a difference there as well.
Since the scones have only 1/3 cup of sugar between the twelve pieces, they actually benefit from the caramel glaze. If something can benefit from caramel, that is. Which obviously I’m on the side of.
But seriously, when you know how easy it is to make this glaze, you will find yourself adding it to all kinds of goodies: apple pie, bars, and cakes, as well as things like ice cream, cookie bars, and chocolate cakes.
I guess there’s no doubts now about which side of “to glaze or not” that I’m on.
Plus, apple scones with a bit of caramel in the fall? Well, that’s just a little piece of heaven right there.
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Double Apple Scones with Caramel Glaze
Scones:
- 3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/3 c. brown sugar or sucanat
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 TB. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 c. peeled and grated apple (about 1 sm. to med. apple)
- 2 lg. eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
- milk for brushing the tops
- 2 TB. sugar + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon for topping
Caramel Glaze (super easy, by the way):
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. milk or cream
- For the scones: In a large mixing bowl, combine the first five scone ingredients and then mix in the butter pieces just until the mixture is crumbly – you will see some larger butter pieces, which is okay. Stir in the grated apple.
- In another bowl combine eggs, vanilla, and applesauce. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until all the flour is incorporated.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner (or ungreased pan), sprinkle some flour over the center and scrape the dough on top. Pat into a rough circle and divide in half (if it’s sticky, sprinkle with a bit of flour). Gently shape each circle into a 5″- 6″ round, flouring hands as needed. Use a knife to cut each round into six pieces, flouring knife before each cut.
- Brush the cut rounds with milk and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Place the baking sheet into the freezer, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees while scones are in the freezer.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown (make sure they are baked in the middle – if unsure, pull a section apart to see the center).
- Transfer scones to a rack over a piece of wax paper or another cookie sheet (to catch any caramel drips) and let cool a bit.
- For the glaze: When the scones are baking, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk or cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil.
- Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, and remove from heat. Set aside to until scones are baked and have cooled 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the scones and the back of the spoon to spread evenly, as desired.
*Note: any leftover caramel glaze can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks and reheated to soften as needed for, oh, any number of things…caramel lattes, maybe? In fact, you may want to double the recipe just to have some left!
This is being shared at Countdown to 2013.
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
These scones look simply fabulous! I can’t wait to make them
These look great Jami and I will try them-thank you
I definately going to try these!! My family loves anything with apples. Thanks for the recipe!!
These look pretty scrumptious.
I have a question. Why are American scones so dense, and shaped like a triangle? The scones I was taught to make look like this
http://www.food.com/recipe/edmonds-scones-98142
The link is to an NZ classic recipe, but it’s the standard Commonwealth recipe. They’re basically like southern buttermilk biscuits, but made with sweet milk instead of buttermilk and butter instead of lard.
Of course you can make scones any way you like, Amber – it’s totally up to you! I prefer triangles because I only have to make a large round and then simply cut it rather than cutting out a bunch of circles like biscuits. I also like the softer cut sides of the triangles.
However, if you want to know the history of the scone, it originated in Scotland and does seem to have started as a large griddle-cooked plate-sized cake that was then cut into triangles for serving (here’s the wiki page on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone). Not that that matters – again, do what you like best.
I made these today and they are wonderful! Thank you so much for posting the recipe.
Thanks for letting us know, Laurie, that you made and enjoyed them – awesome!
I’m so glad you shared these for the countdown!!! I don’t know how I missed them earlier!