Apple Pie Scones

These easy apple pie scones are a buttery and flaky cream scone with fresh cinnamon apples in each bite. The maple vanilla glaze on top pairs so well with the apple cinnamon scone flavor, making each bite taste like a slice of apple pie in scone form.

Best Apple Scones with Maple Vanilla Glaze

Apples have been a staple in our family since before I was born.

My dad’s favorite fruit in the entire world was the apple (he’d even make up these stories when we were kids about how he’d be so low on energy and just one bite of apple would give him the strength to do any task in the world; it was a really effective way to get us to eat our apples in our lunches 😆), and the one pie we had to have at every Thanksgiving was apple pie.

Despite his stories, and it getting me to eat my apple slices (albeit slightly relunctantly), I always wanted a little more sugary treats in my lunches (that’s not shocking at all, is it?). I blame my best friend in elementary school whose lunches were filled with cosmic brownies, hostess apple pies, and ding dongs. My carrot sticks and apple slices didn’t hold a candle to the sugar-laden treats awaiting her inside her lunchbox.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve grown to love apples a lot. Not nearly as much as my dad, but I think it’s highly improbable anyone loves apples as much as my dad 😆. I’ll eat them plain without any coercion, but as per usual, I’m a sucker for them when they’re in apple bundt cakes, apple tarts, and apple pie bars.

But my favorite way? In this flaky apple scones recipe.

Why These Cinnamon Apple Scones Are My Favorite:

1. Baked Apples: We cook the apples first on the stovetop. It’s an extra step, but it’s really imperative because the flavor of the apples is amplified. They bake in butter and sugar and spices and get incredibly flavorful as they cook down.
2. Vanilla Maple Icing: I love a good maple icing. I’ve used it on these Pumpkin Scones and this Banana Bread and these Maple Apple Blondies. It’s like a donut glaze on a maple bar and it’s a chef’s kiss.
3. Cream Scones: The best kind of scones are cream scones, because it makes them so flaky and tender. Not a dry scone to be had on my watch.

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar
• Baking Powder and Salt
• Eggs
• Unsalted butter
• Heavy Cream
• Apples
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger
• Vanilla Extract
• Powdered Sugar
• Maple Syrup: No maple extract here unless desperate. I don’t love maple extract in general, as it has an artificial flavor. But if you don’t have maple syrup, you can use maple extract (however use only 1 tsp versus the 1 Tbsp of maple syrup.)

How To Make Apple Pie Scones From Scratch:

1. Apple Pie Filling: Cook the apples with butter, brown sugar, and spices. Once the apples have cooked down and the brown sugar and butter have started to caramelize, turn the heat to off and let the filling cool to room temperature (you can spoon the filling into a bowl and refrigerate to cool faster).
2. Scone Dough: Mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together. Add in the butter (it must be cold and cubed), and use a fork or pastry cutter to work the butter into the dough. You want the dough to resemble coarse crumbs with the butter being about the size of peas now.
3. Wet Ingredients: Whisk egg, vanilla, and heavy cream together. Add to the dough and mix until just combined. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the cooled apples into the dough and mix until just combined.
4. Assembly: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a circle, about 1″ or 1 1/2″ thick. Cut into 8 triangles and place a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with a little heavy cream.
5. Bake: Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top.
6. Glaze: Whisk maple syrup, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar together. Drizzle on top of the scones.

Storage Tips and Make Ahead Tips:

• Store the leftover apple pie scones in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also freeze baked scones glazed or unglazed by wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and then putting in an airtight container. 
• You can easily make these apple scones ahead of time by making the dough all the way through to cutting them into triangles. I then flash freeze for about an hour, then store in an airtight container. When ready to bake, you can bake them from frozen or let them thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as usual.

My Other Favorite Fall Scones:

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Scones
Pear Scones
Maple Cream Scones
Cranberry Orange Scones

Final Apple Scones Tips and Tricks For Perfect Scones Every Time:

• Don’t Over Mix: If you over mix scone dough, it gets really dry and tough. So even if the dough is a little dry, you want to turn it out onto the floured surface and just gently pat the dough together so it remains flaky and buttery.
• Cooled Apples: It’s an extra few minutes, but make sure the apples have cooled to room temperature. If they’re too hot, they’ll melt the butter, which will keep the scones from being tall and flaky.
• Icing: If you find your icing is too thin, just add some more powdered sugar. If you find it too thick, thin it out with a little more heavy cream. Measure with your heart and to your texture preference.

5 from 3 votes

Apple Pie Scones

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 18 minutes mins

Total: 48 minutes mins

These easy apple pie scones are a buttery and flaky cream scone with fresh cinnamon apples in each bite. The maple vanilla glaze on top pairs so well with the apple cinnamon scone flavor, making each bite taste like a slice of apple pie in scone form.

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Ingredients

 

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Apple Scone Dough

• ▢ 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 Tbsp sugar
• ▢ 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• ▢ 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing

Apples:

• ▢ 3/4 cups finely diced apples
• ▢ 1 Tbsp butter
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• ▢ 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Icing:

• ▢ 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 Tbsp heavy cream (or milk)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• ▢ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Apple Pie Filling

• Begin by heating the diced apples, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar in a small saucepan over low-med heat.
• Allow the apples to soften and the butter and sugar to caramelize by cooking for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and allow the apples to cool to room temperature (you can also speed up the process by putting it in the fridge to chill).

Apple Scones

• Once the apples have cooled, make the scone dough by mixing flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder together.
• Using a fork or a pastry cutter, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs (and the butter is about the size of peas).
• Whisk the egg, heavy cream, and vanilla extract together. Pour into the scone dough and mix until just combined (it's okay if the dough is a little dry and crumbly).
• Lastly, add in the chilled apples. Use a slotted spoon to drain the juice from the apples, only adding the apples into the dough (otherwise the dough will be too wet). Mix until just combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1" - 1 1/2" thick circle. Cut the dough into 8 triangles and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with a bit of heavy cream.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before adding the icing.

Maple Vanilla Icing

• Whisk powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and heavy cream together. Drizzle on top of the warm scones. Allow the icing to set before eating.
• Enjoy!

The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

Course Scones

Cuisine American

Make sure to tag me on Instagram and leave a rating below and let me know how it turned out!

Originally published in 2014. Updated in 2016.