Easy Apple Crumble Scones Recipe with a Creamy Glaze
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Flaky and buttery with little pops of apple and a gorgeous crunchy crumble topping, these homemade apple crumble scones are everything you love about fall in one bite! They’re also incredibly easy to make, so you’ll be able to enjoy delicious scones any day!
We absolutely love apple recipes and typically have a case of fresh apples on hand all fall and winter long! They’re the perfect fruit and are just wonderful for making our homemade apple crisp, baking into a rustic apple galette, or cooking into the best homemade apple butter. If you’re into all-things-apple-spice, you’re in the right place!
What are Apple Crumble Scones?
These apple crumble scones start with a flaky, buttery dough. They’re lightly sweetened with brown sugar and have real pieces of apple for color and flavor.
Before baking, top the buttery scone dough with a crumble topping that will crisp up and add a layer of crunch in the oven.
Top the whole thing off with a tangy, sour apple glaze that tastes just like fresh apples (using a secret ingredient). The end result is just beautiful from the bottom to the top. There are so many flavors and textures…You’ll be hooked from the first bite. They’re truly the best apple scones!
If you’ve been here a while, you may already know and love these apple cider scones. They’re quite similar, but they’re missing the crunchy crumble topping that takes the whole recipe over the top!
What you’ll love about this apple crumble scone recipe:
Equipment
To make these scrumptious apple crumble scones, you’ll need a few pieces of kitchen equipment.
- baking tray
- parchment paper
- sharp chef’s knife
- food processor
- 2 small bowls
- spoon
- whisk
If you don’t have a food processor, you can also make your scones in a large bowl using a fork or pastry cutter to mix in the butter. You will likely need to add slightly more buttermilk.
Ingredients
Apple Crumble Scones
- Flour: Use regular all purpose flour for these scones to keep things easy.
- Baking powder: Be sure to use fresh baking powder to avoid clumps.
- Kosher salt: It’s really important to salt the dough to bring out all of those fall flavors.
- Cinnamon: Choose either cinnamon or apple pie spice. They’re also wonderful with Chinese 5 Spice!
- Brown sugar: Although you an use white sugar, I prefer the rich flavor of brown sugar.
- Unsalted butter: It’s very important to use really cold butter. I often use frozen butter to get really flaky scones (that’s a good thing).
- Egg: You can skip this, but I love how the egg holds the soft dough together and gives it a little extra rise.
- Buttermilk: Choose either heavy cream or buttermilk. Cream will give your scones a softer texture, and buttermilk helps them get a little fluffier.
- Diced apple: Finely dice 1 medium-sized apple. I used a fresh Gala apple but any apple will do. Granny Smith is great for these homemade scones!
Crumble Topping for Scones
- Melted butter: This is the glue to hold the flour and sugar mixture together.
- All purpose flour
- Brown sugar: White sugar works, too.
“Apple” Glaze
- Powdered sugar: Start by adding half as much sugar, whisking in the wet ingredients, and gradually whisking in the remaining sugar.
- Cream or milk: Cream adds such a lovely texture to homemade glazes but any milk will do.
- Lime juice: Feel free to use apple juice or cider instead. The tangy flavor of lime tastes just like a tart apple, though, and I almost always have bottled lime juice in the fridge.
How to Make Apple Crumble Scones
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pray with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon). Pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter and blend for 5-6 seconds until it breaks into small pieces.
- Add the buttermilk, egg, and diced apples. Blend for 3-4 seconds until fully combined.
- Dump the scone mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Knead it into a ball and press it down into a round shape approximately 1 inch tall. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter for the crumble using the microwave. Stir in the flour and sugar until clumpy.
- Add the crumble topping to the top of the scone dough. Use a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8-10 pieces. Separate the pieces to allow them to expand.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Allow to cool on the pans for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- To make the optional glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, cream, and lime juice in a bowl and drizzle it over the warm scones. Enjoy!
Storing
Store leftover scones in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They also freeze great (even the unbaked scones)!
To freeze baked scones, just store them in a freezer-safe bag for 2-3 months and thaw one out anytime you’d like one.
For unbaked scones, freeze the dough with the crumble topping and let them thaw in the fridge overnight before baking. You can also bake from frozen, but you may want to bake at a lower temperature (350 degrees F) and add an additional few minutes as needed.
How to Serve Apple Crumble Scones
These homemade apple scones taste amazing warm out of the oven with a drizzle of the tangy apple glaze. Stand in your kitchen, eat it straight out of your hand, then let yourself have another one you eat properly with a plate and a cup of coffee or tea. They’re such a lovely a treat!
Tips & Variations
- Make them by hand. Instead of the food processor, follow the same process but use a fork or pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients before adding the wet. You will likely need to add slightly more buttermilk.
- If your dough feels really sticky on the baking sheet, pop it in the fridge right away. You either added too much liquid or the butter started to warm up. You won’t get the same fluffy texture if you bake now. Just refrigerate the whole pan with the dough then reshape it if needed, add the crumble, cut, and bake.
- Make tiny scones. You don’t have to make full-sized scones. Feel free to cut your dough into tiny squares or place the dough in drops on the baking sheet for drop scones.
- Adjust the spices. I like to use Ceylon cinnamon for these, but you can really try a variety of different seasonings. They’d be great with ground ginger, allspice, apple pie spice, etc.
- Add some extras. There are so many different ways to flavor these scones! They’re wonderful as they are, but you can also try adding chopped walnuts or pecans, chopped candied ginger, cinnamon chips, a little lemon or orange zest, some cranberries, etc. Have fun with them!
- Increase the apple. There’s a fine line between adding too much fruit and not enough. I used one medium-sized apple for this batch and prefer it when I add a little bit extra. You can also add both small diced pieces and larger apple chunks for extra apple flavor.
- Use a silicone liner. I love using reusables instead of disposables, but I don’t use silicone liners for scones. Why? You need to cut the dough, and it’d cut through the mat, which can be dangerous as some contain fiberglass. If you want to use silicone, put the dough on the counter or a cutting board first.
- Add an extract for extra flavor. Feel free to add up to 1 tsp of vanilla extract, cinnamon extract, or cardamom extract to the dough.
FAQs
Nope! Since the butter is so cold and we are working the scones so minimally, you can often bake them right away. However, if you overwork the dough or notice it is sticky, it’s a good idea to refrigerate it right away. This will solidify the dough and bring the butter back to a solid state. You can also make the dough the night before, refrigerate it over night, then bake them in the morning for perfect scones right away. So lovely for the holidays or a nice brunch!
There is a rumor out on the internet that making scones in the food processor overworks the dough. This can be true if you really mix too much, but food processors also allow you to make delicious, flaky scones with just moments of effort! It’s all about mixing in very brief bursts. I typically mix the dry ingredients for one second, mix the cold butter for 5 seconds, then mix the wet ingredients and apples for 3-5 seconds. That’s a very minimal amount of effort (and mess), and I end up with lovely, flaky scones every single time. So easy!
Absolutely not! The crumble mix is completely optional. It just adds a nice crunch and extra flavor that pairs perfectly with this time of year. Feel free to skip the crumble topping or try these apple cider scones instead.
Related Recipes
If you love scones, don’t miss these scone recipes!
- Date and Walnut Scones
- Matcha Scones
- Lemon White Chocolate Scones
- Blue Cheese Scones
- Green Chile Cheese Scones
- Light & Fluffy Cheese Scones
- Blood Orange Scones
- Whole Wheat Scones
Homemade Apple Crumble Scones
Equipment
- sharp chef’s knife
- 2 small bowls
- spoon
Ingredients
Cinnamon Apple Scone Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp baking powder, sifted
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 stick; very cold and cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 apple, cored and finely diced
Crumble Topping
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
Creamy Glaze (Optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbs heavy cream, or milk
- 1 tsp lime juice, or apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon). Pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter and blend for 5-6 seconds until it breaks into small pieces.
- Add the buttermilk, egg, and diced apples. Mix for 3-4 seconds until fully combined.
- Dump the scone mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Knead it into a ball and press it down into a round shape approximately 1 inch tall. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter for the crumble using the microwave. Stir in the flour and sugar until clumpy.
- Add the crumble topping to the top of the scone dough. Use a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8-10 pieces. Separate the pieces to allow them to expand.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Allow to cool on the pans for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- To make the optional glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, cream, and lime juice in a bowl and drizzle it over the warm scones. Enjoy!
Notes
-
- Make them by hand. Instead of the food processor, follow the same process but use a fork or pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients before adding the wet. You will likely need to add slightly more buttermilk.
-
- If your dough feels really sticky on the baking sheet, pop it in the fridge right away. You either added too much liquid or the butter started to warm up. You won’t get the same fluffy texture if you bake now. Just refrigerate the whole pan with the dough then reshape it if needed, add the crumble, cut, and bake.
-
- Make tiny scones. You don’t have to make full-sized scones. Feel free to cut your dough into tiny squares or place the dough in drops on the baking sheet for drop scones.
-
- Adjust the spices. I like to use Ceylon cinnamon for these, but you can really try a variety of different seasonings. They’d be great with ground ginger, allspice, apple pie spice, etc.
-
- Add some extras. There are so many different ways to flavor these scones! They’re wonderful as they are, but you can also try adding chopped walnuts or pecans, chopped candied ginger, cinnamon chips, a little lemon or orange zest, some cranberries, etc. Have fun with them!
-
- Increase the apple. There’s a fine line between adding too much fruit and not enough. I used one medium-sized apple for this batch and prefer it when I add a little bit extra. You can also add both small diced pieces and larger apple chunks for extra apple flavor.
-
- Use a silicone liner. I love using reusables instead of disposables, but I don’t use silicone liners for scones. Why? You need to cut the dough, and it’d cut through the mat, which can be dangerous as some contain fiberglass. If you want to use silicone, put the dough on the counter or a cutting board first.
-
- Add an extract for extra flavor. Feel free to add up to 1 tsp of vanilla extract, cinnamon extract, or cardamom extract to the dough.
