Irish Apple Cream Scones

Bake these delicious Irish Apple Cream Scones for a quick and simple breakfast treat or afternoon snack.  Serve warm from the oven for a moist and buttery tender scone full of tart apples, and add a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top for a crunchy topping that adds just the right amount of sweetness. So good and so easy.

As you might imagine, St. Patrick’s Day in the Cassidy household is a Big Deal.  Us Cassidy’s aren’t that crazy about corned beef and cabbage though.  For us, St. Patrick’s Day is a time for shamrocks and limericks, Irish tea and green milk, and, of course, baking!  In honor of the Cassidy family women and the recipes they made throughout the years, I am sharing Grammy Cassidy’s rustic apple scone recipe for you to enjoy.

“laughter is brightest where food is best”

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The Cassidys are a traditional Irish Catholic family that likes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,  here are some fun St. Patrick’s Day facts:

• St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland
• He was born in 387 ce and died March 17, 461 ce
• St. Patrick was captured by pirates when he was 14 and taken to Ireland
• He used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity
• He preached and converted Ireland for 40 years

Scones are my favorite pastry.  The perfect scones should be slightly sweet with buttery golden tops that are tender and moist inside with crumbly edges.  This is what you get with this recipe and it is truly the easiest scone recipe you can make.

Why apples for Irish scones?

Because apples were one of the most prevalent fruits in Ireland, and Irish recipes use simple and inexpensive ingredients. Today,  I am using Pippin apples, but your favorite apple will be just as delicious.

Making scones is very easy. For this apple scone recipe, the dough goes directly into the baking pan, so no kneading, rolling, or cutting of the dough is required.

Recipe ingredients

• Flour – I use unbleached AP flour
• Baking Powder – this is what makes scones rise
• Salt – just a little bit adds flavor
• Butter – this is a scone’s main ingredient and what makes the scones moist and tender
• Cream – adds a nice flavor and is my preference over buttermilk
• Egg – adding an egg to scones binds the ingredients, adds moisture and a fluffier texture along with a richer taste
• Sugar – I prefer white sugar here to let the flavor of the apples shine
• Apples – Pippin apples are tart and taste great in these scones but feel free to use your favorite

What are scones?

• Many countries have their own variations of scones.  There’s British, Scottish, Irish and American. Each uses different amounts of fat to flour. Some are barely sweet while others are highly sweetened.
• Scones are a quickbread that uses baking powder as the leavening agent. No yeast is required.
• Sweet or savory scones are perfect for breakfast or afternoon teas and snacks.
• Scones are more of a biscuit-like pastry that are cut in circles, squares, or wedges. However, scones are not a biscuit since most scones are made with sugar and egg. If you want to make biscuits, try this One Hot Oven recipe for Easy Homemade Biscuits.
• When baked, scones should be moist inside and the outer crust golden brown with crumbly edges.

How to make homemade scones

Remember I said this is the easiest scone recipe. So grab a bowl, two knives or a pastry blender, and a wooden spoon.

Baking tips

• The secret to good scones is using cold butter. Cut the butter into very small cubes and freeze it while you are prepping the other ingredients.
• Keep the cream in the refrigerator until ready to pour into the dough so it stays cold.
• If you don’t have cream you can substitute buttermilk or even whole milk.
• Cut the pieces of apple into small cubes so they bake evenly and the small pieces make cutting the scones easier.
• When making scones, try not to overmix or handle the dough too much.  You want the dough to stay cold and overworking the dough will make the scones dense and tough.
• Chill the scone dough before baking, you want that butter cold so you get a nice flaky texture
• Watch your baking time and don’t overbake them.

Let’s bake!

Step 1. Cut the butter into small cubes and chill.

Step 2. Cut the apples into slices and then cut the slices into sticks then cut into small cubes.

Step 3. Add the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder to a large bowl.

Step 4. Next, cut in the cold cubed butter into the flour mixture.  I like using two knives but a pastry blender works well too.  When using the knives just criss-cross them to cut the butter into very small pieces the size of peas

Step 5. Mix the cream and egg together and add to the flour/butter mixture and lightly mix using a wooden spoon is best because the dough will get heavy. Before the dough starts to form add the diced apples and continue to mix until the flour is incorporated.  

Step 6. For these scones, the batter is going right into the baking pan.  I use a 9″ pie plate.  You can also use a 9″ cake pan. Once your dough is formed turn it out into a greased baking dish.

Step 7. Gently pat down the dough into the baking pan then bake at 450 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.

Step 8. When the scones are done, brush with melted butter and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. 

Step 9. Let cool slightly and cut the scones into wedges.

Serve these scones warm from the oven and cut into nice big wedges.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with my favorites

More baking tips

• These scones can be made ahead. Put the dough in the pie pan and store it for up to two days in the fridge before baking.
• Once baked, you can cut these scones into wedges and freeze them.  When ready to eat, remove from the freezer and let defrost on the counter for a few hours.
• If you prefer make apple drop scones by just scooping out about a ⅓ cup of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 15-18 minutes. This method is perfect if you don’t have a pie plate or cake pan.
• To reheat scones place on a paper towel and place in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, or in the oven at 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

More scone recipes to enjoy

Orange Cranberry Scones with Sweet Orange Topping are filled with tart cranberries and lots of sweet orange flavor for a moist and tender scone. Always a favorite.

Blueberry Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze have the favorite pairing of lemon and blueberries baked into a delicious golden brown scones with a sweet icing drizzle.

Sweet Mandarin Orange Scones use this favorite seasonal fruit for a tasty scone.

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Scones are delicious anytime, but these colorful scones are perfect to serve during the holidays for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert.

Don’t forget to Pin!

If you are looking for something delicious for an afternoon tea or an Irish dessert these apple scones are perfect to serve.