Cinnamon Swirl Scones
These scones are filled with a buttery cinnamon and sugar filling, then are topped with more cinnamon and sugar and drizzled with icing. They taste like a cinnamon roll in scone form!
Ingredients
For the filling
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened *NOT melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
For the scones
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
For the topping
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream to brush over scones
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
For the icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
To make the filling
- In a small-medium bowl, use a fork to mix together softened butter, cinnamon and brown sugar until well combined. The mixture should be thick and not runny - if runny, place in the freezer while you make the scone dough (for no more than 10 minutes). Set mixture aside.
To make the scones
- In a medium-large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder) and set aside.
- Next, chop the cold butter into small pieces. Use your fingers, forks, or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Any leftover butter chunks shouldn't be larger than a pea. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (cream and eggs).
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix together until all of the dry ingredients have been coated. *I usually use my hands at the end of mixing to make sure everything is well incorporated
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour the parchment paper.
- Next, lightly flour your hands and pick up the dough. Spread the dough evenly across the pan until it is ½-1 inch thick (see photos above). The dough will be sticky - add a little more flour if needed.
- Spread the filling evenly across the scone dough, leaving a 1-inch boarder around the dough empty.
- Gently fold the scone dough over the filling, working it with your hands into a 7-8 inch circle with the filling completely covered with dough. If the filling gets too runny or the dough gets too sticky during this process, just throw the pan into the freezer for a few minutes to allow everything to re-set. Pinch together any areas where filling is showing through.
- Freeze the dough for ~5 minutes to set once you have formed it into an 8-inch circle.
- Remove from the freezer and use a knife or a pizza cutter to slice the scone dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Separate the pieces and pinch the edges of each scone together to avoid leaky filling (see photos above).
- Evenly space the scones on the large cookie sheet, leaving at least an inch in between each scone. Brush them with heavy cream and generously sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar. Place the scones back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (while you preheat the oven).
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the scones from the freezer and immediately place them in the oven. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the corners and bottoms have just begun to brown.
- Let scones cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet. Then place them on a cool rack to cool to room temperature.
To make the icing
- In a small-medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Mix well.
- Add additional heavy cream as needed until you have reached desired texture (the icing should be runny enough to drizzle over the top of your scones).
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled scones.