Cinnamon Scones

The ultimate cinnamon chip scone! Made with cinnamon, cinnamon chips, and even a cinnamon-sugar topping. These cinnamon scones are easy to make and perfect to serve for a brunch.

It’s funny, you know I did not grow up on scones. Probably I only ever heard of scones in a movie or in some book somewhere (if that). I may even possibly never even heard of them until I was in at least my 20’s.  

Perhaps that is my obsession with them, not having grown up with them. Perhaps it is that they are so easy to make.  Perhaps it is because scones are delicious. Perhaps… Oh who cares why I love them I just do! I love scones. And these cinnamon scones with cinnamon chips might just be my new favorite thing.

When I finally do remembering hearing about scones, I always remember hearing the word, DRY, with them. How sad for scones! And so false! If you haven’t ever tried making scones for the same reasons I always had, because they just didn’t sound appealing I suggest you give them a try. They do not require a mixer, just your mixing arm, a bowl, a whisk, spatula, and pastry cutter.

Now one of my favorite scone recipe to make in the Fall are pumpkin scones, but this time I wanted to go all in with the cinnamon.

These cinnamon scones are the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon tea or a cup of coffee. I use ground cinnamon and cinnamon chips in the scone dough. Then sprinkled on cinnamon sugar on top of the scones before baking. I topped with a simple glaze after baking for the perfect scone recipe.

See Also:

• Move over pumpkin bread, this butternut squash bread is the new Fall quick bread to make!
• Apple cider cookies are soft and chewy. And full of apple flavor! Topped with an apple cider icing these will be a favorite!
• Looking for a cinnamon roll that’s made a little healthier? Then try my healthy cinnamon rolls! Made with coconut sugar, whole wheat flour and a maple icing.

My Recommended Tools

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Why You Will Love These Buttery Cinnamon Scones

• Easier than making a cinnamon roll recipe – I love cinnamon rolls but I don’t want all the hassle. That’s where this cinnamon scone recipe comes in. Mixes up and are ready to be enjoyed in no time. 
• Can make ahead – You can make these buttery scones up to 2 days ahead of time. Or freeze them and bake them fresh the day you plan to serve to house guests.

Ingredients for these cinnamon chip scones

• All purpose flour – this type of flour works perfect in scones. It has a mid range protein content so making for a perfectly tender scone. 
• Baking powder – this is a quick bread by definition meaning it gets it rise (quickly) from a leavening agent such as baking powder as opposed to a yeast bread for example. And baking powder and baking soda are NOT the same thing. So don’t swap one for the other. You can read all about baking powder vs. baking soda here and really nerd out on some baking science. 
• Sugar – Granulated sugar is what I used. But I’m guessing brown sugar would also be delicious. 
• Cinnamon  – Of course, you need a little cinnamon for these!
• Salt – As always, I add a little salt to my baking recipes to help balance the sweetness. 
• Butter – I always use unsalted butter while baking. Different brands can use varying amounts of salt in their salted butter making it hard to control the salt. And make sure your butter is COLD, COLD, COLD. This makes for a flaky scone (similar to making pie dough). 
• Cinnamon chips – these may be hard to find, so if you see them you might want to stock up (especially around the Fall and winter months). Or purchase them on Amazon. 
• Heavy Cream –  I used heavy cream for richness. Again, make sure it’s cold!

How to make these cinnamon scones

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.

​ In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  

Then you want to add in the cold butter and work into the dry ingredients Cut  butter in using your fingers, two knives, or a pastry blender (pastry cutter). Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with mostly pea-size lumps of butter. 

​You will still visible pieces of butter in the bowl and that’s what you want. Those butter pieces will help to create a flaky tender scone in the end. They will melt, and the water in the butter will steam and push apart the flour layers.

Bring on the delicious cinnamon chips!

Once the butter is pea-sized and cut in properly, you want to stir in your cinnamon chips. I don’t always find these in every grocery store, so when I do I like to stock up. I suggest you do the same. Because trust me, you will make these more than once. 

You just need to stir the cinnamon chips in with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

Shape and cut the scones…

Make a well in the center of flour mixture, and our the cold heavy cream into the well. Stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough begins to form. Don’t over mix.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough by hand just until it forms a ball. Form scones by patting the dough into a ¾-inch thick circle. Cut the scones into 8 equal pieces (like a pizza!). You can cut them with a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter.

A little more cinnamon please…

To make these even a little better I like to brush the tops of scones with a little extra heavy and then sprinkle with a little more cinnamon sugar on top. Because more is better right? Yes. I think so too. 

 Place scones on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry brush, lightly the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle scones with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake scones for 15-18 minutes, or until light brown. Cool scones on a wire rack and serve. Store leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Add icing…

In a small bowl with a whisk together the powdered sugar, whole milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Then drizzle over the cooled scones.

​

You can add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the icing if you want even more cinnamon flavor!

Recipe Tips

• Be sure to measure your flour. You want to scoop it with a spoon, and then level it off with a knife. Here is a tutorial on how to do that. For best accuracy, it’s best to use a kitchen scale.
• Make sure to use cold butter for the scones. You want butter that doesn’t get incorporated into the flour so that it steams in the oven and creates wonderful flaky scones
• And cold cream! You want the cream to be cold as well so it doesn’t warm up the butter. So COLD, COLD, COLD. Got it? Good. Moving on…
• Knead the dough. You want to knead the dough together a few times to bring the dough together. But then stop kneading. Over kneading can cause a tough textured scone. 
• Add a bit more cream. If your dough is not coming together and seems dry, add a teaspoon of heavy cream to the dough. 

Recipe Variations

• Make a cinnamon icing – Add a teaspoon cinnamon to the vanilla icing and make a cinnamon glaze instead.
• Skip the icing – Instead of the glaze, you can sprinkle on turbinado sugar on top of the scones.
• Make in your food processor– You can make the scone dough in your food processor quickly and skip making these by hand. 

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes To Try

• Self Rising Flour Biscuits
• Lemon Cookies
• Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 20 Self Rising Flour Recipes
• Milk Bar Cake

Cinnamon Chip Scones

A tendery flaky cinnamon scone loaded with cinnamon chips. 

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 scones

Calories: 374kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the scone dough

• ▢ 2 cups (240 g)all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into ¼-inch cubes
• ▢ ½ cup (85 g) cinnamon chips
• ▢ 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the powdered sugar icing

• ▢ 1/2 cup (57 g) confectioners (powdered) sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat and prepare the baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.
• Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  
• Cut in the butter. Cut in the butter, using your fingers, two knives, or a pastry blender. Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with mostly pea-size lumps of butter. 
• Add the chips. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cinnamon chips.
• Add the cream. Pour heavy cream over the ingredients and stir with a spatula until dough begins to form. Don’t over mix.
• Cut the scones. Transfer dough to a floured countertop and knead dough by hand just until it forms a ball. Form scones by patting the dough into a ¾-inch thick circle. Cut the scones into 8 wedges (like a pizza!)
• Add topping. Place scones on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry brush, lightly the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle scones with cinnamon/sugar mixture.
• Bake the scones. Bake scones for 15-18 minutes, or until light brown. Cool scones on a wire cooling rack and serve. Store leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• Mix all  icing ingredients. In a mixing bowl with a whisk all the ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Notes

• Tools: Pastry Cutter, Mixing Bowls, Pastry Mat 
• Make Ahead/Storage: Store these leftover cinnamon chip scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. I like them of course fresh out of the oven. But they can last 1 to 2 days properly stored at room temperature. You can also keep them store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• To freeze: Once you cut them into wedges, you can freeze them by placing them on a cookie sheet. Then once frozen, wrap in either plastic wrap or store in a plastic bag in your freezer for up to 3 months. Bake frozen (no need to thaw), just add a few more minutes onto the baking time.
• Can I Make These Half Sized? I do this by cutting the 8 wedges and then cutting those in half again. These half sized scones will take less baking time of course. After the first 10 minutes, rotate the pan in the oven and bake 5 minutes more.
• No cinnamon chips? You can make your own (here is a tutorial from another blogger) or replace with another chip – white chocolate chips would be great!

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 685IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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