Recipe: Cinnamon Sugar Scones
Who can forget the joy of discovering cinnamon toast as a kid? The enchanted combination of butter, sugar, and cinnamon seemed to pop up all the time: on Sunday mornings, it was the pleasure of a lazy breakfast with family; after school it seemed to cure scraped knees and later heartbreak; and when we first left home, it was the snack of choice at 2 a.m.
Now that we’re all grown up, that same comfort and pleasure has grown up with us in the form of warm, freshly baked scones studded with lots of little crumbles of cinnamon sugar and Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter. Finally, they get brushed with buttery cinnamon sugar and drizzled with cinnamon sugar glaze.
Yet, all this sweet cinnamon-y goodness does not take hours of work. The scones come together quickly and easily. In fact, mixing the crumbly, buttery dough is the perfect job for little hands. Then, unbaked dough keeps in the freezer for whenever a cinnamon toast emergency arises. (You can pop the pre-made scones in the oven straight from the freezer.)
Throw a spur of the moment brunch for friends, show your grandmother you really do know how to bake, or make a batch ahead to pop in the oven one holiday morning. No matter the occasion, you’ll be imparting new cinnamon toast memories on whomever you share them with.
Cinnamon Sugar Scones
Makes 12 scones
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 3/4 cup
(12 tablespoons) Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, chilled, cubed, and divided
- 2/3 cup
demerara or turbinado sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon
ground cinnamon
- 3 cups
all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon
baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon
salt
- 1
large egg yolk
- 1 cup
cold heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
For the cinnamon sugar topping: (optional)
- 1 tablespoon
Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons
demerara or turbinado sugar
For the cinnamon sugar glaze: (optional)
- 3/4 cup
powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons
- 1/4 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400ºF.
Place 4 tablespoons of the butter, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and mash until well combined; set aside.
Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and work it into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces of the reserved butter-cinnamon sugar mixture and toss them with the flour mixture to coat.
Whisk the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla together in a small bowl, then pour into the flour mixture. Stir until the flour is moistened and a stiff dough comes together.
Turn out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 (6- to 7-inch) rounds, each about 3/4-inch thick. Use a large knife to cut each round into 6 wedges, then gently lift and separate the wedges so there is 1/2-inch space between each piece. If desired, brush the wedges with the melted Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.
Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Meanwhile, if desired, make the cinnamon sugar glaze by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Cool scones for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Serve warm, or transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. If glazing, let cool completely, then drizzle with the glaze. Let the glaze set before serving, about 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Make ahead: The unbaked scones can be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake frozen scones for 25 to 28 minutes.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes and was created by the Kitchn Creative Studio.
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