Cinnamon Scones

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I am a cinnamon roll snob. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone considering I refuse to eat the cinnamon rolls that come in a can and you pop them in the oven to bake them. Actually, a large part of my life, I assumed I didn’t like cinnamon rolls despite having an obsession with loving cinnamon. I think the cinnamon roll obsession started in Japan and now it is out of control. However, cinnamon rolls are an all day affair.

Cinnamon scones only take about 40 minutes from start to finish which is far more reasonable when I am craving something cinnamon. Because I am a psychopath picky, it took me a while to perfect a scone recipe that wasn’t too dry but also wasn’t too cake like either. This scone recipe is a simple variation of my classic scones recipes that is altered with the addition of cinnamon in the batter and a finishing sugar on top. You can opt to add in the sweet icing drizzle for a more cinnamon roll experience.

Butter discussions

Scones traditionally call for room temperature butter that you cube and mix into your dry ingredients. This is a common thing for biscuits and similar baked goods. I watched my grandma do it for years and the first time I made scones I hated it. I don’t know what prompted me to grate my butter but I did and it is life changing. I use a cheese grater and run my cold butter through it before adding the butter to my scone batter.

Grating my butter before mixing it, I feel like the butte is more evenly distributed throughout the scones and it is a million times easier to mix the batter. I have grated my butter with a handheld grater and one of the ones with the turn handle and both work beautifully. The key to this trick is COLD butter.

Finishing Sugars

Adding a finishing sugar (like my Sugared Chai) to the tops of scones gives them that little extra something. You can add finishing sugars before baking for a toasted sugar or after for a subtle flavor.

Pairing your scones

A lot of people I have talked to make the comment that they don’t like scones because they are too dry. The next logical question is, “What are you eating them with?” More often than not the answer is nothing. Scones are a very dry bakery item that are best paired with either a drink (teas and coffees) or jams and homemade butter.

My favorite teas for the cinnamon scones are Earl Grey (because it is my favorite), an English Black Tea, or Vanilla Oolong. You can get all of these teas and so many more from The Spice and Tea Trading Post in downtown St. Cloud or by ordering them online. I cannot really give recommendations for coffee as I am not an avid coffee drinker.