Apple Oatmeal Scones

This is another small-batch scone recipe.  I had an extra Granny Smith apple in my veg drawer, and I love them for cooking, but not so much for eating.  Rather than let the apple molder away until I would have no choice but to discard the rotted thing, I thought I would come up with something in which to bake it.


The depicted scones are actually version 2.0 of this recipe. My first try was far too moist; the scones were tasty but didn’t rise much and were kind of gushy in the middle.  Iteration 2.0 here gives you a very soft dough, but these scones baked up much more appealingly. 

That said, if you find the dough too moist to manage, you could probably increase the amount of flour called for by 2-4 tablespoons without the scones suffering any ill effects.

¾ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
¾ cup oats (old-fashioned)
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder

½ medium apple, peeled and shredded
¼ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yoghurt (I used fat-free because that was all I could find, and it was great)

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Cut in butter, then add oatmeal and spices and stir.  Set aside.

Peel apple and use the coarse side of a box grater to shred half of it into a smallish bowl.  Add sugar, vanilla, and yoghurt and stir to blend.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir lightly until blended.  Dough will be very wet.  If desired, sprinkle surface of dough with more flour to make more malleable.  Pat dough into a flattened disk and place on parchment paper on baking sheet.  Slice into 4-6 pieces and separate by about an inch or so with a knife.  Like so:

I didn’t have any trouble getting the dough to slice or separate, despite its moistness, but this might be a slightly tricky step.  If you’re worried about it, you should probably up the amount of flour by at least 2 tablespoons.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Makes 4-6.

These are a nice autumn alternative to endless pumpkin recipes.  The apple flavor melds with the spices to make these taste like a cup of hot cider in scone form.  They’d be perfect with a nice spot of tea.

Husband is very fond of apples in baked goods, so ironically, I seem to have finally made a scone that he likes.  Next time, I might have to make a double batch.

Printable recipe here.