Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)

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The best cinnamon scones recipe ever! These cinnamon chip scones are buttery & moist, easy to make for breakfast or brunch, and are even better than Starbucks & Panera! Perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Front view of four Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)

This cinnamon scones recipe is the absolute best scone I have ever eaten. Fresh from the oven, they will literally change your life.

They are moist and buttery with cinnamon chips in every bite. And they’re easy to make with a handful of simple ingredients.

a hand holding one cinnamon scones with 4 other scones around it

Cinnamon Scones: Ingredients & Substitutions  

While there are a few possible substitutions in this recipe, these truly are the best scones ever, and I do not recommend making changes!

overhead photo of the labeled ingredients in this cinnamon scones recipes
  • All-purpose flour. to make them gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free baking flour.
  • Granulated sugar. white sugar and organic cane sugar are great choices.
  • Salted Butter. unsalted butter or vegan butter are good substitutes.
  • Half and Half.ย Whole milk is the best substitute. Heavy cream is also delicious, you just need to add an extra 1 to 2 Tablespoons of cream to the dough to make it soft and not dry. Or, try buttermilk like in this buttermilk scones recipe.
  • Cinnamon ChipsThese are optional, but not really! ๐Ÿ˜‰ They really are the secret ingredients that makes these the best cinnamon chip scones ever! Or try these chocolate chip scones.
  • Raw Turbinado sugarI use organic raw turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones, I find it works the best.
Overhead view of a Cinnamon Scone (with Cinnamon Chips) resting on a cup of coffee, with other scones around it

How to Make Cinnamon Scones 

Let’s discuss how to make cinnamon scones. They come together easily, but I will share a few tips and tricks with you that will ensure your success (don’t forget to watch the video)!

Begin by adding all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until they’re combined and the mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout).

overhead view of a bowl with the dry ingredients in it to make Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)

Next, cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands. Be careful not to over-mix the ingredients (because that will cause the butter to melt)!

Cold Butter is Key!

It’s important that the butter is cold when added to the dry ingredients. I often cut up the butter and place it in the freezer before I gather the rest of the ingredients and finish step one. This ensures it is very cold when it’s time to be added to the dough.

two photos showing How to Make Cinnamon Scones - cutting cold butter into dry ingredients with hands

Next, add the rest of the wet ingredients to the cinnamon scone dough. Be sure that the milk and eggs are cold so the butter doesn’t melt when they are added. Use a spatula to mix the cinnamon scone dough until the mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout).

overhead view of a bowl with the wet ingredients added to the dry in the making of these Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)

At this point the scone dough will look crumbly, that is normal. To know if it’s the correct consistency, try to pinch a chunk with your fingers.

If you can pinch the dough together easily, it’s good to go (as pictured below). If it doesn’t hold together and remains powdery, add more half and half 1 tsp at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.

overhead view o fa bowl of Cinnamon Scone dough after it has been mixed. A hand is over the bowl showing a piece of the dough being pinched together.

Once the dough is uniform throughout and the correct consistency has been achieved, add the cinnamon chips and mix until they are evenly distributed.

front view of a bowl of cinnamon chip scone dough after cinnamon chips are added

Shape the dough into a 10″ Circle

Dump the cinnamon scone dough out onto a clean surface or pastry slab. Please note the texture in the photo below! The dough will be crumbly but moist!

How to Make Cinnamon Scones - dough poured out onto a marble work surface

Use your hands to shape the dough into a 10″ circle. It should hold together very well as it’s shaped, and be a solid circle when you’re finished.

How to Make Cinnamon Scones - hands forming the dough into a circle

Try to minimize cracks in the cinnamon chip scone dough, because any cracks present at this stage will remain through baking! Check out that circle of dough, complete with beautiful chunks of butter throughout. YUM.

Overhead view of a round circle of Cinnamon Scone dough

Bake

Transfer the dough circle to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle the cinnamon scone dough circle with raw sugar. I recommend patting it down slightly so that the sugar sticks to the dough!

How to Make Cinnamon Scones - a hand sprinkling raw sugar over a disc of scone dough cut into 8 pieces

After you’ve sprinkled the dough with sugar, cut the dough into eight equal pieces. Start by cutting the circle in half from top to bottom. Then cut it in half from side to side. Then cut the remaining two pieces in half diagonally Separate the scones and spread them out evenly on the baking sheet.

overhead view of a hand holding a knife cutting a circle of cinnamon chip scone dough into eight pieces.

These scones will not rise or spread very much, but it’s still important that there is plenty of space between the scones to ensure even baking.

Overhead view of eight Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips) before baking, spread out onto a baking sheet

Bake the cinnamon chip scones for 16-20 minutes or until they look set. You will notice that the tops don’t really brown but the bottoms do!

Cool

Transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool slightly, then serve warm!

front view of cinnamon chip scones on a cooling rack

Serve

highly recommend serving these cinnamon chip scones warm. They are just irresistible fresh from the oven! Serve with a slather of homemade apple butter, cinnamon honey butter, the best pumpkin butter, nut butter or add a drizzle of glaze for an extra special touch!

Store/Freeze

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

Reheat in the oven set to warm for about 5 minutes in a covered baking dish.

4 cinnamon chip scones

Prepare in Advance

Make the scone dough according ot the recipe instructions, but do not cut it. Instead, leave it as a 10″ round circle, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

In the morning, cut and bake the cinnamon scones according to the recipe instructions.

front view of a Cinnamon Chip Scone on top of a mug of coffee

Cinnamon Scones Recipe FAQs

How long do scones last?ย 

Stored at room temperature, scones last 1-2 days without drying out. They can be frozen for up to two months.

How do you reheat & freshen up scones?ย 

There are two ways to reheat these cinnamon chip scones:
In the microwave.ย Simply warm scones in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (depending on the power of your microwave and the number of scones you are heating up). Then enjoy!
In the oven.ย Wrap scones in foil (to prevent drying out) and warm in the oven preheated to 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes!

Do you need eggs in scones?ย 

In this recipe the answer is yes! Using egg in this scone recipe makes them have a richer taste and an amazing texture. It also adds to the rise of the scone.

Why should butter (and the rest of the wet ingredients) be cold when you make scones?ย 

It is important that theย butterย and the rest of the ingredients are cold in the cinnamon scone dough because then you end up with little “chunks” of cold butter throughout the dough.
The cold butter chunks begin to meltย when baking in the oven the oven, which creates flaky layers and pockets in the cinnamon chip scones…leading to the perfect homemade scone!

overhead view of the inside of two halves of a Cinnamon Scone (with Cinnamon Chips)

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Best Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)

Laura
The best cinnamon scones recipe ever! These cinnamon chip scones are buttery & moist, easy to make for breakfast or brunch, and are even better than Starbucks & Panera! Perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the morning.
4.98 from 105 votes
Course Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Scones
Calories 335.8
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
  • In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder cinnamon and sea salt. Stir to combine.
  • Add butter and using a fork, pastry cutter or your hands, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until there are coarse crumbs. (You want little chunks of butter)!
  • Add half and half, egg and vanilla extract and stir until combined. The dough will look crumbly, but should clump together when squeezed between your fingers.
  • Add cinnamon chips and stir until evenly distributed.
  • Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface (or pastry slab) and form into a round circle about 10โ€ in diameter.
  • Transfer the circle of scone dough to the prepared baking sheet.
  • Cut into eight equal pieces. Start by cutting the circle in half from top to bottom. Then cut it in half from side to side. Then cut the remaining two pieces in half diagonally. (see video)
  • Sprinkle the top with raw sugar and gently press it into the top of the scones.
  • Carefully separate the scones and spread them out evenly on your baking sheet.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, or until the scones look set.
  • Remove from the oven and transfer scones to a baking sheet to cool, or serve warm (which I highly recommend).

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitutionsย 
  • All-purpose flour.ย to make them gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free baking flour.
  • Granulated sugar.ย white sugar and organic cane sugar are great choices.
  • Salted Butter.ย unsalted butter or vegan butter are good substitutes.
  • Half and Half.ย Whole milk is the best substitute. Heavy cream is also delicious, you just need to add an extra 1 to 2 Tablespoons of cream to the dough to make it soft and not dry.
  • Cinnamon Chips.ย These are optional, but not really! ๐Ÿ˜‰ They really are the secret ingredients that makes these the best cinnamon chip scones ever! Or try these chocolate chip scones.
  • Raw Turbinado sugar.ย I use organic raw turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones, I find it works the best.
Store/Freeze
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.ย 
Prepare in Advance
ย Make the scone dough according to the instructions, but do not cut it (leave it as a round 10″ circle). Then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and put it in an airtight container.
In the morning, cut and bake the cinnamon scones according to the recipe instructions.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1Scone | Calories: 335.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 42.9g | Protein: 4.3g | Fat: 16.9g | Saturated Fat: 11.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 52.6mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 74.1mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 20.2g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 1.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question? Leave a comment below!

Cinnamon Scones: A Special Recipe

This Cinnamon Scones Recipe holds an extra special place in my heart.

I swam my entire life, and when I got old enough, I coached a summer team. One of the parents would regularly bring the coaches containers full of these warm, fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon chip scones.

Those were always the best mornings, and she was kind enough to share her recipe with me (oh so many years ago). And much like back then, they are always devoured the second they come out of the oven, and my entire family absolutely adores them.

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4.98 from 105 votes (55 ratings without comment)

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83 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These are such a huge hit with my roommates, family and friends. Could I make the dough ahead of time, cut and keep in the fridge/ice chest? Iโ€™m going on vacation and my friends requested I make these, but Iโ€™d rather make it ahead than have to bring all the ingredients with me.

    1. Yes I do this all the time! I make/form them the night before, store in the fridge and bake in the AM!

  2. 5 stars
    I made this this morning and they were delicious. Due to a lack of space in my tiny kitchen I had to form the circle by hand (no free counter space due to crock pot dinner already started). I was able to add some flour as I shaped the dough. My circle ended up being smaller than recipe and they were thicker Iโ€™m sure. I did precut but the dough was a little sticky so I didnโ€™t move them apart. When there was a few minutes left I pulled them out and cut again before slightly moving the wedges apart. They turned out perfectly and light. I didnโ€™t have the crystal sugar so I just added more chips to the top for sweetness. I will definitely make these again.

  3. 5 stars
    I made my own cinnamon โ€œchipsโ€ for this recipe because I didnโ€™t have any. The scones were so good! I used to eat cinnamon scones every morning at the coffee shop near my house in elementary school, they tasted jsut like them! Thank you :))

    1. That is awesome! I’d love for you to share how you made cinnamon chips so others who cannot find them can make them too!

  4. Amazing recipe! I substituted the half and half with 2tbls of melted butter and half a cup minus 2tbls of milk. It made the dough sticky but it worked perfectly!

  5. I just made these on a whim, actually having all the ingredients. I did substitute 2% milk for the half and half and also patted the dough out to two 6โ€ circles, dividing those into eighths for smaller scones. The recipe was wonderful and easy to follow. They came out perfect!

  6. 5 stars
    These scones were amazing, and so easy. Didnโ€™t change a thing, and luckily had all the ingredients for my last minute decision. Thank you for the recipe!

  7. 5 stars
    Made these scones this morning and they turned out great!
    I made a few substitutions:
    – Substituted a mixture of Whole Milk Yogurt & Heavy Cream for the Half & Half. This actually worked well, about 1/3 cup yogurt and 1/6 cup cream, made 1/2 cup total. It’s just what I happened to have in my fridge ๐Ÿ™‚
    – Substituted chocolate chips for cinamon chips, because I didn’t have cinamon chips and because… chocolate.

    Went well! Thanks

  8. 5 stars
    I tried a blueberry scone recipe last week and I loved it. I’ll have to give this cinnamon recipe a try now too! Thank youi

    1. 5 stars
      Not sure why people leave a star rating when they haven’t made this. It is very misleading. Anyways I just made these pretty much exactly to the recipe. The only difference was I cut 12 scones as they seemed huge. Baked 18 mins and they are gorgeous. Great taste and texture. Thanks so much for the recipe.

  9. Making these tonight! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for sharing Laura. They’re so pretty. I had to do apple instead of cinnamon chips, but I’m sure they’ll still be lovely.