Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)
Posted Dec 16, 2018, Updated May 05, 2024
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The best Homemade Cinnamon Scones Recipe (with Cinnamon Chips)! 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!
This Cinnamon Scones Recipe holds an extra special place in my heart. They are the best scones ever, they’re easy to make, and are the perfect companion to a cup of warm coffee!
Plus, for me these cinnamon scones come with a side of nostalgia! If you didn’t know, I swam my entire life, and when I got old enough, coached my 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, these cinnamon scones are always devoured the second they come out of the oven, and my entire family absolutely adores them.
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!
- All-purpose flour. I honestly have not tried making these scones with any other flour besides unbleached all-purpose flour. If you try using an all-purpose gluten-free flour or another flour substitute, please report back and let me know how it goes.
- Granulated sugar. I always bake with organic cane sugar, but any granulated sugar works well.
- Ground Cinnamon. Not all ground cinnamon is created equally. Choose a quality variety of cinnamon for the best results!
- Butter. Again, I have not tried making these cinnamon scones with anything other than butter. Both salted and unsalted butter works well! I usually use salted, so if you opt for unsalted you may need to increase the amount of salt in the recipe by 1/4 tsp.
- Half and Half. This is the only ingredient I have played around with. I have used whole milk and they turn out fabulous. I have also tried using heavy whipping cream, but I needed to add an extra 1 TBS of cream to get the dough to stick together (they still tasted perfect).
- Cinnamon Chips. These are optional, but not really! 😉 Cinnamon Chips are a baking staple in my house, but they can be hard to find. This year I had to resort to buying them online because I couldn’t find them in any local stores. I have had luck at Walmart, Meyer, and Smith’s in the past. Or try these chocolate chip scones.
- Raw Turbinado sugar. I use organic raw turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones, I find it works the best!
How to make Cinnamon Scones
Let’s discuss how to make these cinnamon scones! They come together easily, but I will share a few tips and tricks with you that will ensure your success (plus you can watch the video)!
To make the best scones ever, start by making the scone dough.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Simply add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until they’re combined and the mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout).
Cut in cold butter
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 fridge 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.
To cut the butter into the dry ingredients use a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands. I opted for my hands this time around, but have used all three methods with success. Just be careful not to over-mix the ingredients (because that will cause the butter to melt)!
Add wet ingredients
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).
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.
Add cinnamon chips
Once the dough is uniform throughout and the correct consistency has been achieved, add the cinnamon chips and mix until they are evenly distributed.
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!
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.
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.
Transfer to a baking sheet & Sprinkle with sugar
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!
Cut and spread apart.
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.
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.
Bake & Cool
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!
Transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool slightly, then serve warm!
Cinnamon Scones Serving Suggestions
I 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, nut butter or add a drizzle of glaze for an extra special touch!
To store/freeze
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To make ahead
You can make the dough the night before and bake in the morning! 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.
Then, cut and bake the cinnamon scones in the morning! This is a great way to save time in the mornings when you’re groggy before you’ve had your coffee!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can make the dough the night before and bake in the morning! Simply 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. Simply cut and bake the cinnamon scones in the morning! This is a great way to save time in the mornings when you’re groggy before you’ve had your coffee!
Store these cinnamon scones in an airtight container wrapped in plastic wrap (to retain moisture) at room temperature.
Yes! Simply wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag.
Stored at room temperature, scones last 1-2 days without drying out. They can be frozen for up to two months.
There are two ways to reheat these cinnamon chip scones:
In the microwave. 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. Wrap scones in foil (to prevent drying out) and warm in the oven preheated to 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes!
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.
It is important that the butter 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 melt when baking in the oven the oven, which creates flaky layers and pockets in the cinnamon chip scones…leading to the perfect homemade scone!
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Best Cinnamon Scones (with Cinnamon Chips)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 6 TBS salted butter cold
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup cinnamon chips
- 1-2 TBS raw turbinado sugar
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 10” 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 Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. I honestly have not tried making these scones with any other flour besides unbleached all-purpose flour. If you try using an all-purpose gluten-free flour or another flour substitute, please report back and let me know how it goes.
- Granulated sugar. I always bake with organic cane sugar, but any granulated sugar works well.
- Butter. Both salted and unsalted butter works well! I usually use salted, so if you opt for unsalted you may need to increase the amount of salt in the recipe by 1/4 tsp.
- Half and Half. This is the only ingredient I have played around with. I have used whole milk and they turn out fabulous. I have also tried using heavy whipping cream, but I needed to add an extra 1 TBS of cream to get the dough to stick together (they still tasted perfect).
- Cinnamon Chips. These are optional, but not really! Cinnamon Chips are a baking staple in my house, but they can be hard to find. This year I had to resort to buying them online because I couldn’t find them in any local stores. I have had luck at Walmart, Meyer, and Smith’s in the past.
- Raw Turbinado sugar. I use organic raw turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones, I find it works the best!
To store/freeze
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.To make ahead
You can make the dough the night before and bake in the morning! 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. Then, cut and bake the cinnamon scones in the morning! This is a great way to save time in the mornings when you’re groggy before you’ve had your coffee!Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very good scones, nice flavor and not at all dry.
Hi Laura,
I was just wondering if I could substitute buttermilk for the half and half in the cinnamon scones?
Absolutely DELICIOUS!
Holy cow – SINFULLY delicious!! I stuck to the recipe with the minor exceptions of adding just a dash of nutmeg and also using a bit of pumpkin pie spice blend extract in addition to the vanilla. I also added pecans. Oh how I wish these were lower calorie so I could eat them every day!!!!
Best scones ever! So many scones are dry, but not these. My husband loved them, however he did ask, “Where are the raisins?” He is a raisin junkie. No raisins didn’t stop him from eating two of the scones. 😋
This was great. Thank you for the recipe. My family loved it.
I made these today. I opted for frosting (powdered sugar and heavy cream). They are delicious. I think I may cut the cinnamon chips down to 1/2 to 3/4 cup. It seemed like a lot of cinnamon chips. Otherwise absolutely delightful.
I made these yesterday and they turned out amazing! They were delicious, flavorful, moist, and had just the right amount of sweetness. I went to two stores and could not find cinnamon chips, so I made my own using this recipe (I used dark corn syrup instead of light): https://pin.it/2UdTYts. They didn’t look like chips at first, but they pulled apart in a crumble and I was able to measure out 1 cup per the scone recipe. The cinnamon *chips” were definitely necessary for the full cinnamon flavor in the scone. I would make these scones again and definitely recommend this recipe.
I made these scones for the first time today and they were delicious! I brushed cream on top, drizzled them with cane sugar and slivered almonds. I did not have the cinnamon chips on hand but found two good recipes to make them from All Recipes and Tastes of Lizzy T. One uses vanilla and makes a larger quantity but both are super easy. Both worked out just fine in these scones and i loved that they were home made.
I also added 2 teaspoons of vanilla but usually do that for cookies and other recipes. Will definitely make these again this weekend – my family ranked them above the cherry scones that i made, too. And I love that we can make these in the fall and winter time. The smell of these cooking is AMAZING.
Thank you Terry I’m SO glad you enjoy these as much as we do! And thank you for the tip on homemade cinnamon chips! Perfect!
People who ate them said they were the best scones they ever had. They are putting in orders for the next batch. The scones need the cinnamon chips. I ordered them online. They are moist and delicious.