If you’re a lover of brown sugar PopTarts, you will LOVE these Cinnamon Oat scones. They’re buttery, flaky, and extra tender thanks to brown sugar. Seriously, these give me oatmeal cookie dough vibes. I hope you become as obsessed with these as I have!
What makes these Cinnamon Oat Scones so incredible?
Cinnamon: This recipe calls for a full teaspoon of ground cinnamon which adds the most beautiful, warm flavor. Cinnamon gets added into the dough AND the icing.
Oats: Oats has to be one of my favorite foods ever so of course I’m going to add them into scones (my other favorite food). They add a nice textural component and compliment the brown sugar and cinnamon super well.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is the KEY ingredient in these scones!! It adds a delicious flavor and the molasses in the brown sugar helps to make the scone even more tender than usual. Seriously, brown sugar makes these melt in your mouth.
Brown Butter: Brown butter is the perfect pairing for cinnamon and brown sugar! It adds a sweet, nutty flavor. If you have not tried browned butter, you are in for a real treat! You’ll never want to go back to regular butter!
Vanilla: Scones don’t usually call for vanilla extract, but I wanted to add vanilla to really make all the other flavors pop through the scone!
Tips for success
- Freeze your butter. You’ll have to cut up your butter into tiny pieces before anything else. I like to do this step first and then pop it in the freezer while I prepare my other ingredients. Cold butter is the key to getting flaky scones! Cold chunks of butter in your dough will melt and create pockets. This is where your flakiness comes from! It’s also how they create laminated pastries like croissants and puff pastry.
- Preheat your baking sheet. While your oven is preheating, toss your baking sheet in the oven. Baking scones on an already preheated baking sheet will help you get the perfect crispy outside while keeping the inside soft.
- Add in the cream slowly. It’s very difficult to measure exactly how much liquid you need to add to a scone. It depends on several factors such as the dough temperature, type of cream, mix-ins, and how you measured the ingredients. 230g is the closest measurement of how much cream I usually add in. You want to add enough cream so that all the flour is coated, but not so much that the dough becomes wet and sticky. It should easily fall off your hands when you pick it up.
The secret to super flaky scones!!
The secret to beautiful, flaky scones is folding them and turning them like you do croissants! I learned this technique from Rose Levy Bernanbaum in her book The Bread Bible. This method is going to create 3x the amount of layers! You do not want to skip this step, I promise!
Start by rolling the dough into an 8×12 inch rectangle like the picture.
Next, fold your dough in thirds “hamburger style.” In other words, fold the top and bottom toward the center so that the seam runs horizontally.
Once you have folded up both ends, rotate the folded dough so that the seam now runs vertically. Re-roll the dough into a 8x12in rectangle and repeat folds and turns two more times.
Troubleshooting
Why is my dough so sticky?
You have likely added too much liquid. To correct this, you can add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a desired consistency. Your dough should fall off your hands easily. You should be able to squish the dough and have it stick together, but it should not automatically all stick together.
Why won’t my dough stick together?
You need to add more liquid! Add more heavy cream 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Take a good 30 seconds or so to mix the dough thoroughly before deciding to add more cream. Sometimes the dough just needs to be mixed a little bit more instead of adding more liquid.
Mixing Method
- Mix all your dry ingredients.
- Cut cold butter into dry ingredients. This allows for those yummy, flaky layers.
- Create a well in the dough and add vanilla and heavy cream.
- Mix until dough comes together into a shaggy mess.
Make ahead and freeze
Scones always taste better freshly baked! However, they will last up to 3 days baked and frosted at room temperature. If you would like to freeze these scones, you can freeze the scones before you put them in the oven and bake them straight out of the freezer. Just add an extra 5-8 minutes of bake time. Alternatively, you can freeze them after they have been baked and frosted. Just wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months. When you’re ready, simply defrost them at room temperature and serve.
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Perfectly Flaky Maple Pecan Scones You’ll Love
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Cinnamon Oat Scones
Ingredients
Cinnamon Oat Scones
- 304 g All-purpose flour 2 1/8 cup
- 50 g Oats 1/3 cup
- 50 g Granulated sugar 1/4 cup
- 25 g Brown sugar 2 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 113 g Cold, unsalted butter 1 stick
- 230 g Heavy cream 1 cup
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted butter browned
- 67 g Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 pinch Cinnamon ground
- 1 Tablespoon Milk of choice I prefer oat milk or whole milk
Instructions
Cinnamon Oat Scones
- Cut your cold butter into tiny cubes. Place in the freezer while you are completing step two.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, oats, and cinnamon. Mix until combined. Be sure to get out any lumps of brown sugar!
- Add your cold butter to the mixing bowl with your dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut the butter into your flour mixture. If using your hands (my favorite method) you can pick up large chunks of butter and rub them between your thumb and the rest of your fingers to flatten them out into the flour mix. Think about the hand gesture you use when referencing money! Keep doing this until you’re left with only small, flattish chunks of butter. They should be no bigger than peas. If you feel your butter is melting or not staying cold enough, place your mixing bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then resume.
- Use your hand to create a well in the center of your mixture. Pour in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Then, pour in half the cream. Make sure it’s cold! Use your hand to bring the outside mixture into the center where you poured the cream. Gently mix until all your flour mixture is coated in cream. Slowly add in more cream as needed. Your dough should stick together in large chunks, but not be so wet that it all binds together. (Refer to pictures above.)
- Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat dough down into a rectangle about 8 x 12 inches. You can use a rolling pin for this, but roll lightly as you don’t want to crush the layers! From here, fold the dough into thirds like an envelope. NOT lengthwise. Take your folded dough and turn it so that the fold seams are running vertically. This is one “turn.” Roll your dough back into another 8×12 inch rectangle and repeat the folding and turning process two more times. You should have folded and rerolled it three times when you’re done. End with the dough back in an 8×12 inch rectangle so you can cut the scones. (Refer to the pictures above, under “the secret to flaky scones.”)
- Cut your rectangle down the center vertically and horizontally so that you now have 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally so that you end up with 8 triangles in total.
- Move your scones onto a tray cutting board or plate and set them in the freezer for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Preheat your oven to 400 F with your baking sheet inside.
- Take your baking sheet out of the oven and line with parchment paper. Place your scones 2 inches apart. They shouldn’t spread much in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes until the top starts to get a light golden crust. You can also test these by gently touching the top of it. It should spring back when it is cooked completely. Let cool for 5 minutes before icing.
Brown Butter Icing
- Start by browning your butter in a saucepan over the stove. Do this by placing the butter over medium low heat, stirring occasionally so that the butter doesn’t burn. Your butter will start to foam after a couple minutes. At this stage, stir constantly. The butter will turn a golden caramel color with brown crumbs at the bottom. It should give off a nutty aroma. Once your butter gets to this stage (about 5-8 minutes), remove it from heat and let cool for 10-20 minutes. If you’ve never browned butter before, check out this post by Sally’s Baking addiction!
- Add butter to a bowl with powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix all ingredients with a whisk until combined. It will look like a lumpy mess. Don’t worry, it will come together when you add liquid to it!
- Add the milk and whisk until smooth. If you want to thin out the icing, add more milk 1/2 tsp at a time.
- Use a spoon to pour icing over each scone. Enjoy! 🙂
