Cranberry Apple Scones with Cinnamon Glaze

The perfect scones for fall, these light and tender treats are filled with fresh apple and cranberry. These Cranberry Apple Scones are finished with a cinnamon glaze for a beautiful look and excellent flavor.

(This recipe was originally published in October 2014, but was updated with new photos and content in 2023).

This scone recipe is perfect for fall. These cranberry apple scones combine the essence of apple pie with the bright, tart flavor of fresh cranberries—two very prominent ingredients this time of year. As a final flourish, the intense cinnamon glaze really takes these fragrant scones over the edge.

When fresh out of the oven, they are the epitome of fall, lightly spiced with fresh sweet apple and tart cranberry, all wrapped up in a deliciously tender breakfast treat.

Ingredient notes

• Apples: There are many varieties of apples that are good for cooking and baking. A few recommended options include Honeycrisp, Granny Smith (pictured here), Fuji, or Pink Lady.
• Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries for these scones.
• Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter for baking (so you can control the salt) and ensure it's cold right out of the fridge before using for this recipe.
• Dairy: You can use buttermilk, heavy cream, or milk to make cranberry apple scones. Any of these options will work, but yield slightly different results. The buttermilk will add a slight tang, the cream will provide richness, and the milk is a basic option if you don't have the other two.
• Ground Cinnamon: You'll need ground cinnamon for both the dough and the glaze.
• Ground Cardamom: Although ground cardamom can be pricey, I think it adds another incredible layer of flavor to the dough. It complements the cinnamon nicely, and makes these scones just a bit more sophisticated. That being said, if you don't have it you can leave it out.

How to make it

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Add cold butter cubes to the flour mixture and work the butter into the flour mixture, using your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse pea or dime-size crumbs.

Add the apples, and cranberries and toss well.

Mix together the buttermilk and beaten egg and then add to the flour mixture and mix until just combined, kneading lightly (but don’t overwork it). It will look shaggy at first put press the dough together with your hands and it will come together into a single mass.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half and pat each portion into a ¾-to-1-inch thick circle. Use a bench/dough scraper or knife to cut 6 wedges (like a pizza) from each round.

Flip each cut scone over and place upside down on the parchment lined baking sheet (the bottoms are flatter and will look prettier as the tops of the scones), spacing a couple inches apart.

Lightly brush on top of the scones (but not the sides) with a little buttermilk or cream. Bake scones on the center rack of the oven for 18 to 22 minutes until lightly golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow the scones to cool on the pan while you prepare the glaze.

Stir together the confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and milk until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add a sprinkle more confectioners’ sugar. Too thick, add a drizzle of milk.

When scones are cool, drizzle the glaze over the tops.

Allow the glaze to set briefly and then serve the scones at room temperature. These scones are best the day they are made, otherwise the moisture in the fruit will begin to soften the scones and glaze.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

Expert tips

After cutting into wedges, the scones can be refrigerated or frozen and baked later. Frozen scones can be baked from a frozen state; just add a little extra baking time, as needed.

These scones freeze beautifully. By freezing these scones, it actually helps prevent the apple from oxidizing, which is why they should be either baked immediately or frozen and then baked.

You can always just bake off a few at a time, and cut down the glaze recipe to make just as much as you need for a portion of the recipe.

Also, these scones are best the day they are baked, otherwise the fruit starts to soften the scones rapidly, and even the glaze will soften even after it's already set. They are still delicious, but the texture won't be the same.

Alternatively, you may cut each dough round into 8 wedges instead of 6 to yield 16 smaller scones.

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