If a cinnamon roll and a scone had a baby it would be a cinnamon swirl scone, yes?  I know-stay with me (yes-it’s absurd-but just go with it). It’s what you make when your kid, husband or clan wants a cinnamon roll but you don’t want to futz with all the work of making rolls and quite frankly you don’t have the time…and DON’T you DARE whack a can of store bought something or other on the side of the counter. No, just no.

 

 

 

Cinnamon Swirl Scones

yield: one dozen scones

Cinnamon filling:

1/2 Cup light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Saigon cinnamon

3/4 tsp. vanilla powder

1/8 tsp. mace

6 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter

In a small bowl with a silicone spatula mash together all the filling ingredients until well combined, set aside.

Scone dough:

2  2/3 Cup self-rising flour

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla powder

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes; kept cold

3/4 Cup cold buttermilk (or if you don’t have buttermilk mix together 3/4 Cup milk with 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes)

Egg wash:

1 large egg

2 tsp. milk

1. With a fork whisk together the egg and milk and set aside.

Make Dough:

1. In a stand mixer bowl place the dry ingredients and using a hand whisk or fork- mix well. Add the cubed cold butter and blend by hand with a pastry blender until mixture has pieces of butter the size of peas.

2. With the paddle attachment and mixer on low; pour in the buttermilk and mix until mixture just comes together. Remove dough and turn out onto floured surface, fold and knead together gently about 6 times until dough is no longer sticky. Pat and shape the dough gently into a rectangle and with a rolling pin, finish rolling dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle. If you don’t have a ruler- use a 1/4 sheet pan as a rough guide for size. Make sure you have ample flour underneath the dough so when you go to roll up the dough it does not stick to the counter. Lift up all 4 edges of dough and place any extra flour to ensure it is not sticking.

3. Smear the cinnamon filling onto the dough and leave about 1/2 inch space at both edges of long sides, and about 1/4 inch of space on borders of short sides. Take the long side of the rectangle that is furthest away from you and gently roll towards you taking about 1/2 inch at a time, rolling into a log as tight as you can. Once the log is completely rolled together- pinch the dough seam with your first two fingers to ensure it is sealed as tight as possible. With a bench scraper, cut log into 12 equal pieces. Place cut side of scones onto prepared pans- (6 scones onto each pan), reshaping into circles gently as needed and place at least 2 inches apart.

4. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Place pans in refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes. After chilling, brush top and sides of scones with egg wash; checking again to make sure the seams on each roll are sealed. Bake in preheated 450° F oven for 14-15 minutes until light golden brown. Note: some of the filling may ooze and seep out (don’t worry-it happens even if you are careful). Let scones cool on sheet pan placed over wire rack until almost completely cooled, then drizzle with icing per recipe below.

Icing:

1 Cup + 3 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

In a small bowl whisk together sugar and milk until smooth. Add additional sugar if needed to adjust consistency. You want a thickness that when pulling a table knife through the mixture; the icing does not hold the line of the knife.