Cinnamon Apple Walnut Scones

Good morning and happy Friday!  Can I just say how excited I am for the weekend?  Well I am! Its football season and homecoming weekend in Greenville, so I am heading down for a weekend with my dad and some Pirate football.  This is the time of year that makes me start to feel older; when I head back to Greenville and notice how young the freshman are.  I have been out of school for 4 1/2 years, which still just seems crazy to me.  Like when I think about that, I feel like I should be an "adult" by now.  That I should not still be renting a house; that I shouldn't still be trying to figure out "what I want to do when I grow up."  Although, I will probably still be asking myself that question 10, even 20 years from now.  But this weekend I will put those thoughts in the back of my mind.  I will enjoy spending the weekend with my dad at our alma mater, watching the homecoming parade and wearing purple and gold!  I might lose my voice from shouting GO PIRATES! It wouldn't be the first time its happened.  

Before the weekend, though there were scones.  These scones would actually be great to eat while standing on the sidewalk with a cup of coffee in hand and watching the parade.  They are jam packed with apples and walnuts.  They have more of the consistency of a biscuit and are super moist with a delicious cinnamon apple flavor.  It's apple season and the perfect time of year to give these a try!  Enjoy! 

Dry ingredients, mix then cut in the butter and whisk in the milk.

Toasted walnuts and apples.

Form into a ball and cut.

Ready for the oven

Cinnamon Apple Walnut Scones:

*makes approximately 6 scones

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and placed in the freezer for a few minutes

1/2 cup cold buttermilk, milk or cream

1 cup chopped apple (approximately 1 medium sized apple)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1/8 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon sugar  with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for sprinkling

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.  Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in the buttermilk just until incorporated;  the dough will be crumbly and look dry.  Knead the dough in the bowl a few times to bring the dough together into a single mass.  

2.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Gently fold in the apple pieces and walnuts, then press into a circle roughly 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.  Cut the dough into 6 wedges, and place the wedges on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the tops of the scones with cinnamon-sugar mixture. 

3.  Bake on the center rack until golden brown, about 22-24 minutes.  Remove the scones to  a rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm or at room temperature. These reheat great in the toasted oven and if you have extras just stick them in the freezer and take them out the night before to defrost.  Enjoy!