Gluten-Free Apple Scones
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These gluten-free Apple Scones are slightly spiced and sweetened with a drizzle of honey. They are delicate fluffy little scones and the perfect match for lashings of this season's homemade jam.
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These Apple Scones taste incredibly homely. Imagine waking up to the scent of these scones baking in your kitchen? A fine start to the day indeed.
They are the essence of British baking and are incredibly versatile. Since they are not overly sweetened you can eat them as a sweet treat with clotted cream or jam or even just a dab of butter or bacon.
Why you'll love these scones:
- Spiked with warming cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
- Studded with freshly diced juicy apple
- Softly sweetened with honey
- Baked with wholegrain gluten-free flours
What gluten-free flours to use
Gluten-free scones work best when you choose the right alternative flours to pair with your flavourings. There are no weird or wacky gums, just honest whole ingredients.
The starches
- Sweet rice flour – gives the scones excellent structure and a fluffy texture.
- Tapioca flour – browns well so gives the scones a good crust.
The wholegrains
- Oat flour – a light fluffy flour with lovely toasty flavour. Make sure it's a gluten-free oat flour.
- Sorghum flour – a deep earthy taste.
Baker’s Tip – If you are intolerant to oat flour then you can use just the sorghum. It can be slightly grainy depending on the brand and will have deeper flavour but still delicious.
More gluten-free scone recipes
How to make Apple Scones
- Sift the flours with the spices, baking powder and salt.
- Rub the butter in with your fingertips to form shaggy breadcrumbs.
- In a jug whisk the eggs into the milk with the honey and pour into the flour mixture.
- Bring together with your hands to form a dough. Sprinkle in the diced apple.
- Press the dough into an even 1 inch round.
- Cut out the scones and place on a baking tray.
- Brush with egg wash and bake for 10 minutes.
What to serve with Apple Scones?
These scones are only slightly sweetened with honey so they pair excellently with a homemade jam.
Why not try?
Damson Orange Cinnamon Jam
Blackberry Lime Jam
Pear Cobnut Jam
Strawberry Redcurrant Jam
And hey, can I just put Bacon Jam out there on your list?
However, they are equally delicious with a slather of salted butter or perhaps some smoked streaky bacon.
Can you freeze Apple Scones?
Yes. As soon as the scones have cooled then pop into a freezer bag. They will keep for about 6 weeks in the freezer. To defrost, remove from the freezer the day before you want to eat it. You can warm for 10 minutes in the oven just before serving.
How long do Apple Scones keep for?
It’s best to eat these Apple Scones on the same day they are baked as they grow quickly stale.
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Gluten-Free Apple Scones
Ingredients
- 100 g sweet rice flour - (glutinous rice flour)
- 70 g oat flour
- 55 g sorghum flour
- 25 g tapioca flour - (tapioca starch)
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 50 g cold unsalted butter - sliced thinly
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg - +1 for the egg wash, medium size
- 100 ml whole milk
- 1 dessert apple - peeled, cored and cubed
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted / gas mark 4.
- Sift the flours with the spices, baking powder and salt, then drop in the butter, rubbing together to form a breadcrumb texture.
- Whisk the eggs into the milk in a jug with the honey and pour into the flour mixture.
- Stir together with a wooden spoon to bring together then turn out onto a clean work surface dusted with oat flour and using your hands gently turn the mixture round and round. As it is coming together sprinkle in the apple pieces bit by bit so they are evenly distributed. Carry on turning the dough a little longer until it forms a smooth dough which is no longer sticky.
- Press the dough out into an even round 1 inch thick and cut out the scones using 5cm round cutter.
- Place the scones on a large baking tray and brush the top of each scone lightly with whisked egg.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the top of the scones are beautifully golden.
Notes
- Eggs. The egg used in this recipe is medium size, 60g each with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
- If you can't tolerate oat flour then remove and increase the quantity of sorghum flour to compensate.
- These scones are only slightly sweetened with a drizzle of honey. It means they work beautifully with either sweet or savoury toppings.
- Best eaten the day the scones are baked.
- You can freeze the scones for up to 6 weeks.
How to serve apple scones
- jam
- butter
- bacon
- cheese
Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Do you have a list of which flours can be substituted for each other separate from the notes in each recipe? Thank you.
Gluten-free flours can be categorised into 4 separate categories - wholegrains, starches, nuts and seeds and legumes. I recommend swapping gluten-free flours within their categories - this free Gluten-Free Flour Cheatsheet is helpful in understanding which flours belong to which categories.
Hi Georgina, Can these scones be made without the rice and oat flour? I can't have either, which is making baking really difficult.
Hi Lori, you can swap the oat flour for any other wholegrain flour - buckwheat or millet flour for example. However, the sweet rice flour is difficult to substitute as it is a unique starchy flour that the other flours in that category can't quite replicate. Instead you could try swapping it out for almond flour which is high in protein so will give a good structure. I haven't tried these substitutions though so I can't guarantee the results.
Is there a way to change these to blueberry lemon?
Of course. Just remove the apple and spices and add blueberries and lemon zest. These scones are not very sweet though, for a lemon blueberry scone you might be better adapting these ones by just adding lemon zest and blueberries.
Thank so much will let you know how they turn out ! xx
If I take the Apple and spice out will these work? Really keen to try a sorghum blend neutral scone!!
Yes, but if you remove the apple then you might like to add a bit more sugar to the scone dough if you want your scones sweeter. Maybe just 3-4 tablespoons caster sugar. Or if you are happy with a more neutral taste then leave the recipe as is and omit the apple and spice as you suggest.
I love a good scone recipe! Apple and honey seem perfect as a pair, so I can't wait to try these!