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These delicious cinnamon cardamom scones are easy to make, perfectly soft and flaky, and drizzled with a simple glaze.
New favorite scone alert! ♡
My mom recently brought us a batch of freshly-baked cinnamon scones, inspired by this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. And our entire family instantly agreed that they were hands-down some of the best we had ever tasted. Seriously, we absolutely love these scones and can’t stop making them!
As you can see, Deb’s original recipe features these fun “open-book” layers, which are easy to create by adding a few folds of cinnamon-sugar to dough. Our family really loves cardamom, though, so we’ve taken to adding a few generous teaspoons of ground cardamom to the filling along with the cinnamon and sugar. We’ve also come to love adding a touch of vanilla and some extra cream to the dough, to make it irresistibly soft and flaky and flavorful. And even with a final drizzle of icing, I love that these scones turn out to be sweet-but-not-too-sweet. When served hot out of the oven alongside a good cup of coffee, I’m telling you, there’s nothing better!
Let’s bake some scones!
Cardamom Scone Ingredients
Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make these cardamom scones:
Dry ingredients: We will use a classic mix of all-purpose flour, granulated white sugar, baking powder, and fine sea salt as the base dry ingredients to form the scone batter.
Butter: Unsalted butter adds richness and moisture to the scones and helps to create the most delicious flaky layers. Be sure that the butter is completely chilled and diced into small cubes so that it can mix into the batter quickly without warming up too much.
Half and half: Half and half (a mixture of half milk, half heavy cream) adds creamy richness to the scone batter and also serves as the liquid to help create a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Egg + egg white: We will use one egg to add structure to the scone batter, as well as an additional egg white to create an egg wash (egg mixed with water) to brush over the scones just before baking to create a golden, glossy finish.
Vanilla: A hint of vanilla extract brings out the best of the cinnamon cardamom flavor in the scones.
Spices: We’ll use an equal mix of ground cardamom and ground cinnamon for the scone filling, two warming spices that always pair beautifully together.
Glaze: Finally, I highly recommend drizzling the finished scones with a simple glaze made with powdered sugar and half and half.
Recipe Tips
Full instructions for how to make these scones are included in the recipe box below, but here are a few additional tips to help with the process too:
Use cold butter and half and half. Using cold dairy products is essential when making scones to ensure nice flaky layers.
Avoid overmixing. When forming the scone dough, work quickly and use a light touch to avoid overmixing the dough (which can create a tough texture).
Bake on parchment. This will prevent the scones from sticking to the baking sheet and make for much easier cleanup.
Don’t worry about perfection. If your dough doesn’t form perfect rectangles or circles when assembling the scones, don’t worry at all. These will still be delicious even if they’re a bit uneven!
Recipe Variations
Here are a few variations that you’re welcome to try with this cardamom scones recipe:
Add orange zest: Add the zest of 1 small orange to the cardamom-cinnamon sugar filling.
Add almonds: Add 1/4 cup of finely-chopped toasted almonds to the scone batter.
Add ginger: Add 1 tablespoon of finely-chopped crystallized ginger to the cardamom-cinnamon sugar filling or to the scone batter.
Use different warming spices: Incorporate additional warming spices into the filling, such as nutmeg, allspice, cloves or anise.
More Recipes To Try
Looking for more cinnamon and cardamom recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:
These delicious cinnamon cardamom scones are easy to make, perfectly soft and flaky, and drizzled with a simple glaze.
Ingredients
Scale
Scone Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups (230 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated white sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/3 cup half and half
1 large egg + 1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Glaze Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon half and half
Instructions
Prep the oven and baking sheet.Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the dough.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt until evenly combined. Use a pastry cutter (or your fingers) to cut the butter into the dough until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Create a well in the center of the bowl, add the half and half, 1 egg and vanilla extract. Then use a fork to briefly whisk the wet ingredients together. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a dough begins to form. Use your hands to bring the dough together and knead the dough a few times until a ball can be formed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Make the cardamom-cinnamon-sugar.In a separate bowl, whisk the cardamom, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar together until combined.
Layer the scones.Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a roughly 8×11-inch rectangle (the size of a sheet of paper). Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough and lightly press it down with your hands (see video), then fold the dough in half. Use the rolling pin to roll the dough out lightly into an 6×10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar over the dough, then fold in half once more. Use your hands to lightly press down the dough to seal the edges, then shape the dough roughly into a 6-inch circle. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 6 pie wedges and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Top the scones.Whisk the egg white together with 1 tablespoon of water until lightly frothy. Brush the egg wash evenly over the tops of the scones to coat, then sprinkle the remaining sugar on top.
Bake.Bake for 15 minutes or until the scones are slightly golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire baking rack to cool.
Make the glaze.Meanwhile, whisk together the glaze ingredients until combined. (If it seems too thick, add in more liquid. If it’s too thin, add in more powdered sugar.) Once the scones have cooled to room temperature, drizzle them with the glaze.
Ali, this recipe looks amazing so I am planning to make it TODAY! I am going to double the recipe, because, really, even 12 scones won’t last long around here!
Got the recipe this morning and had to make them! They are delicious and light. (The lightness might be because I accidentally added the extra egg white which was meant for brushing on top😁). I added cardamom and cinnamon to the glaze for more cardamom flavor. Really a great, easy recipe that comes together quickly and it’s so so SO good!
The subtle warmth of the cardamom adds a unique and aromatic twist that elevates the scones to a whole new level. They come out perfectly flaky and tender, with just the right amount of sweetness.
LOVE, love, love these scones. My new go-to recipe. The perfect texture and flavor. I have made them multiple times already and they are always a hit. (I omit the glaze (still yummy). And agree with the Tips to avoid overmixing. And I would also add to not over bake!)
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
Finallly ,,,, a recipe like this that does not involve yeast….going to make them once the sun goes down and it’s cooler
We ate them all. Yummmmmmmm
Ali, this recipe looks amazing so I am planning to make it TODAY! I am going to double the recipe, because, really, even 12 scones won’t last long around here!
Got the recipe this morning and had to make them! They are delicious and light. (The lightness might be because I accidentally added the extra egg white which was meant for brushing on top😁). I added cardamom and cinnamon to the glaze for more cardamom flavor. Really a great, easy recipe that comes together quickly and it’s so so SO good!
Delicious! I love almost anything with cardamom, but these scones are the bomb! Thank you Ali.
I made these this morning and they were delicious!!! Easy, too!
The original recipe is from One Bowl Baking, by Yvonne Ruperti, not Smitten Kitchen.
The subtle warmth of the cardamom adds a unique and aromatic twist that elevates the scones to a whole new level. They come out perfectly flaky and tender, with just the right amount of sweetness.
I like your recipe to make cardamom scones. Hope that you will have more recipes in the future.
Edited by geometry dash subzero 1 day ago
LOVE, love, love these scones. My new go-to recipe. The perfect texture and flavor. I have made them multiple times already and they are always a hit. (I omit the glaze (still yummy). And agree with the Tips to avoid overmixing. And I would also add to not over bake!)