By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 40 minutes
- Rating
- 4(115)
- Notes
- Read community notes
There are many reasons an apple a day may keep the doctor away. Among popular fruits, apples rank second (after cranberries) in antioxidant power, according to the nutritionist Jonny Bowden. They are extremely high in phenolic compounds (polyphenols), particularly quercetin, and if the apple is red, anthocyanins. These phytochemicals carry many health benefits, both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Apples have been linked to lower rates of heart disease in several studies.
The phytonutrients in apples are concentrated in and right under the skin. So whenever it’s possible when you’re cooking with apples, it’s best not to peel them. Seek out organic apples if possible, as the skin is also where you’ll find most of the pesticide residue, and conventionally farmed apples are on the Environmental Working Group’s list of the most contaminated produce.
Scones are easy to make and lend themselves to whole-grain flours. These are particularly moist because of the grated apples.
Featured in: Recipes for Health: An Apple a Day
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Ingredients
Yield:12 scones
- 150grams (about 1⅓ cups) whole-wheat pastry flour
- 60grams (about ½ cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2teaspoons baking powder
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 50grams (about ¼ cup) raw brown sugar
- Scant ½ teaspoon salt
- 1tablespoon walnut oil
- 5tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1tablespoon finely chopped or grated lemon zest
- ½cup buttermilk
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1sweet or tart apple, grated
- 50grams (about ½ cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
169 calories; 9 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 138 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Step
2
Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Dump anything remaining in the sifter into the bowl with the sifted ingredients. Place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Add the walnut oil, butter and lemon zest and mix at medium speed or pulse in the food processor until the mixture is crumbly.
Step
3
Combine the buttermilk and vanilla, and with the machine running, add the liquid to the flour mixture. Mix just until the ingredients come together. Stop the machine and add the apple and walnuts, then mix or pulse to combine.
Step
4
Drop by heaped tablespoons onto the baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, or serve warm.
Tip
- Advance preparation: These will keep for couple of days at room temperature, and they freeze well.
Ratings
4
out of 5
115
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Cooking Notes
Lauren
Has anyone tried this with olive oil instead of walnut oil?
Sandra
Maybe try coconut oil? Flavor won't be impeded as it has slight sweet taste.
Madtowncook
Tasty and easy to make! I used 70g spelt flour and 140g white flour and following another commenter's suggestion, toasted the walnuts, and added 1 t cinnamon (while omitting lemon zest). Ate 2 fresh from the oven and could have had a third. They have a lovely light crumb and a faint graham crackery aroma/flavor. I'm thinking about what might give them a bit more hit of apple and may try adding some apple cider syrup.
NC
A handful of changes:-1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup white flour-omitted walnut oil-added an egg-substituted raspberries for the apple-1/3 cup of walnutsFound them delicious and not too sweet. Would absolutely make again! Raspberries were especially good, would recommend the change.
heather c
used a dash of sesame oil instead of walnut oil,and gluten free flours. Pretty good.
Renee
I'll try toasting the walnuts and adding maybe a tsp. or so of cinnamon to get some flavor in them.
lh
These were just ok. They are not a scone consistency and there isn’t enough apple in them so they don’t have much taste.
julie
Has anyone made this with regular whole wheat flour?
Lolly
I made these pretty much like the recipe but my apples were on the small size so I added another 1/2 apple. They are delicious. Light and slightly sweet, better than scones, I think, because they are lighter. This may become my go-to scone recipe. Buttermilk makes everything better.
Marta
I did not have buttermilk and wanted a smaller batch so I made some modifications: - doubled the apple amount to 2 full apples- reduced the flour to half (3/4 cup)- used olive oil instead of butter, half the original amount (halved the walnut oil too)- reduced sugar to half of original amount- all other ingredients per original recipeIt yielded 8 very delicious scones. Texture is more cake-like, as mentioned on the board previously.Will definitely make it again.
Jillian
I made these with pear and orange zest. They turned out light and fluffy and amazing. Not particularly scone-like in texture though. More like a little cake. You would never guess they were primarily whole wheat flour. So, so good. I could well imagine these being dressed up with whipped cream.
@juneybugbakes
Wow didn’t think these would taste so good! I didn’t have some ingredients- i used rice milk instead, and vanilla extract instead of walnut oil. They turned out great! I got a yield of 12, just watch out for burning edges.
Sandra
Added chopped dried tart cherries. Turned out delicious, nicely complimented zest & apples
Lauren
Has anyone tried this with olive oil instead of walnut oil?
Sandra
Maybe try coconut oil? Flavor won't be impeded as it has slight sweet taste.
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