High Altitude Pistachio-Apple Scones. These are gloriously tender, buttery, and nutty, with a satisfying mix of textures thanks to bits of crisp, sweet apple, crunchy pistachios, and a crumbly brown sugar-and-nut topping. The perfect treat for cool mornings, I’d say. Or afternoons. Or midnight snacks.
I used to be fairly meh about pistachios. I mean, they were fine eaten plain from the shell. Kind of fun to break open, and efficient for slowing your nut consumption, a la sunflower seeds. I hadn’t had them in many dishes, though, except for as a garnish here and there. The few times I’d tried pistachio ice cream – the bright green, cloying commercial American version – I thought it was gross.
And then I went to Italy, and tasted Sicilian pistachios ground into pesto, sprinkled on salads, and – a revelation – blitzed into a rich, creamy paste and transformed into pistachio gelato. I fell in love.
Luckily, shelled pistachios are now widely available in bulk, so there’s no need to spend hours tearing up your fingers shelling. When used as a base flavor, pistachios are sublimely rich, and when roasted and salted they have an almost buttery quality. Absolutely perfect for scones, which are one of my favorite easy treats to bake up on short notice.
Buttery and nutty sounds like the perfect pairing for fresh fall apples, no? I thought so, too.
Choose your apples carefully for this recipe. Because these scones are not overly sweet, you’ll want to avoid tart varieties such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady. I’ve tried Gala, which were good but not as flavorful as my favorite baking apple: Honeycrisp.
For all my instant gratification peeps, a big bonus of this recipe is that it’s incredibly quick and easy. Once you’ve got the ingredients on hand, you can literally be tucking into a warm scone in less than one hour. All you do is whisk together some flour with baking powder and spices, cut in butter, add cream and any add-ins you want. Here, brown sugar brings in a bit of caramel flavor to complement the apples, and cinnamon adds a nice spicy zing.
Always one to tinker with my base recipes, I tried a different approach with the butter this time. I popped the butter in the freezer about 15 minutes before I was ready for it, then grated it on a box grater. This allows for quick, easy incorporation of the cold fat into the flour. Cold butter helps the scones keep their shape and rise into nice high wedges with crisp edges.
This recipe is egg-free and results in a firm dough that you need only knead (heh) a couple times before forming it into soft, tender rounds.
Unlike my Pumpkin Scones, I chose not to drench these in icing, but rather let the pistachio and apple flavors take center stage. The tops get a quick egg wash followed by a little extra crunch in the form of large-grain turbinado (raw) sugar and toasted pistachios.
If you feel that scones are naked without icing, the cinnamon-vanilla glaze on my Orange Scones would pair with these flavors beautifully.
I’m not a total purist. I do like a little smear of fresh butter (or honey butter! or apple butter!) on a warm one.
Go on with your bad self and whip up a batch before the week’s over. It’ll make you happy.
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High Altitude Pistachio-Apple Scones
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 scones 1x
Description
Buttery and tender, studded with bits of crisp, sweet apple and crunchy pistachios, these nutty scones are the answer to your sweet-and-salty fall dreams.
Ingredients
1 cup shelled, roasted, salted pistachios
2 1/4 cups + 2 TB all-purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
8 TB (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, briefly frozen
3/4 – 1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweet, firm apples (such as Honeycrisp or Gala), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
Beaten egg for egg wash
turbinado sugar and extra chopped pistachios, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until they’re roughly chopped. Remove 1/2 cup of the roughly chopped nuts and set aside. Continue to process the remaining pistachios until they are finely ground.
In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add butter pieces and, with the mixer on low or cutting in by hand with a pastry cutter, combine until butter is incorporated and flour looks uniformly crumbly. Mix in 1/2 cup of the finely ground pistachios and the brown sugar, then stir in the apples and chopped pistachios. Drizzle in 3/4 cup of cream and continue to mix until a soft dough forms (if the dough seems dry, add more cream, a tablespoon at a time, until it begins to come together).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it a few times into a soft ball. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 3/4 inch thick round. Using a sharp knife, cut each round into six wedges.
Transfer scones to parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and extra chopped pistachios.
Bake at 425° for 18-20 mins, until bottoms are evenly browned and tops are beginning to turn golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap leftovers in parchment, then foil (they can be re-heated like this if desired).
Notes
… choose apples that are firm but sweet, such as Honeycrisp or Gala.
… work quickly so that the butter stays cold in your dough, which facilitates sharp, crisp edges and a nice rise. If forming the scones has taken longer than you’d like and the dough is beginning to warm, pop your tray of scones into the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
You clever butter freezer, you!👏🏽👏🏽
The texture of the apple, pistachio and turbano sugar sounds scrumptious!!! Gonna definitely give this recipe a ride, real soon!
You will love these, P. Let me know what your guests think!
Delicious! Although the glaze is not necessary, your cinnamon-vanilla glaze from your orange scones is wonderful on them. Possibly my new favorite, but I will make your orange ones next! Thank you for all the great recipes.