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Giant Cinnamon Roll Scone
![Giant Cinnamon Roll Scone](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/04/22/dining/20cookbookrex2/merlin_171347805_6050844c-6839-42f5-8a5d-02606faa79b6-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2¼cups/285 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ⅓cup/65 grams granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾cup/170 grams cold unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cubed
- ½cup/120 milliliters heavy cream, plus more as needed
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼cup/55 grams dark brown sugar
- 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1cup/125 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 to 3tablespoons whole milk
For the Dough
For the Filling
For the Glaze
Preparation
- Step 1
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Step 2
Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cubed butter, then pinch and press the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Step 3
Make a well in the center of the sandy mixture and add the heavy cream and vanilla. Toss and fold until it comes together to form a loose dough.
- Step 4
Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Gently knead the dough two or three times to bring it together. Use your hands to press the dough into a 5-by-14-inch rectangle with a long side facing you. Imagine the dough divided vertically into three equal sections, like a standard sheet of paper folded to fit into an envelope. Carefully lift the section on the right and fold it over the center section. Lift the section on the left and fold it over the other two layers. When you look at your dough from the front, you should see three distinct layers. Turn the little dough package so that one of the folded edges is facing you.
- Step 5
Use your hands to press the layered dough back down into a long rectangle similar in size to the first one you made, flouring your work surface and dough as needed.
- Step 6
Make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle the filling on top of the dough and spread it out using a spoon or silicone spatula to fully cover the top surface of the dough.
- Step 7
Cut the dough lengthwise into four equal strips. Pick up a strip and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet, filling-side up. Roll it up tightly, then stand it up on one of its flat sides in the center of the sheet. Pick up another strip, and wrap that strip, filling-side in, around the standing coil starting where the first coil left off. Repeat with the two remaining strips. Gently push the circle of coiled dough down to adhere the strips together and flatten the dough to about 9 inches in diameter. Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
- Step 8
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chilled roll into 8 wedges, leaving the cut pieces together in a circle instead of pulling them apart.
- Step 9
Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the scones have puffed and browned around the edges, 20 to 24 minutes.
- Step 10
Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool for 20 to 30 minutes before carefully moving the warm scones onto a cutting board or serving platter. (If you don’t let them cool first, they will fall apart when you try to move them.) Using a knife, gently slice to separate the 8 individual scones, but don’t pull them apart.
- Step 11
Make the glaze: In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla with enough milk until the glaze is spreadable. Drizzle it over the scones and serve.
- Scones are best enjoyed shortly after baking, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Enjoy at room temperature or reheat the scones in the toaster oven.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Alternative wording for step 7: Cut your rectangle into 4 equal strips, in the direction of stripes on an American flag. Take one strip and roll it into a cinnamon roll, then set it in the center of the pan. Take the next strip and wrap it around the first cinnamon roll to create a larger cinnamon roll. Repeat with the third and fourth strips so that in the end you have one giant cinnamon roll in the middle of your pan, then press down on it gently to make the whole thing about 9in in diameter.
I can't for the life of me picture what you are talking about in step 7. Can you please clarify, or add pictures? thank you!
Made this a second time in a cast iron skillet lined with parchment —25 min at 350. Came out beautifully! Bonus, you don’t have to chill the dough for 30 min, so you can get to the deliciousness faster!
I think you are to make a large cinnamon roll, starting with the center and working outward, starting each of the 3 remaining strips where the previous left off. The first strip is rolled to make the center, then the others rolled around to it to form a larger circle. I hope that makes sense!
There is a video of recipe on the author's Instagram @erin.bakes Very helpful!
I mixed the dough in my mixer with the paddle attachment until just formed and then skipped to the part where you pat out dough and spread with cinnamon/butter. Worked great!
Followed the note below about baking in a parchment lined cast iron skillet for 25 minutes, then baked a couple of extra minutes. Came out delicious. I also backed the sugar in the scone dough down to 1/4 cup. Could back it off even more since the sugar in the filling and the icing is plenty.
I made this with King Arthur gluten free flour and it turned out great! I did have to cook it for an additional 15 minutes to get the desired scone texture
Lots of work but the end product is quite special. Recommended cooking time is, however, not sufficient. Using 24 minutes, from the outer edge half-way to the center of the circle the result was more or less acceptable but the remainder required at least an additional five to seven minutes of time. It might be better to separate the circle into two half circles. Think of it as social distancing for scone dough.
Mine came out underdone inside, even though the outside looked perfectly beautiful. I’m going to make them in a cast iron skillet next time and report back!
If you look at the picture, it's one continuous spiral (like a traditional cinnamon role)...so you role the first of the 4 strips into a coil, place in center of baking sheet, then continue coil effect by wrapping each of the other 3 pieces around coil, creating a bigger coil. Voila!
I did not have cream, so I used mostly coconut milk and a bit of half-and-half. Worked great. Did not have a coconut flavor.
As many have stated, the directions are a little confusing, but don't overthink it. Keep in mind that the final shape is a cinnamon role and you'll need strips long enough to form a cinnamon roll. A second note is that I actually cooked mine in a cast iron skillet for 40-45 minutes. The tops of the scones browned, but did not burn. There were no raw sections in the dough. Lastly, unless you NEED a bunch of icing, the icing amount can be halved, and I maybe only used a 1/3 of the icing.
I made a vegan version of this and it turned out fantastic! I used Miyoko’s European style vegan butter (cultured cashew based butter) and Coconut cream in place of the heavy cream. Did not taste like coconut at all and was just as moist and fluffy as the real deal. 10/10
I think half and half or maybe even whole milk would work fine here. I would increase the butter by 1-2 tablespoons to compensate for the loss of fat, though.
I’d highly recommend this recipe. Shockingly moist, rich, and bursting with flavor. I say shocking because I am rarely impressed by scones. This one will impress you. Use cultured butter if you have it.
Followed the recipe exactly but added more filling because a love cinnamon. These were the best scones I’ve ever had. They do fall apart so make sure you let them cool completely.
I have made these so many times. Everyone loves them. I add an egg to the cream and vanilla. Everything else is the same.
I find that anything over 5-6 Tbsp. of butter in scones is just going to ooze out during baking, so I cut the amount of butter back. Also, only 1/2 c. liquid is nowhere near enough. Another variation on this recipe is to roll out the dough into a rectangle, spread half the cinnamon sugar over half the rectangle, fold, repeat, fold, and then cut into triangles. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
I followed the recipe up until putting on the filling. I just then rolled it into a log, chilled and cut into 10-12 individual pieces and baked for a little over 20 minutes. I also added extra cinnamon and vanilla to the glaze. 10/10 better than normal cinnamon rolls.
The wedges separate where the filling is. Anyone else found that?
I baked in an up heated cast iron skillet for 30 minutes and was slightly raw in the center but edible and delicious. Next time I will bake about 3-4 minutes longer. These were delicious!
I’d like to make this low carb with either almond or coconut flour (and, of course, non sugar sweeteners). Any special instructions?
This was very delicious. Plenty sweet without the icing. I had trouble getting the filling to adhere-it was very buttery- but i added a couple tablespoons of flour to the mixture and that helped. I think it helped the scones stick together, too, because they tend to fall apart where the strips meet.
Has anyone tried these scones without the icing?
It's kind of surprising that there aren't any Cooking Notes about the amount of cream in this recipe. Even though there is the note in the ingredient list referencing the cream, "plus more as needed," it would be helpful to include info about how much more cream might need to be added, (much like the addition of ice water when making pie crust) in order to create a "loose dough." While the flavor of the competed scone was quite good and the presentation fun, it was a struggle to get there.
I have made these scones twice now and LOVE them! I doubled the recipe last time. I intend to triple it in a couple of weeks to bring to Christmas celebrations - does anyone have any suggestions as to how I could create smaller scones while maintaining the nice cinnamon roll swirl effect? Maybe I could use a cookie cutter to cut circles out of the large spiral prior to sticking them in the oven? I want smaller individual servings that will be presentable on a platter and easy to grab at a party.
This is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!
Katie and Leslie's comments about Step 7 are definitely correct, I misunderstood and made four separate cinnamon rolls and then put them close together almost like a flower and smashed them with my hands, it also worked really well! NYT change that step and make it clearer please!! - I also subbed 70g cream cheese which make it a little chewier/softer (in a good way)
This was fun to make, but not outstanding to eat. Was not crumbly, as scones usually are, was very cake-like and had an aftertaste of salt. Perhaps non kosher salt would have been better to use.
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