Cinnamon Swirl Scone Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Scone Bread is the new thing you never knew you needed! This scone recipe is baked up in a loaf pan, making it extra easy to slice up and serve. Scone bread bakes up light and tender with a craggy & crumbly top. The swirls of cinnamon and brown sugar add a pop of sweetness and warmth. This is a great recipe for breakfast, brunch or tea time!

A new and better way to make scones!? YES, PLEASE!

Scone bread is insanely easy to make and addictively delicious. In fact, I think this recipe is the easiest scone recipe I ever made! Baking it in a loaf pan makes the perfect scone since you don't have to handle the dough as much.

The top bakes up with lots of craggy spots which add bit of crunch, but the inside is totally soft and moist. And, you get caramelized pieces in some areas where the cinnamon swirl baked up against the pan.

Thanks to the natural way that scones layer, it even mimics a pull-apart bread which means you'll keep finding new little pieces to pull off and pop into your mouth.

Let’s bake Cinnamon Swirl Scone Bread

The ingredient list is simple and you likely already have everything you need!

• All purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• sugar
• unsalted butter
• eggs
• heavy cream
• cinnamon
• brown sugar

As you may know, scones are made with cold butter rather than softened butter. That's what gives them their tender crumb! I find that it's best to incorporate the butter in a food processor. It just takes a few pulses which makes it the most efficient way to break up the cold butter into the flour, but could totally do this by hand or use a pastry blender instead.

Once the dry ingredients are blended with the butter, you'll add your wet ingredients. At this point, be sure to stir carefully by hand using a wooden spoon or spatula and stop once 98% of the dry ingredients are combined.

Then, stir in the cinnamon-sugar mixture juuuust until it's lightly swirled in the dough.

Pour the mixture into a prepared loaf pan. To add a bit more crunch, I sprinkled the entire top with sparkling sugar. Or, after baking, you could totally opt for a simple powdered sugar glaze or dusting of powdered sugar.

Tips for making the best scone bread

My best absolute TOP tip...do not over mix!! Over-mixing the dough will cause your scone bread to be tough and dry, so it's important that you take your time when you go to combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Be sure to follow these other tips for perfect scone bread:

• When measuring the flour, be sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off correctly with the back of a knife. Any amount of extra flour added can make this scone bread extra dry.
• Speaking of, be sure to carefully monitor the bake time. It is easy to over-bake this bread which can also lead to dryness.
• As with making any type of scone, be sure your butter and cream are COMPLETELY COLD before adding them to the dough! This will help create light and tender slices of scone bread!

Cinnamon Swirl Scone Bread

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Cinnamon Swirl Scone Bread is the new thing you never knew you needed! This scone recipe is baked up in a loaf pan, making it extra easy to slice up and serve. Scone bread bakes up light and tender with a craggy & crumbly top. The swirls of cinnamon and brown sugar add a pop of sweetness and warmth. This is a great recipe for breakfast, brunch or tea time!

• Total Time: 60
• Yield: 1 loaf pan

Ingredients

For the Scone Bread

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¾ c unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 2 eggs
• ½ c heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• sparkling sugar for the top (optional)

For the Cinnamon Swirl

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp cinnamon (as always, I prefer Ceylon cinnamon)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar, lightly packed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing the sides to overhang so you can easily lift the bread out of the pan later on. Spritz the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, make the cinnamon swirl mixture by mixing the melted butter, cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
3. In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Set aside.
4. In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder salt and sugar. Give it a quick pulse to combine. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse. Stop mixing once the butter is incorporated and the size of peas. Note, the mixture will not come together yet and will still resemble flour. 
5. Pour the dry ingredients into a larger bowl.  Pour in the egg/cream mixture and slowly stir together with a wooden spoon. Once 98% of the dry ingredients is absorbed, stop mixing.
6. Add in the cinnamon mixture and swirl it through the dough. It should only take a few stirs to do this and at this point, any remaining flour should be combined.
7. Scoop the dough into the pan and spread it out evenly.
8. Sprinkle sparkling sugar on the top (optional).
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the middle of the bread shows no signs of raw batter (check with a toothpick and when it comes out clean, it's done!)
10. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Using the parchment, lift the bread out of the pan and place on the rack to fully cool.
11. Slice with a serrated knife to serve.
12. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Equipment

Breville 12 Cup Food Processor

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Chicago Metallic Professional Loaf Pan

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Notes

Recipe adapted from: Food52/Molly Yeh

• Author: Liz at Owlbbaking.com
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 45
• Category: Scones, Brunch
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: Scones, Cinnamon scones