Grate your apple, measure, and place on a tea towel or a few sheets of paper towel. Squeeze out most of the excess moisture and set aside

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon

Add cubed cold butter to the bowl and, using your fingers, rub it into the dry ingredients until very fine and no large lumps of butter remain.

Stir in the grated apple

In a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs and vanilla extract

Make a well in the dry mix and pour the egg mixture and buttermilk into the center. Cut through the mixture with a spoon, and when there’s barely any loose flour at the bottom, gently compress the dough with your hands to bring it together. Avoid stretching the dough—you don’t want the gluten to build up

Dump the dough onto your counter and press it into a circle. Flatten slightly, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill and hydrate

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Place the chilled dough and lightly flour the surface of the dough before rolling it into a circle just under an inch thick

Use a knife to cut into 12 triangles, place six on your baking sheet. These will puff a lot as they bake so don’t overcrowd your pan!

In a bowl, make your glaze by beating together the egg yolk and heavy cream. Lightly brush only the tops of your cut scones with the glaze, and leave uncovered to dry for 15 minutes

Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes, rotating the pan once at the 10-minute mark. Bake until lightly golden around the tops and edges. Repeat with the remaining scones.

While the scones are baking, make your cinnamon sugar topping: combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the scones immediately after they come out of the oven for a sweet crunch.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy warm or room temperature with homemade apple butter and your favorite hot beverage!