Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles course crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add 1 cup of milk. Push the dry ingredients into the milk and gently stir just until mixed. You are looking for it to resemble a shaggy dough. It may still seem a bit dry.
Add the diced apple and fold into the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface or pastry mat and bring it together with your hands kneading 2-3 times to form a ball.
Press the dough out to an 8-inch circle with your hands.
With a sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges.
Move the wedges to the prepared baking sheet leaving at least an inch of room between them for expansion.
Beat the egg with 1 tsp of milk and brush over top of the scones.
Place on the centre rack of your oven and bake for 20 minutes until scones have risen and are lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven and move to a cooling rack.
When scones have cooled, whisk the powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk and drizzle the glaze over the scones.
Notes
If you are not going to bake the scones immediately, store them in a cool place, such as the fridge until ready to bake to prevent the butter from melting.How to store scones These scones will keep well for about 3 days. Storage can be extended to several months if stored in an airtight container in the freezer.Substitutions/Additions Light brown sugar may be use in place of dark brown sugar.You could replace cinnamon with apple pie spice.I use granny smith apples, but any variety can be used.All-purpose flour can be replaced all or partially with whole wheat flour, though you may need to increase liquid by a few tablespoons.Add ¼ tsp of cinnamon to the drizzle for extra cinnamon flavor.Why didn’t my scones rise very much? If the scones did not rise it is usually because either the butter was not cold enough, or the baking powder was old. As baking powder ages it loses some of its potency. If the butter is not cold enough it will not create the steam as it melts which contributes to the rise.Why are my scones so tough? If you are finding your scones turn out dense and tough, this is probably the result of over mixing. Be sure you are mixing just until the wet and dry ingredients have formed a shaggy dough, and only knead it 2-3 times until it holds together.