Winter has this Glazed Maple Pecan Scone recipe in its back pocket. It’s for the snow days, ski weekend breakfasts, Sunday brunches with friends, don’t want to do anything but bake days, and mornings that deserve an extra special treat. Psst: Valentine’s day is right around the corner, so I’ve got my mind on these for breakfast next week.
I’ve never been big on Valentine’s Day as an adult. Why does there have to be so much pressure on one day when we love these people every day of the year? I’m going to sound like a broken record — because I have similar issues with other holidays that put an emphasis on material gifts and grand gestures that often end in people feeling disappointed — but why can’t it just be fun, simple, sweet, and homemade!? Why does it have to be people spending a boat load of money on a dozen overpriced red roses or jewelry or fancy dinners out that are three times the price of an any night dinner out?
I used to love Valentine’s day in elementary school. We’d always have the assignment of creating our Valentine’s collection box (for collecting cards from friends) at home which was a fun, family project with an old shoe box and decorations. Then, I’d get to pick out the drug store Valentine’s card packs that were simple and sweet (ok – super cheesy too), making one out to each friend and teacher at school. Ending the day with a box full of friendship notes was the best thing ever. The candy might have been a pretty good part of the day too. I want Valentine’s day to be like that again.
Flashback!! It seems only appropriate to play this sweet Valentine’s video from the Flour & Co days, lovingly made by one of our teammates, Brittany. Let’s just say my sentiments haven’t changed. I wrote this post and then pulled up this video only to find that I transcribed the video pretty much verbatim…
Now with Andy and Ethan at home (age 3 and 1.5), it’s important to us to make holidays special in our own, unassuming way. Traditions are everything as a kid (at least they were for us), so we may just get out the elmer’s glue and shoe boxes. We will probably have a special breakfast at home with these scones, and will gift some too.
We’ll be bringing back Valentine’s day in its original form – sugar, spice, and everything nice. Whatever the 14th of February means to you, know that I’m Bananas for You (I may have borrowed that from those super sweet cards…way back when), and I appreciate you being here. Making and eating these scones just might be the answer to any Valentine’s question marks in your head. Slightly sweet, simply good, and just a little something special on another Wednesday in February. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Maple Pecan Scone with Maple Glaze
These Maple Pecan Scones have winter written all over them. So delicious with a subtle nuttiness that screams comfort, and a maple finish that has you coming back for more.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 22 min
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: biscuits & scones
Ingredients
Scone Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2T light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, 1/2 “cubed and chilled
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup chopped and toasted raw pecans
Maple Glaze Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1T heavy cream
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat (or another pan that will fit into your freezer as you will freeze before baking). Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients, through kosher salt, in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- In another small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, egg, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- Add the cold, cubed butter into the dry mix. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, quickly combine the butter and dry ingredients until it’s sandy in texture, with no bigger than pea size pieces of butter. You don’t want the butter to get warm and melty.
- Add the maple/milk/egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir with fork until it lumps together. Fold in the toasted pecans, just until well distributed.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface, avoiding using too much flour. Shape the dough into a circle with a thickness of about 1”. Cut the circle into eight pieces.
- Transfer the pieces to the prepared baking sheet or freezer save pan. Place in the freezer for at least one hour.
- While these are freezing, combine the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth with a fork or small whisk.
- After one hour (or longer if you do this ahead of time), take the unbaked scones out of the freezer, keeping them in the pan that you’ve used for freezing, and spoon 1 tablespoon of the glaze mixture over each scone. Place them back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until the glaze is frozen.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you’ve used something besides a baking sheet for freezing the scones, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper for a silicone baking sheet. Place the scones a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. If you’ve used a baking sheet, it can go straight in the oven.
- Place the frozen tray of unbaked scones (make sure there is a couple inches of space between each scone) in the oven for 22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool until warm. Eat!
Notes
These scones are crumbly! That would sometimes point to being dry, but it works well with this particular scone. Not too dry, just messy.
For Valentine’s day, you can use a heart cookie cutter to cut the scone pieces instead of cutting it into 8 pizza slices. Based on the size of your cutter, the baking time may vary slightly, but it will work just fine. They won’t be perfect hearts once baked, but no ones heart is perfect anyway!
These are great for gifts. Bake, let cool, and pack in a pastry box with Valentine’s stickers or cello bags with a cute, festive ribbon.
Don’t buy buttermilk just for this recipe. If you have white vinegar or lemon juice at home, put 1 teaspoon in a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Fill the rest with milk (whole if you have it). Let it sit for a few minutes before adding.
When I shaped the dough into a round before cutting into “pizza” slices, it measured about 8 inches. The thickness should be approximately 1 inch (which is the more important measurement).
These scones can be made ahead of time and baked as desired. Complete the instructions through #7 or #9 based on the time that you have. Ultimately, you will need to get through step #9 as it requires additional freezing, but you can take a break either place!
We used organic flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and milk at the bakery which I also try to do at home. Great ingredients make for great goodies!
Happy V-Day baking! If you bake these Glazed Maple Pecan Scones, share your photos with the hashtag #flourandco. I love seeing your finished products!
Also published on Medium.
