Scones! These Maple Whole Wheat Scones are tender and slightly sweet… perfect for breakfast or brunch! I am a maple syrup lover, but the maple flavor of these scones is subtle. If you leave off the glaze, you might not even notice the maple flavor at all. To me, the flavor of the scone itself is reminiscent of graham crackers. Epicurious calls them “Maple Tea Scones”, and I do think they would go quite nicely with a hot cup of tea. A Saturday morning treat!
Here’s what you need:
Begin by mixing together the dry ingredients. The original recipe calls for just all-purpose flour, but I like to substitute one of the cups for whole wheat. Just makes it a little healthier, and tastier!
Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. It will take some mixing, but eventually it will look like coarse crumbs.
Next, mix together the cream and syrup.
Stir it up; it almost looks like a cappucino! Almost…
Add it little by little to the dough until it comes together. Knead it on a floured surface a few time, until it’s soft. Don’t overdo the kneading though. You don’t want to melt the butter in the dough. Those little bits of butter will turn into flakiness in the oven.
Roll out the dough about 3/4 inch thick. I like to roll it into a rectangle to cut into triangles. You can also roll it in a circle (or two or three circles) to cut like a pizza.
To make it easy, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into triangles. I’ve made anywhere from 12 to 48 scones out of this recipe, and they all seem to bake nicely. This time I made 44… that’s just how it turned out!
Place an inch apart on ungreased baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
They puff up nicely in the oven (remember those bits of butter?) and brown around the edges just slightly
Let them cool on a wire rack before glazing them.
Mix together the powdered sugar, cream, and syrup.
This time, I mixed 1 tablespoon each of cream and syrup, for a thicker glaze. I used a knife to spread it on the scones. If you want the glaze to be a drizzling consistency, use up to 3 tablespoons of cream. Or if you want the scones to be less sweet, omit the glaze entirely and they will still be delicious!
Maple Whole Wheat Scones
Adapted from Epicurious
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Glaze:
1-3 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together cream and syrup. Stir into flour and butter gradually, mixing until dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add up to 2 tablespoons more cream. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth; about 5 times. Roll out into a rectangle 3/4 inch thick and cut into triangles. Transfer to baking sheet and back for 20 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Cool on wire racks. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled scones.
Makes 1-4 dozen scones, depending on the size you cut them.