Tender and buttery Maple Scones topped with maple icing.
These Maple Scones are everything that a scone you should be: buttery and tender with a soft interior and crunchy edges. And with the warm and comforting flavor of maple syrup, they are absolutely perfect this time of year. Should you enjoy them on a chilly fall day alongside a piping hot cup of coffee, tea, or apple cider? Yes, yes, and yes.
You might also like: Maple Snickerdoodles, Blueberry Scones, Chocolate Chip Scones or Maple Oatmeal Cookies.
What makes these scones the best?
- Butter – Chilled butter gets worked into the dough creating a layered, slightly flaky scone.
- Cream – Heavy cream imparts a tender, almost cake-like texture.
- Maple syrup – Pure maple syrup flavors both the scones and the glaze.
- Maple extract – For an even more prominent maple flavor I also use a little bit of maple extract.
- Brown sugar – In addition to maple syrup these scones are also sweetened with brown sugar. The flavor of the brown sugar pairs wonderfully with maple and helps to keep the interior of the scones moist.
- Brown butter (optional) – Using browned butter in the icing imparts a deep, rich, nutty flavor to the maple icing.
Recipe tips & serving
TIPS:
- Make sure that your butter is very cold. The cold butter is what makes the scones flaky.
- Don’t overwork the dough; knead it just until it comes together. This will ensure that the scones are tender.
- Use real maple syrup, not maple-flavored pancake syrup.
- Add ¼ cup finely chopped pecans to the dough, if desired.
- For added maple flavor serve with Maple Butter.
SERVING: Like all scone recipes these are best the day they are made. I serve them at room temperature shortly after the icing has firmed up.
FREEZING: You can freeze these scones prior to baking. To do so: place the portioned scones on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. Bake them straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the bake time.
Recipe
Maple Scones
Ingredients
Scones:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Maple icing:
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted or browned* (see note)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more, if needed
- 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more, if needed
- 3 drops maple extract, plus more, to taste
Instructions
Scones:
- Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a glass measuring cup, whisk cream, syrup, egg, and extract.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the pieces of butter to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour by rubbing it quickly into small pieces. Proceed until the mixture resembles a sandy texture with pebble-sized pieces of butter (the pieces of butter will be irregularly shaped; that's fine).
- Pour the cream mixture into the flour. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the dough until it starts to come together. Once it’s almost all the way combined, dump the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it a couple of times until it comes together. Pat the dough into a ¾ inch thick circle or rectangle. Cut into 8 pieces (I made triangles).
- Place the scones on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-16 minutes, until the bottoms are beginning to brown and the tops are light golden brown. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool completely.
Maple icing:
- Whisk all ingredients until smooth and combined. Taste and add more maple extract, if desired. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more powdered sugar (to thicken) or more cream (to thin). Drizzle or spoon icing over the scones. Allow the icing to set (about 15 minutes) before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Noelle says
Yum! I love maple flavor, especially this time of year! Thank you for sharing
Gina says
They’re perfectly flaky and buttery and we just LOVE the maple for this time of year!
Carla says
So, the maple extract is optional? Could I simply add more maple syrup?
Allison says
I recommend using the extract. You won’t get enough flavor from maple syrup alone. If you keep increasing the syrup the consistency of the scones will be off.