Brown Butter Maple Glazed Pecan Scones
These easy Brown butter maple pecan scones are so delicious and melts in your mouth. They are filled with pecans and spices and glazed with brown butter maple syrup.
I love a good scone once in while with my latte or coffee. Scones are so easy to make but very simple to create. These scones are tall, flaky and tender. I usually cut the butter in flour with my hands, but you can try this recipe by using a food processor and make your life easier with awesome results.
Make sure to chill the heavy cream and butter very cold. As when they are added to the dry mix of flour, baking powder, salt and little bit of sugar it forms little, tiny globules or crumbs that’s what gives them flakiness. It forms a shaggy rough dough, cut into whatever shape you desire triangle, circle or squares and baked in hot oven until they are light golden in color.
The brown butter maple glaze is very simple and quick, while the scones are baking you can make the glaze. I don’t always make glazed scones but in this case brown butter maple glaze is very crucial for the flavors. Drizzle as much or as little as you’d like. These scones would be wonderful for an early spring breakfast or brunch.
They’d also make a delicious treat to share with friends or family over coffee or tea or share some with a special teacher or your neighbors.
If you like scones and want to try more recipes I have few more recipes here- it includes a savory version too which is great if you want to mix and match the sweet and savory.
Tips to keep in mind
Toast the pecans if you like. You can make the brown butter a day ahead and store it.
After shaping them step – 7, I usually prefer to keep them for 5 -10 minutes in the fridge. Specially, if your house is warm or hands are warm while mixing them. For perfect scones, the butter should remain cold. It may take extra few minutes in baking if you decide to keep it in the fridge.
If you either want to bake the whole batch or few of them some other day, once you have scored them, place them on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once they are frozen for few hours, transfer them into Ziplock bags for longer freezing. And bake them at your convenience. You might have to increase the baking time for few extra minutes. They taste much better the first day of baking.
Brown Butter Maple Pecan Scones
Ingredients
Scones
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp granulated white sugar
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream plus littel extra for brushing the tops
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup toasted pecans
Brown Butter Maple Glaze
- ¼ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp brown butter
- 1-2 tbsp heavy cream or milk only needed to thin out the glaze if it’s too thick
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder or cardamom powder
Instructions
Scones
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. (Alternatively, you can make it by hand in a bowl too) no need to have a food processor.
- Add the cubed cold butter and pulse at slow intervals 3-4 times or until you can see pea-sized crumbs. Do not overmix the butter. Mixture should look crumbly. If the mixture looks smooth and sticky, you have over-mixed.
- Pour in heavy cream and vanilla extract and pulse a few more times until you get coarse crumbs again. Stir in by hand, 3/4 cup of roughly chopped pecans. Reserve the rest for the topping on the glaze.
- Transfer the dough out onto lightly floured surface and form a rough round disc.
- Flatten the dough till it's about a 3/4-inch-thick disc. Divide and slice disc into 8 triangles. You can cut out circles or squares as well if you do not want triangles.
- Place scones out onto baking sheet leaving slight space in between. Bake scones for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are a deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down on a wire rack before glazing.
Brown Butter
- Make brown butter – In a small saucepan on medium to slow heat, take the butter and let it come to a boil, once the butter starts bubbling and change its color and aroma. It should look slightly light brown and you can even see brown bits at the bottom, it’s done. Remove it in another bowl and let it cool down completely before using it in the glaze. This step can be done a day ahead too.
Maple Glaze
- Maple Glaze – In a small bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients. Spoon glaze onto cooled scones, letting glaze drip down sides of scones. Alternatively, drizzle glaze over scones in zig-zag pattern. Sprinkle remaining toasted pecans over scones before glaze hardens.
- Serve fresh or slightly reheated next day.
Notes
- Toast the pecans if you like. You can make the brown butter a day ahead and store it.
- After shaping them step – 7, I usually prefer to keep them for 5 -10 minutes in the fridge. Specially, if your house is warm or hands are warm while mixing them. For perfect scones, the butter should remain cold. It may take extra few minutes in baking if you decide to keep it in the fridge.
- If you either want to bake the whole batch or few of them some other day, once you have scored them, place them on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once they are frozen for few hours, transfer them into Ziplock bags for longer freezing. And bake them at your convenience. You might have to increase the baking time for few extra minutes. They taste much better the first day of baking.