Sugaring time is past, but in honor of Arbor Day, I thought I would post the following scrumptious recipe for scones made with that sweet gift of the Acer saccharum ... possibly the most beautiful tree in New England.
I'll be honest, this is straight from the Barefoot Contessa herself; no tweaking necessary! Or you could make it really easy on yourself and try one her new baking mixes available here. :)
Maple-Oatmeal Scones
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pound cold, unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water, for egg wash
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend the cold butter in at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, an eggs and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.
Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough to 3/4- to 1-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.
To make the glaze, combine the confectioner's sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of glaze. Sprinkle some oats on top for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.
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