Monday, January 30, 2012

Oatmeal-Maple Scones

Do you have a favorite breakfast treat? I think I have a pretty equal appreciation for baked goods in the breakfast category. I might be a little more interested in popovers and croissants than muffins, but I certainly don’t shun them. Cinnamon rolls and Danish never disappoint me either. For that matter, I can be made very happy with some toasted, good bread and a fresh nut butter. Then, there are scones. They’re rich but not gooey, just sweet enough but not too much, and they accompany a hot cup of tea or a frothy cappuccino perfectly. And, Kurt is admittedly partial to scones above all other breakfast breads. He notices when it’s been a while since I’ve baked scones and starts dropping hints. Thankfully, though, neither of us is picky about shape, size, or flavor when it comes to scones. That means I can experiment with any scone recipe that sounds interesting, and I found another one from the book Flour that looked like it was well worth a try. After sorting through bags of leftover nuts, dried fruit, and grains, I found everything I needed to make them. I did substitute walnuts for the suggested pecans, but that was the only change I made.

The dough for these scones comes together in the usual way, but here, it’s made in a mixer. Flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, golden raisins, and toasted and chopped nuts, walnuts in my case, were mixed in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Cold butter, cut into small pieces, was scattered on top and mixed for half a minute to break it into even smaller pieces and begin to incorporate it. In a separate bowl, cream, maple syrup, and an egg were whisked, and then that was mixed into the flour and butter until the dough just formed. Interestingly, the scone dough itself is only sweetened with the maple syrup and no additional sugar was added. Off the mixer, you should use a rubber spatula to move the dough around and make sure all the dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl are worked into the dough. Rather than cutting the dough into shapes, here, it was scooped from the bowl into mounds on a baking sheet. The portioned scones on the baking sheet could have been frozen at this point and then baked directly from the freezer, but I put them straight into the oven. As the scones cooled, they were topped with a glaze made from confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and water.

They had great texture from the oats and nuts and the chewy raisins, and they were filled with maple flavor. I liked the crispy edges on these scones that resulted from the dough being dropped on the baking sheet rather than the scones being cut. And, I liked how easy that made them to make. This was a winner of a scone variation, and now I have one more for the rotation when I hear those hints.



28 comments:

  1. What gorgeous scones! That combo is simply to die for.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Oh, flour is my all-time favorite baking book! Every thing I have made out of there has been extraordinary! I have yet to try these scones, but I am sure they were amazing. Scones are easily my favorite breakfast pastry too.

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  3. I love scones. I rarely make them because I tend to only think of them when I have fresh fruit on hand and need a way to use it up. I like your version!

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  4. Lisa, these scones look awesome, so pretty and like how you have them drizzled...I need to get the book Flour...
    Thanks for this wonderful scones and hope you have a great week ahead :)

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  5. Lisa, if I was served these for breakfast someone would have to come by and pick my jaw off the floor because I would be busy drooling. The combo of ingredients are some of my favourite so I know how good these would taste!

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  6. Scones are the best in breakfast. I haven't yet tried with oatmeal but yours look intriguing.

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  7. Flour scones are the best, I'm convinced! This oatmeal maple flavor combo sounds delicious...hearty enough for breakfast with just the perfect amount of sweetness!

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  8. I really enjoy scones for breakfast. These are lovely with their maple flavour.

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  9. These are just beautiful. I love breakfast food and will eat it any time of the day. These look perfect with a cup of hot tea.

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  10. I am a scone and a cream tea lover, This variation is a great acquisition for breakfast and brunch.

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  11. I just bought the Flour cookbook yesterday and I lovvveeee it! It has so many great recipes. Your scones look great!

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  12. I can have these lovely scones for breakfast... lunch and dinner hehe... they look too good.

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  13. Your scones look wonderful, definitely perfect for breakfast or...well, anytime of the day really ;-)

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  14. I adore scones, Lisa. Made some yesterday. Ina's cranberry (froze some) pecan orange Yummy. I've also made pecan maple but next time will try yours with oatmeal. They look fabulous.

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  15. I really want to make cinnamon rolls now.

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  16. You won me with "oatmeal" and "maple"

    Two of my favorite ingredients. Only to be matched by ginger and lemon

    and perhaps butterscotch.

    and white chocolate

    with caramel

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  17. We won't even discuss the Sweet Potato Scones I attempted to bake for Marion Monday morning. A disaster! I may just have to give these a whirl, Lisa. Not only do they sound heavenly and fairly easy for this baking challenged girl, February is Hot Breakfast Month and Marion deserves for me to try again.

    Thank you so much for sharing...I sure wish there were some left:)

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  18. Oats, raisins, walnuts...all my favoruite ingredients! These scones look fantastic.

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  19. I'd love these scones for breakfast. I could list a lot of things I would love for breakfast but unfortunately I have to stick to my diet biscuits for the time being.

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  20. I'm partial to scones but my all time favorite breakfast baked treat would be pain au chocolat... or a buttery croissant paired with great jam... or a cinnamon roll. There aren't too many breakfasty baked goods that I don't like. Your scones look delicious- another winner from Flour. That book just might surpass Tartine as my go-to book one day.

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  21. i think i'm anti-scone! it's just that they're so often dry and bland. these don't seem to find either of those descriptions--that glaze is quite the draw!

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  22. I'm a scone-fanatic and I'm always on the lookout for new scone recipes. I've never made scones with oatmeal but I'm excited to give this a try. To be honest, I think I'm more excited about that maple glaze :)

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  23. I love scones. I made some date ones the other day and had to freeze them nearly before they cooled or I'd have eaten them all. Scones are not eaten for breakfast in Australia. They're for afternoon tea.

    I eat them any time of the day if I have a chance!

    Love that maple glaze on your scones!

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  24. The scones are compelling, I like the added favor and texture from the oatmeal. And using a mixer is a genius shortcut. I am adding Flour to my ever growing cookbook wish list!

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  25. I'm really not a breakfast eater. I rotate through the same three things endlessly. I love baking scones though and also love the look of appreciation on peoples' faces!

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  26. This IS health food, right? LOL I'm saying it is. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. ;)

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  27. I'm a savoury girl in the morning but I think I could change for your scones!

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