Maple Oat Nut Scones are a personal favorite of mine, they have the perfect moist texture and wonderfully warm, rich maple pecan flavor. Starbucks may have discontinued them, but I’ve brought them back!
Maple oat nut scones are truly the ultimate fall breakfast. The little bit of oat flour is the secret to their light and fluffy texture. The glaze caps off every bite with a bit of pure, intense maple flavor, and the warm scone just falls apart in your mouth.
The Maple oat nut flavor combination is associated with Starbucks, who introduced their Maple Oat Nut Scones in the early 2000s. They became a quick customer favorite because the flavor combination is so amazing. It was a big disappointment when Starbucks slowly phased out these scones, and they don’t seem to have any plans to bring them back. But I’m keeping this delicious tradition alive with my copy cat recipe. Honestly, my maple oat nut scones are definitely better than the originals 🙂
related: Starbucks Copy Cat Recipes
what you’ll need for maple oat nut scones
- all purpose flour
- oat flour
- oat flour is available in the flour section of your supermarket. if you don’t have oat flour you can make your own by processing rolled oats in a food processor or high speed blender until finely ground.
- brown sugar
- maple sugar
- this is optional, if you don’t have it, just use regular sugar instead.
- butter
- eggs
- buttermilk
- maple syrup
- maple extract
- optional but gives the maple flavor a boost.
- nuts
- sometimes I use pecans, sometimes walnuts.
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
Scone dough is a relatively wet dough, and that’s a good thing, because it bakes up tender and flaky like a biscuit. It contains just enough flour to come together and no more. In this recipe I add a heaping cup of pecans to the processor as I mix up my dough, which results in a lovely flavor and a speckled, nutty interior.
the secret to maple flavor
I’ve used three layers of maple to boost the impact: maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple extract. Try to find natural maple flavoring if you can. Maple sugar can be a little harder to find, and you can substitute regular sugar if you want to.
the maple glaze!
The glaze is an essential part of the experience, so don’t be tempted to skip it. It provides the strongest maple presence and adds sweetness (the scone itself isn’t very sweet.) The glaze is made with confectioner’s sugar whisked together with pure maple syrup until it becomes a glossy glaze. You can add a dash of maple extract if you like but I find maple syrup is enough.
Be sure to let the scones cool a bit before you glaze them or it will melt right in. You don’t want that. You want a thick rich layer on every scone. Sprinkle a few chopped nuts over the top and they’ll look irresistible.
storing maple oat nut scones
They easily last a few days on the counter… just revive them with exactly 20 seconds in the microwave before you dig in.
Freeze the fully cooled glazed scones for up to 3 months.
Omg, I love these maple oat nut scones.
Tips for maple oat nut scones
- Make sure your butter is cold, and cut it in pieces before adding it to the flours so it can be evenly dispersed.
- Don’t be tempted to add more maple extract or flavoring than is called for, it is very intense and can be bitter if you use too much.
- Don’t over process the dough. It will be crumbly in the processor, and you will bring it together with your hands when you turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Don’t over work it, it is supposed to look rough and ragged. The less you handle the dough, the more tender your scones will be.
- You may need to adjust the amount of liquid according to your particular flour, and how you’ve measured it. The dough should be wet, but not too wet. Add a little less liquid, or a little more flour, accordingly. Once you make scones a couple of times you will get the hang of it.
- I like to put the tray of scones in the freezer for about 10 minutes just before baking. This ensures that the butter is nice and cold.
- Make sure your oven is at 400F before you put the pan of scones in. The magic happens when the chilled bits of butter in the dough meet the super hot oven.
more maple oat nut recipes
Maple Oat Nut Scones
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple sugar, substitute regular sugar if you can't find
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 – 2/3 cups buttermilk, cold, or substitute half and half or milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp maple extract, or substitute vanilla or almond
- 1 cup (heaping) pecan halves or large pieces
Maple Glaze:
- 1 cup (heaping) powdered sugar
- 4-6 Tbsp maple syrup
- chopped nuts for topping
Instructions
- Set the oven to 400F
- Put the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugars into the bowl of a processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter and pulse about 30 times until the large chunks of butter are incorporated and the mix is grainy.
- In a liquid measuring cup beat the egg, and then add the maple syrup, and extract. Then add enough cold buttermilk to bring the liquid up to 1 cup.
- Add the pecans to the processor, and then, while you are pulsing the machine, pour the liquid into the dry just until it starts to come together. You may not need all the liquid.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and bring together into an 8 inch disk. If it is VERY wet, knead in a little more flour until it comes together. Cut the disk into 6 scones and lay them carefully on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet. The dough will be wet, almost like a drop biscuit consistency.
- Put the tray in the refrigerator or freezer, if possible, for 15 minutes, while you clean up.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until firm on top and lightly browned. Cool them on a rack while you make the glaze.
- Stir or whisk together the powdered sugar and -the maple syrup, beating until smooth and glossy. You want to get a thick but pourable consistency. Add more syrup if it's too thick, or a little more sugar if it's too thin.
- Spread a layer of glaze on each cooled scone and top with crushed pecans.
I have made this recipe twice this week. It is so good! I think it’s better than the Starbucks recipe. The only thing I did different was to add a couple of tbsps of melted butter to the glaze, which a commenter suggested. My husband even loved these, and he hates pecans. I did find my first batch was way too moist and a lot of it got stuck to my hands and the spoon. So, for the second batch I was prepared, I only used a 1/3 cup of buttermilk and patted it into an 8”circle, onto a well-floured piece of parchment, without the kneading. It was still too wet to knead. But, it turned out delicious both times! Thanks!