Delight in the flavors of autumn with Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones! Lovingly baked to perfection and drizzled with a rich maple glaze, these delicious sourdough scones create a seasonal treat that captures the essence of cozy mornings.
Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones are sweet, buttery, and flakey perfection. Crafted with love, these tender scones feature the delightful crunch of chopped pecans and a rich infusion of maple flavor, making each bite a warm embrace of autumn.
What sets these scones apart is their unique use of sourdough discard, adding depth and complexity to their flavor profile while reducing food waste. The result is a delightful fusion of basic ingredients that creates melt-in-your-mouth scones.
If it didn’t already sound too good to be true, each scone is drizzled with a sweet maple glaze, created with pure maple syrup. It’s a luscious finishing touch that elevates these scones to a level of decadence you won’t want to miss.
Enjoy the comforting aroma and rich flavors of fall with every bite of these scrumptious Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Flavor:
The moment you bite into this scone, you will experience the best fall has to offer! The pure maple syrup, rich brown sugar, and toasted pecans complement one another beautifully with sweetness and texture.
Buttery and Flaky:
Each scone is soft, buttery, and flakey on the inside with perfectly golden brown and crispy edges.
Easy and Quick:
This is the perfect treat to whip up in a pinch and serve warm.
Ingredients
Maple Pecan Scones
Flour – I use All-purpose flour, but pastry flour would be an excellent substitute for an extra flaky scone.
Brown Sugar – For a touch of caramel-like sweetness to this fall-flavored scone.
Baking Powder – This will bring a little lift to our scones! Be sure that it isn’t expired.
Salt – Any salt will do, but my favorite is Redmond’s Unrefined Fine Sea Salt for extra natural minerals.
Butter – In order to get light and flaky scones, it is best to use cold or frozen butter.
Pecans – Roughly chopped for an extra bit of crunch.
Unfed Sourdough Starter – I prefer using sourdough discard that is no older than a week for sweet recipes like these maple scones.
Eggs – Adds moisture and brings structure to the scones.
Vanilla Extract – To enhance all of the fall flavors!
Heavy Whipping Cream – It’s important to use heavy cream over milk because the thick liquid brings just the right amount of liquid to these scones. Too much liquid and your scones will be flat and dry.
Maple Glaze
Maple Syrup – The actual star of the glaze! I prefer pure maple syrup for the best flavor.
Butter – Just a touch to make it glossy and smooth.
Heavy Whipping Cream – Add a touch more heavy cream to get the perfect glaze consistency.
Brown Sugar – Brings just a hit of caramel sweetness to the glaze.
Powdered Sugar – Melts perfectly to create a luscious and smooth glaze.
Vanilla Extract – Enhances all of the fall favors!
Supplies
Cheese Grater
Rolling Pin
Pastry Cutter or Sharp Knife
How to Make Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt, and whisk together.
Grate the cold/frozen butter and add to the flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry cutter or mix with your fingers until the small pieces of butter are coated with flour and create pea-sized coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sourdough discard, egg, heavy cream, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix the scone dough with a rubber spatula until the cream mixture is combined. The dough will be crumbly, but be careful not to overmix the dough.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough for about 30 seconds, then form it into an 8″ disc. Place whole pecans on top of the dough and cut it into 8 equal wedges with a bench scraper or a large knife.
Place the unbaked scones on a baking tray with parchment paper with space in between them. Chill in the fridge while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees f. Bake the scones for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the scones are golden brown. Remove and serve warm!
Maple Glaze
In a small bowl, add the real maple, syrup, melted butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth.
Add about 3/4 cup – 1 cup of powdered sugar, until you reach your desired consistency. Finally, stir in the vanilla extract.
Use a spoon to drizzle the tops of the scones with the sweet maple glaze.
How to Serve
Whether you’re hosting afternoon tea or looking for a delicious treat with your cup of coffee, Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones are best served warm and fresh from the oven.
How to Store
Store leftover scones in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To freeze:
Once cooled to room temperature, place the maple pecan scones in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Baker’s Tips:
Use cold/frozen butter: To get the most light and flakey crust, you need cold butter! When the butter starts to melt while it is baking, it releases moisture. This creates those flakey layers. If you use room temperature or the butter melts before baking, the scones will be flat and dry.
Use cold ingredients: Furthermore, to help keep the butter cool, use as many cold ingredients as possible, like cold eggs, cold heavy cream, cold sourdough discard, etc.
Work quickly: As stated above, you don’t want your butter to melt into the dough, so you must work quickly.
Chill the dough before baking: Chilling the scones before popping them into the oven allows the butter to stay cold, which gives you the best chance for flakey scones.
Variations: If you are craving a little bit more sweetness and bit to your scones, try adding a 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, caramel chips, and chocolate chips!
FAQs:
What can I use if I don’t have heavy cream?
If you find yourself in a pinch without heavy cream, buttermilk or sour cream are excellent substitutes.
Can I freeze the scones?
Yes! Once you’ve cut the scone dough into 8 triangles flash freeze them on a baking sheet in the freezer for at least 1 hour before storing them in a freezer-safe bag. That way they won’t stick together. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.
Happy baking!
More Recipes Like This:
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Chewy Sourdough Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
Sourdough Apple Galette
FULL RECIPE TUTORIAL
Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones (Discard)
Delight in the flavors of autumn with Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones! Lovingly baked to perfection and drizzled with a rich maple glaze, these delicious sourdough scones create a seasonal treat that captures the essence of cozy mornings.
Ingredients
Maple Pecan Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (280g)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (120g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (10g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3g)
- 1/2 cup butter, cold/frozen (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup unfed sourdough starter, discard (140g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoon heavy cream (30g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)
Maple Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 - 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Dry Ingredients
1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 T baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt, and whisk together.
2. Grate 1 stick cold butter and add to the flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry cutter or mix with your fingers until the small pieces of butter are coated with flour and create pea-sized coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
Wet Ingredients
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sourdough discard, 1 egg, 2 T heavy cream, and 2 tsp vanilla extract until smooth.
Combine
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix the scone dough with a rubber spatula until the cream mixture is combined. The dough will be crumbly, but be careful not to overmix the dough.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough for about 30 seconds, then form it into an 8" disc. Place whole pecans on top of the dough and cut it into 8 equal wedges with a bench scraper or a large knife.
Chill
6. Place the unbaked scones on a baking tray with parchment paper with space in between them. Allow the scones to chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
Bake
7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F while the scones chill in the fridge. Bake the scones for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the scones are golden brown. Remove and serve warm!
Maple Glaze
1. In a small bowl, add 2 T real maple syrup, 2 T melted butter, 3 T heavy cream, and 2 T brown sugar. Stir until smooth.
2. Add about 3/4 cup - 1 cup of powdered sugar, until you reach your desired consistency. Finally, stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
3. Use a spoon to drizzle the tops of the scones with the sweet maple glaze.
Notes
Use cold/frozen butter: To get the most light and flakey crust, you need cold butter! When the butter starts to melt while it is baked, it releases moisture, which creates those flakey layers. If you use room temperature or the butter melts, the scone will be flat and dry.
Use cold ingredients: Furthermore, to help keep the butter cool, use as many cold ingredients as possible, like cold eggs, cold heavy cream, cold sourdough discard, etc.
Work quickly: As stated above, you don't want your butter to melt into the dough, so you must work quickly.
Chill the dough before baking: Chilling the scones before popping them into the oven gives you the best chance for flakey scones.
Variations: If you are craving a little bit more sweetness and bit to your scones, try adding a 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, caramel chips, and chocolate chips!
How to Store
Store leftover scones in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To freeze:
Once cooled to room temperature, place the maple pecan scones in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Freeze dough: Once you've cut the scone dough into 8 triangles flash freeze them on a baking sheet in the freezer for at least 1 hour before storing in a freezer-safe bag. That way they won't stick together. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.
These turned out perfect! Gifted some of them to my midwife and the rest were brunch on Saturday! Thanks for posting this. I did end up adding a dash more milk to the dough. It was a little too dry.
I’m about four months into my sourdough journey and I’m trying a lot of recipes, bagels and pretzels, English muffins and pizza crust, cookies, and brownies, every kind of loaf you can imagine, and this is my favorite recipe! These are the most incredible, combination of salty, sweet, crispy, but still soft… They are phenomenal. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Hi Jill! What tasty treats it sounds like you’ve been baking! I am tickled to hear that you loved these Sourdough Maple Scones! They never last very long here. Thanks for sharing!
I love this! I’m about 2.5 months into my sourdough journey and trying to make different things. So far I’ve made several sweet and savory breads, bagels, rolls, crackers and pizza dough. The scones are in the oven now. I skipped the chill step by accident because my even was already preheated. Didn’t see the notes until it was too late. I wish it would have said “be sure to chill” in the instruction steps for the slow people like myself!
Thank you for sharing! I will make an adjustment to the recipe to be more clear. Hope you loved them!
Tried them today with my rye starter discard, spelt flour and coconut blossom sugar instead of brown sugar (and only 70grams)… also I ran out of eggs and made a psyllium husk egg instead 😂 These were sooooo delicious!
Thank you for sharing your substitutions! So glad you enjoyed them.
These are AMAZING! 10/10
So happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing!
Made these scones this morning – they are amazing!! Thank you for your tips for keeping them light and flaky! I substituted 2 T of the butter for 2 T of homemade apple butter; and also substituted 1 tsp of the vanilla for 1/2 tsp of maple flavoring. These will be a new fall favorite! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kathy! Thank you so much for sharing.