These Maple Walnut Scones are tender inside with a beautifully golden flaky crust outside, and have a hint of maple aroma and a subtle nutty flavor from walnuts.
Have you ever had afternoon tea at a hotel or teahouse? It’s such a deliciously fun experience!
They typically serve a variety of finger sandwiches, bite-sized pastries, and scones served with butter, clotted cream, jam, and curd. It’s always elegant and fun, but I also enjoy serving scones as part of weekend brunch at home just as much.
The Best Maple Walnut Scones Recipe
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- Fenugreek
- Unsalted butter
- Heavy whipping cream
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Walnuts
Maple Walnut Flavor Combination and Why Fenugreek is Used in This Recipe
Maple walnut is a classic ice cream flavor combination. I love that ingredient pairing so much I frequently find other ways to incorporate it into my cooking in various recipes, such as cheesecake truffles and even salad.
Fenugreek naturally has a caramel/maple-like aroma, and it’s actually an ingredient in imitation maple flavor. I used a touch of fenugreek in this recipe (this is the brand I use) to naturally enhance the flavor of maple.
Small Batch Baking and Baking for Two
A lot of times I just want one or two sweet treats, like two perfect cupcakes, strawberry shortcake for one, or single-serving chocolate mousse.
Baking in particular is much more of a science than cooking is, which makes it a little trickier to scale down a regular-sized batch of baked goods.
Putting the leavening agents like baking powder, baking soda, and yeast aside (because sometimes it’s just not as easy as cutting them in half if you’re halving a recipe), what about a recipe that calls for three eggs? If you’re cutting the recipe in half, do you use 1 egg + 1 yolk, 1 egg + 1 white, or do you scramble the second egg and measure exactly half of it? It can get tricky.
This recipe takes the guesswork out of a small batch. There’s no need to scale it down because it yields just two gorgeous scones! (But if you want to scale it up, I give directions on how to do that too.) Take note though, each scone is quite large.
How to Double This Recipe
This small batch recipe for Maple Walnut Scones is easy to double. For a double batch, use 1/16 teaspoon ground fenugreek and use the same amount of eggwash (you will probably still have extra eggwash). All the other ingredients are easy to double. Keep the method and cooking time the same.
Scones FAQs
Where do Scones Come From?
Scones are generally thought of as originating from Scotland, England, and/or Ireland, but it’s difficult to know exactly where. The Nibble says that the first mention of scones in print was in Scotland in 1513.
According to Wikipedia, scones were originally unleavened. They were made of oats, round and flat in shape (almost like a disk or medium-sized plate), scored into four or six individual triangular-shaped scones, and baked on a griddle.
How Are Scones Different Than Biscuits?
Scones are a form of quick bread made with flour, leavener (usually baking powder), fat (such as butter), and dairy (commonly cream, milk, or buttermilk). They are frequently slightly sweet, although they can also be savory.
Scones are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam along with tea.
Scones are similar to American biscuits, but a bit more crumbly and not as light and flaky as American biscuits. I’ve found that scones are usually a touch drier and more golden outside than biscuits are. However, it bears mentioning that inside, scones have a lovely soft and tender crumb.
Like most homemade baked goods, scones are usually best served the same day they’re baked.
Something interesting that I’ve noticed is that scones can be round, square, or triangle shaped, but biscuits are typically round (or round-ish, if they’re drop biscuits).
Tips for Making Perfect Scones
- For the best flavor and texture, use real butter and heavy cream.
- Fully whisk or sift together your dry ingredients before adding your wet ingredients.
- Make sure your butter is cold! It’s going to be cut into the dry ingredients, the same way you’d make pie crust.
- Whisk together the liquids (cream, maple syrup, and vanilla in this recipe) before mixing them into the dry ingredients.
- Be careful not to over-mix the dough (or your scones could be tough) and don’t let it get too warm (or your butter will melt).
- If you have the time, wrap the dough and let it chill in the fridge overnight. I find this helps yield the best texture and flavor!
More Scone Recipes to Make
One of the things I love most about scones is that there are almost endless variations.
Currants are a classic addition in England, but any dried fruit you fancy is fair game. Nuts are also delicious, and so is citrus zest and/or chocolate. You can also add spices, such as cinnamon. Or go the savory route with additions like herbs and cheese.
Here are a few delicious recipes to try in addition to these Maple Walnut Scones:
- Cranberry Almond Scones from An Edible Mosaic
- Lemon Blueberry Scones from Mom on Timeout
- Vanilla Bean Caramelized Pear Scones with Dark Chocolate Chunks from An Edible Mosaic
- Toffee Scones from The Gunny Sack
- Fresh Strawberry Scones from On Sutton Place
- Savory Thyme and Swiss Cheese Scones from An Edible Mosaic
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Small Batch Maple Walnut Scones Recipe
Ingredients
- 13 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground fenugreek
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and diced
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons walnuts chopped
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for eggwash)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and fenugreek in a medium bowl.
- Cut in the butter with a fork or using two butter knives until it looks like coarse meal. Whisk together the cream, maple syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl, and stir it into the flour mixture, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in the walnuts. (The dough should come together, but not be too wet.)
- Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk; wrap it in plastic wrap and chill 10 minutes in the freezer (or better yet, let it chill overnight in the fridge).
- Shape the disk into a square (or as close to a square as you can get it), and then cut it into 2 pieces on the diagonal.
- Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, lightly brush the tops with the eggwash (or heavy cream), and bake until puffed and light golden brown on top and bottom, about 14 to 16 minutes. Cool completely.
Faith's Tips
- Serving Size: Each scone is quite large, so 1 serving = half of a scone.
- Storage and Reheating: In general, scones are best served the same day they’re baked. However, you can store leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To reheat scones, place them on a baking tray in a preheated 350F oven for about 5 minutes.
Nutrition
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on April 27, 2018. I updated it with more information on October 1, 2021.
Linda says
If we freeze the dough, can we put in oven or wait? When do we put in the walnuts? With the rest of the dry ingredients?
Faith says
Linda, If you freeze scone dough, thaw it in the fridge overnight and bake as directed in the recipe straight out of the fridge. The walnuts get added after the flour; thanks for catching that, I updated the recipe!
Betsy says
These are going to be on the table for my first holiday tea! Thanks, Faith! 👍❤️
Pawan says
Hello can this be made gluten free?
Faith says
Pawan, I've had a couple readers tell me that they used a gluten free flour blend (the kind you can use in a 1:1 ratio with regular flour) and it worked well. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
Rachel says
Hi
Can I use whole milk instead of heavy cream? Thanks!
Faith says
Rachel, Yes, whole milk will work fine instead of cream in this recipe.
Chris W. says
I made these today. Delicious! Thanks for another terrific recipe, Faith!