Perfect for an Autumn morning or afternoon snack, Glazed Maple Walnut Scones are sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar with crunchy walnuts for texture and topped with a sweet maple glaze. You'll want to make these easy Fall-inspired drop scones again and again!
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[August, 2023: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with all new pictures. Enjoy!]
Why this recipe works
- Robust maple syrup gives both the scones and glaze great flavor
- Using grated frozen butter is easier to cut into the flour than cubed butter
- Drop scones are easy to shape and have a rustic look
I like to play with new flavor combinations, like these Fall-inspired Maple Walnut Scones. They're a riff on my basic cream scones, and are lovely to have with a cup of coffee or tea.
These maple walnut scones have a delicious maple flavor with a lovely moist texture that's nicely contrasted by the earthiness of the walnuts. They have a rustic look to them because they're scooped instead of shaped into the traditional wedges.
If you're a maple lover looking for more recipes featuring maple syrup, check out these Maple Walnut Bourbon Blondies and Homemade Maple Pudding. These maple syrup desserts will make your taste buds do a happy dance!
These Autumn scones are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or as a snack. I can just imagine a steaming cup of tea, a fire, a book, a dog at my feet… (hey, come back to us!)
I know these maple scones will be a hit with your family. Enjoy a taste of Autumn baking!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Delicious!
- Ella
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this maple scone recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Maple syrup: I use the grade of maple syrup that has the most robust flavor (Grade A Dark Amber). It's the best for baking as the flavor will be toned down when mixed with the other ingredients.
Butter: How you cut up your butter isn't as important as keeping it cold. Generally I'll grate frozen butter on a box grater before cutting it into the flour mixture. You can also cut chilled butter into small ½-inch cubes. Either way, make sure the butter is well chilled before cutting it into the flour mixture.
Brown sugar: Using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar adds a molasses undertone and increases the scone's moisture.
Walnuts: Raw walnut halves are there to add a crunchy texture, but the real star of the show is maple syrup.
Baking powder: This maple scone recipe uses 1 tablespoon of baking powder to insure you'll have tall, tender scones. Don't substitute baking soda as the scones will have a metallic taste to them.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Maple syrup grading
What is the best grade of pure maple syrup? That's going to depend on how intense you want the flavor to be.
Maple syrup is graded by its intensity of color and flavor. Here is the current grading systems used by the USDA and Canada:
Grade A Light Amber or Canada No. 1 Extra Light: Grade A golden color, delicate taste
Grade A Medium Amber or Canada No. 1 Light: Grade A amber color, rich taste
Grade A Dark Amber or Canada No. 1 Medium: Grade A dark color, robust taste (can be closer to the Medium Amber designation...it will depend on the brand)
Grade B or Canada No. 2 Amber: Grade A dark color, robust taste
Grade A Dark Amber has the most intense maple flavor, so it's the best to bake with.
How to make maple scones
Making a maple scone recipe is pretty straightforward. You whisk your dry ingredients and cut in the butter. Next, mix in the wet ingredients and add to the dry ingredients.
Nothing too difficult.
These are drop scones, that is, scooped into mounds rather than cutting the dough into portions. This gives the scones a less formal, more rustic look to them.
Step 1: Mix the flour mixture
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl (photo 1).
Step 2: Cut the butter into the flour mixture
Grate the butter using a box grater and toss it into the flour mixture a little at a time (photo 2).
Use a pastry blender, two forks, or even your hands, to work the butter into the flour until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear (photo 3).
Step 3: Chop the walnuts
Here's a tip for the walnuts: since are drop scones, you can chop the walnuts on the coarser side (photo 4). But not too coarse. Think medium.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients and the walnuts
In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, and egg together until no lumps remain (photo 5).
Pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture, add in the walnuts, and stir just until the dough appears moistened (photo 6).
Try your best to not overwork the dough at any point. You should still see little pieces of butter in the dough.
Making scones in the food processor
I've noticed as I've grown older that it's getting harder for me to make scone dough by hand, especially if I'm using frozen butter.
Using the food processor is a quick and efficient way to make scone dough, as long as you follow the #1 rule: Don't overwork the dough! Use short 5 to 10 second pulses to process the dough - you still want to see the chunks of butter after the dough is mixed. Here's a step-by-step breakdown:
- Pulse the flour, sugar baking powder, and salt until it's combined.
- Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and pulse a few times. Stop as soon as you see the flour mixture looking crumbly with pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Add the cream mixture with the chopped walnuts and pulse just until the dough holds together.
Now you're ready to turn out the dough and continue with the recipe.
Step 4: Bake the scones
Portion out ¼ cup of dough using an extra large cookie scoop (or an ice cream scoop) onto a half sheet baking pan lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper.
After brushing the scones with heavy cream with a pastry brush and sprinkling them with coarse sugar (for extra crunch), bake them at 400°F for 18 to 23 minutes (photo 7).
Step 5: Make the maple scone glaze
While the scones are in the oven, it's time to make the maple scone glaze.
Whisk the maple mixture into the sifted powdered sugar and stir until smooth (photo 8). The mixture will be thick, but should still drizzle from a spoon (like the consistency of molasses). Adjust the icing's consistency with water or powdered sugar in ½ teaspoon increments as needed.
Step 6: Glaze the scones
After the scones have cooled a bit, drizzle them with the maple scone icing and allow to set a few minutes (photo 9).
Storage and make-ahead instructions
Storage instructions: Maple scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about 3 to 5 days. Glazed or plain scones freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then warm to your liking before enjoying.
Make-ahead instructions: For freshly baked scones anytime, freeze the cut, unbaked scones in a ziplock bag. Take out as many as you want to bake (there's no need to defrost them first), and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
Basically, it's because maple syrup production is a labor intensive process. Pure maple syrup is made by boiling down the sap from the maple tree (a process similar to making boiled apple cider). Plus, the sugaring season, that is, the season that the sap is most abundant for boiling to make syrup, is only a few weeks long, in early spring.
As a sweetener, maple syrup is better for you than sugar because it contains antioxidants and minerals. And, it has less overall sugar and less fructose per tablespoon than honey.
Great question, and no, it doesn't involve picking anything up off the floor. At least I hope not.
Drop scones mean that instead of rolling the dough into a big disk and cutting it into wedges (like with Orange Cranberry scones), you scoop out mounds and drop them directly onto your baking pan.
On the plus side, there's no need to chill the shaped scones before baking.
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I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L'chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More biscuit and scone recipes to try
Recipe
Glazed Maple Walnut Scones
Equipment
- extra large cookie scoop (4 tablespoons) or an ice cream scoop
Ingredients
For the scones
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, grated or cubed, see Recipe Notes
- ½ cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing on top of scones
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, Dark Amber, robust taste
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed, light or dark
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped into medium-sized pieces
- coarse sugar, for sprinkling, optional
For the maple glaze
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, Dark Amber, robust taste
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F. Line two half sheet baking pans with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside.Note: The instructions below are for making the dough by hand. If you want to use the food processor to make the dough, see the instructions in the post above.
- Make the scones: In a large bowl, whisk 2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt together.
- Toss ½ cup unsalted butter into the flour mixture to coat, then use a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands to work the butter into the flour mixture until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear. Don't overdo this step as you don't want the butter to warm up and mix completely into the flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk ½ cup heavy cream, ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 1 large egg together until no lumps remain.
- Slowly add the cream mixture with 1 cup walnuts (chopped) to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just holds together. Using a bowl scraper will help to combine the dough in the bowl without your hands warming up the butter, plus you can see any crumbs at the bottom that still need to be mixed in. Remember, do not over mix the dough - you want to keep that butter cold and separate from the flour.The amount of liquid to add to the flour mixture depends on the humidity of the day. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers, and add more heavy cream or flour, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum), if it's too crumbly or too wet.
- Using an extra large cookie scoop (or an ice cream scoop) to portion out ¼-cup mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking pan at least 3 inches apart. You might need to use a spoon to help get the dough out of the scoop. The dough will be sticky and a little wet.
- Brush scones with cream, then sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
- Bake scones for 18 to 23 minutes, rotating pans after 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the scones from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Make the glaze: Heat 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup and 1 tablespoon butter together in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and let the mixture cool for 3 minutes.
- Whisk the maple mixture into ½ cup powdered sugar (sifted) and stir until smooth. The mixture will be thick, but should still drizzle from a spoon (like the consistency of molasses). Adjust the icing's consistency with water or powdered sugar in ½ teaspoon increments as needed.
- Drizzle the glaze over the still warm scones and let the glaze set about 10 minutes (if you can wait that long!). Serve & enjoy!
- Storage Instructions: Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about 3 to 5 days. Glazed or plain scones freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then warm to your liking before enjoying.
- Make-ahead instructions: For freshly baked scones anytime, freeze the cut, unbaked scones in a ziplock bag. Take out as many as you want to bake (there's no need to defrost them first), and bake at 375 °F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Amanda C says
I made these and they are so delicious! I forgot to add the walnuts to the dough and didn't brush with cream and they still turned it amazing! My scones turned out light and fluffy and so good my husband and I are trying really hard not to eat them all!
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Amanda, I’m so glad you liked them. Thanks for sharing, and happy baking! 🙂
Beth H says
Love, Love, Love maple walnut anything... lol Will be trying these very soon. I found by accident that the missing ingredient from many maple walnut recipes is the molasses in the brown sugar. Adds that so meting special. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Beth, Thanks for sharing. Happy baking! 🙂
Amy Grace says
I saw your Instagram post about making these for New Years Day and decided to give it a try. My family loved them!! What a great way to start the year. Happy new year to you, Tammy!
Ella says
Delicious!