These soft, buttery, and incredibly fluffy scones are loaded up with brown sugary oat streusel topping and drizzled in a silky smooth maple icing!
For as long as I can remember, scones have always been my mom’s favorite breakfast pastry. And who can blame her? They’re soft, slightly sweet, and exquisitely buttery. Oftentimes, they’re loaded with juicy berries or generously glazed in icing.
Unfortunately, scones have kind of flown under my radar for quite some time, so I decided it was time to break that dry spell with a brand spankin’ new scone recipe…
According to my mom, the scone queen herself, these Maple Streusel Scones are the BEST scones EVER. They’re perfectly golden and slightly crisp on the outside and incredibly light, tender, and moist on the inside. To top it all off, these scones are also loaded with buttery streusel topping and drizzled in maple-kissed icing.
Tips for Making Spectacular Scones
COLD Butter – Any scone enthusiast will tell you that cold butter is crucial for that moist crumb and flakey texture. It also prevents the scones from spreading out too much. Frozen butter is best since it remains cold until it reaches the oven. Once it’s in the oven, the butter melts, and the water content begins to evaporate into steam. As the steam escapes, the dough rises, and you’re left with tall, fluffy scones.
I’ve found that the best method is to stick the butter into the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Once it’s frozen solid, use a cheese grater to grate the butter on top of the dry ingredients, then use a fork or pastry cutter to combine everything.
Cream Cheese – Although cream cheese isn’t a common ingredient in scone recipes, IT SHOULD BE. It provides a much richer flavor that you can’t get from butter alone, and it makes the scones nice and tender.
Equal Parts Greek Yogurt and Heavy Cream – When it comes to creating moist scones, most recipes rely on either milk, buttermilk, or heavy cream. I, on the other hand, have found that an equal ratio of Greek yogurt and heavy cream produces extra soft and fluffy results. Heavy cream adds a richness to the scones, while the Greek yogurt adds a slight tang and keeps the scones very moist.
Cinnamon and Nutmeg – Warm spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg provide that extra “oomph” to take scones from bland to bliss. It’s a simple addition, yet it makes ALL the difference in improving the flavor profile of these scones.
Don’t Overwork the Dough – Whenever you’re making any kind of bread, overworking the dough is a BIG no-no. Overworking or over-kneading bread almost aways results in a pastry that’s tough, dense, and rubbery. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, I’ve come up with my own method. Once the wet ingredients are added to the butter-flour mixture, I use a rubber spatula to stir everything together until it’s mostly mixed, but still very crumbly. Then I use my hands to bring the dough together into a ball, and place it onto a lightly-floured surface. The next step is to laminate the dough.
Lamination Technique – This technique not only creates taller scones, but it eliminates the need to knead the dough since it brings the dough together into a more cohesive disc. All you have to do is shape the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, press it down slightly, then turn the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again. Repeat this process 2-3 more times before shaping the dough into an 8-inch disc that’s about 1.5 inches tall.
Chill the Scones – As previously mentioned, it’s crucial to keep the dough cold so that the butter doesn’t melt before the scones are placed in the oven. Using cold ingredients helps, but odds are the dough will have warmed up by the time it’s shaped into a disc. This is why chilling is a must!
Simply slice the dough into wedges, and place them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Place them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. In fact, my advice is to make the scones the night before, and bake them the next morning!
Pile on the Streusel Topping – It might seem like a lot of streusel topping, but you’ll definitely want to use ALL of it. After brushing the tops of the scones with heavy cream, pile and press the streusel on top of the scones. Try to scoop up any loose streusel that falls off, and sprinkle it over the scones. Halfway through baking, tent a sheet of tin foil over the scones to prevent the streusel from burning.
Guys, if there ever was a scone recipe to try, THIS one would be it. As long as you follow all of my secrets and tips, you’re guaranteed to produce the very same heavenly results.
All of your efforts will surely be rewarded once you break one of these scones in half to reveal a steam cloud of deliciousness…
Maple Streusel Scones
Ingredients
Streusel:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup quick-cook oats
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
Dough:
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold*
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk, for brushing scones
Maple Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
Make the Streusel:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and stir until a moist crumb forms; set aside.
Make the Dough:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Use a cheese grater to grate the butter on top of the dry ingredients. Add the cream cheese. Then use a fork or pastry blender to cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream, yogurt (or sour cream), egg, and vanilla together until combined. Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and stir with a spatula until dough comes together. You might need to use your hands to mix the rest of the loose flour into the dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface.
- Laminate the dough by shaping it into a rectangle. Fold it in half, press it down slightly, then turn the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again. Repeat this process 2-3 more times before shaping the dough into an 8-inch disc that's about 1.5 inches tall. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, slice into 8 even wedges. Place them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Chill for at least 1 hour.**
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Brush scones with milk or cream. Pile and press streusel on top of scones. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Halfway through baking, tent a sheet of tin foil over the scones to prevent the streusel from burning. Remove scones from the oven and allow to cool at least 5 minutes before drizzling icing on top.
Make the Icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, butter, cream, and maple syrup together until smooth. Drizzle icing over scones. Serve and enjoy!