I have so many scones I want to share with you…
But since this isn’t a blog solely devoted to scones, I have to pace myself. Or maybe I don’t. Maybe you love scones as much as I do and too much is not enough.
Either way, it’s scone day here at The Merchant Baker and today we’re making Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones. Since I’m writing this on the last day of summer and the post will go up on the first day of fall, I thought this combo was a nice bridge to the next season.
It’s an ice cream flavor inspired scone, but it feels like fall since it’s full of toasted pecans and sweet brown sugar. If you’ve read my first scone post, My Favorite Cinnamon Scones, you already know that I was obsessed with finding the perfect dense buttery scone.
There are a lot of great scone recipes out there now, but when I was deep in recipe development, years ago, I could not find a recipe that gave me the rich buttery flavor and more dense texture I was seeking.
It took a lot of testing but I learned quite a bit in the process about how the dough reacts to different amounts of fat and liquid. So far, all of the scone recipes I’ve posted have been adapted in some way from that first post, adjusting liquids and fats as necessary to accommodate the effects of different flavors or add ins.
I increased the cream and reduced the butter for Fresh Strawberry Cream Scones but for the Iced Vanilla Sconuts, I simply needed to adjust flavors.
For this recipe, I thought I could simply switch to brown sugar, throw the nuts in and bake, but the nuts changed the texture of the dough. They absorbed moisture. So, I reduced the amount of nuts from my first batch and added some additional cream to compensate.
This scone has a slightly different texture than my others, I want to say sandier, but I don’t want to lead you to believe that it’s a dry scone. Trust me, there’s enough butter and cream in the recipe to insure melt in your mouth goodness.
Then, I thought a glaze might work well with the slightly sandier texture, and keeping with the ice cream turned fall theme, butterscotch came to mind. And no, this doesn’t taste like butterscotch chips, which somehow I loved as a kid but whose cloying sweetness I do not enjoy at all as an adult.
Instead, this is a sweet buttery brown sugar glaze, perfect for these Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones.
I served some of them plain with just the coarse sugar on top and I served some of them glazed. I liked them both, but everyone else hands down liked them with the glaze.
So let’s not be sad that we have to bid farewell to another summer. Instead, make a nutty little scone, pour yourself a hot beverage…
sit back and give a nice warm welcome to fall :)
Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones
Brown Sugar Butter Pecan Scones. A dense, buttery, rich scone. Sprinkle with raw sugar or dip in a sweet butterscotch glaze.
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces mine were unsalted, see notes
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons or more of heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor optional
- additional heavy cream and raw sugar for topping
For the butterscotch glaze:
- 6 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
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Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, two knives or you can rub the butter in with your fingertips, until the mixture is crumbly and you have varied size butter chunks no larger than peas.
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Stir in pecan pieces and toss to coat in the flour mixture.
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Crack an egg in a glass measuring cup then add cream until you reach 1/2 cup. Then add another 2 Tablespoons of cream. Mix with a fork until well blended. Mix in vanilla and butter flavor, if using.
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Make a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in the egg/cream mixture. Toss gently with a fork until you've distributed the liquid well and mixture begins to hold together a bit. Your mixture is going to seem to be too dry, but try to resist adding more liquid. Your scones will not hold shape with too much liquid.
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If necessary, use your hands to gently mix the mixture in the bowl until it comes together. This may take a minute, but as you work the butter and cream mixture, it will begin to come together. You don't want to melt the butter, so if you have hot hands, try using a large spoon or a spatula to fold the mixture onto itself in between using your hands.
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Once the dough comes together with no crumbs, divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, pat each half of dough into a circle about 1" thick.
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If you find your dough has gotten too soft from handling, you can put the bowl back in the refrigerator before you shape it so that the butter can get firm again, or roll, cut and place on the cookie sheet, then slide it into the refrigerator or freezer for 10-20 minutes.
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Using a floured sharp knife, cut each circle into 6 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet leaving 1-2" of space between for spreading.
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Brush with additional cream. Sprinkle with raw sugar, if you're not planning to glaze.
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Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool and set up for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.
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When the scones are cool, make the glaze. Place cooling rack over a sheet pan. In a small saucepan, mix the brown sugar and water together with a whisk and heat just until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the butter until fully combined.
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Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar. (Sift your powdered sugar first if it's lumpy.) Continue whisking until smooth and any remaining lumps are completely dissolved. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if needed.
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Dip the tops of each scone into the glaze then place back onto the cooling rack. Once all of the tops are glazed, go back and using a spoon or fork, drizzle each scone with additional glaze. The glaze sets quickly, you may need to stir it a couple of times during the process to keep it loose and workable.
Recipe Notes
*I toast my pecans in my toaster oven, on a foil lined sheet, on the lowest number toast setting. I repeat until they are toasted. This helps me to avoid burning the nuts as I often do if I just put them in the oven and lose track of time.
*My nuts were unsalted. If you are using salted nuts, I would reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
*Even if the dough hasn't gotten too warm from handling, if I have the time, I like to refrigerate or freeze the tray of cut scones for about 20-30 minutes before baking. This insures the butter gets really cold again and helps relax the gluten. You may have to add a few minutes onto the baking time. Just check them at the recommended time and add extra time as necessary.
*Full disclosure, I didn't sift my powdered sugar for the glaze even though it's the right way to go. Instead, I whisked and whisked until every last lump was gone.
*I used the Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor because I had it on hand and it adds another dimension of flavor. It's not necessary, but I do like experimenting with it. So if you have some, use it. If not, no worries.
The Merchant Baker Copyright ยฉ 2015
Your scone recipes look delicious. Do you have a recipe for Pumpkin Scones?
Heidi, I don’t have one that I’ve perfected yet. I’ve made them before, but I haven’t gotten to working on getting the exact texture I’m looking for. When I do, I’ll definitely post it!
Thank you. I’ll be watching for it. I plan to make the Strawberry and the Brown Sugar Butter Pecan scones this week. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
Great! You’ll find two different textures with those two, so it will be a nice mix. You also must try My Favorite Cinnamon Scones. They were the first scone recipe and the one I use to develop the others. It also has a different texture than the Strawberry and Brown Sugar. It’s the most dense and buttery of them all. When I get around to developing the pumpkin ones, I’m going to have to decide if I want to go more dense and buttery or fluffier. Hopefully you’ll like the two you’ve picked. I’ll look forward to your feedback!
Oh my goodness! I made these tonight and they are incredible. In your description you said they were almost sandy. I understand what you were saying. The outside has a wonderful tender crunch that is indeed delicately sandy but the inside is soft and perfectly moist. I made three different scones tonight to put in the freezer so I only baked one of each for a taste test. I made your strawberry scones too. They are very good. The texture is amazing. Now I want to make your cinnamon scones. The other scone I made tonight is King Arthur’s Harvest Ginger Pumpkin. They are very good but would have been better if I had followed the directions. I thought it called for too much candied ginger and cinnamon chips.so I only put 1/2 cup of each. They are good but next time I will use more. I would have kept mixing up scone dough but I ran out of flour. I’ll let you know about the cinnamon scones tomorrow evening. Thank you for sharing your recipes. It was so nice of you to do all that research and testing of the recipes. You saved me a lot of time. I’ll pass your info along to my baking friends. Your scones are spot on. Easy, delicious and turned out beautiful..
Wow! What a great comment to wake up to this morning! And, on one of my very favorite topics…yay, scones! I’m thrilled that they’re working out for you. Based on your comments, it sounds like you are also a fellow scone lover and particular about all the texture and flavor. It’s wonderful when someone knows exactly what I’m talking about :) I’m glad you found a pumpkin scone that you like. Your question about pumpkin scones has been haunting me, because even though it was on my fall list of things to post, there’s been no time to spend on developing it:( I’ve been developing this other pumpkin recipe that I’ve already been through five trials on (aarrgh!), so I may not get to a pumpkin scone any time soon. Pumpkin is tricky because it really changes the texture.
So, you made three scone recipes last night…amazing! I’m thrilled that you liked the butter pecan ones. They bake up a bit different than my other scones, so I wasn’t sure if the difference would be welcomed. I love how easy they come together. For any that you didn’t freeze, you’ll find that the texture changes, but is still good the next day. Some of the scone recipes I actually like better the next day. I think you’re going to love the cinnamon scones. They are really buttery and delicious. And then there’s vanilla scones…which are masquerading as iced vanilla sconuts, but just cut them like your regular scones and go plain or drizzle/dip in vanilla icing and you are good to go!
Thanks so much for stopping back to let me know how it all worked out for you!
Hey Heidi, I know it’s been a while since you asked this question. Back then, I didn’t have a pumpkin scone recipe to share, but now I do! Just wanted to circle back around and let you know in case you wanted to try it! After all, ’tis the season :)
I was looking for the Urth cafe pecan scone recipe.
Yours are spot on.
I guessed that an egg was needed for the texture and I used buttermilk I hadon hand.
Thank you
Hey Aurora, I know what it’s like to try to replicate a favorite cafe scone. Glad that this one hit the mark for you!
These scones are Amazing!! Not dry at all. The frosting is killer. I would double the frosting next time. I did not have the Buttery Sweet Dough flavoring so I just used butter flavoring. These are now my FAVORITE scones.
Jenny, wow! A favorite! That’s so great to hear! I was really pleased at how the icing turned out. Everyone that tried these scones raved about it. And if you double the icing, you might even have enough to dunk the scone in on all sides for a fully coated scone. Thanks for the wonderful feedback :)
[…] Brown Sugar Butter Pecan […]
oh my goodness! these are so good! thank you for the recipe!!
Yay! Happy you enjoyed them!
Can I substitute sour cream for the heavy cream?
Kim, you definitely can, but I’m not exactly sure what quantity you should use. I used sour cream in my Irish Soda Bread Scones, but that one had a different amount of fat and this one also has nuts, which can be drying. Also, you will get the tang from the sour cream which will change the flavor a bit. I would try 3/4 cup sour cream to start and see how that works out for you. If the nuts are still making it too dry, add a couple tablespoons of milk. Good luck! Come back and let me know how it works out!
I made your butter pecan scone recipe today. I noticed the ingredients list says 1/4 cup cream plus the 2 tablespoons butter then in the instructions it says to put the egg in the measuring cup and fill to the 1/2 cup line with cream. Just wanted to see which measurement was correct.
Hi Christy…so the butter and the cream measurement are two separate things. In the scone part of the ingredient list, there are 10 Tablespoons of butter. That gets worked into the flour mixture. For the cream measurement…we’re basically trying to get 1/2 plus 2 Tablespoons of liquid. You start with the egg in a liquid measuring cup that has all the measurements visible on the side. I usually use extra large eggs and they usually measure about 1/4 cup. But, your egg could be less or more. So, all you do is crack the egg in the measuring cup. Then add cream on top of the egg until you reach the 1/2 cup mark. Then, you measure 2 more Tablespoons of cream into the cup. When you’re done, you’ll have a measuring cup filled with an egg and enough cream to make 1/2 cup + 2 additional Tablespoons of cream. Does that make sense to you? The reason it says 1/4 cup or more of cream is because it may change depending upon how large your egg is. This is how I make all of my scone recipes and how I control how much liquid goes into the batter. In this particular recipe, I add the extra 2 Tablespoons of cream to compensate for the fact that the nuts absorb moisture from the dough.I hope that helps!
Made these yesterday for my Mama, two of her favorites Pecans and Scones. I have never been a huge fan of the pastry, however these might be an exception. Maybe I have just never had a good scone cuz these are rockin! I made a recipe and a half so I could have a few for the husband, made some with icing and a few without. Although the icing definitely guilds the Lilly and makes them sinful, there is something quite nice about them simple and naked! Thanks for the great recipe! My Mama thanks you too!
Heather! So glad to welcome you to the scone lovin’ world! If you (and your Mama) love this scone, I think you’re going to be a fan of my other scone recipes…check out My Favorite Cinnamon Scones, Fresh Strawberry Cream Scones, or for something totally different, but oh so good…Blackberry Fontina Basil Scones! Those are like a sweet and savory grilled cheese sandwich in a scone. Thanks for stopping by to comment. I’ll take that kind of feedback any day of the week :)
Well I have jumped into the scone loving world head first! My baby brothers Birthday party was this weekend, and all he wanted for gifts was food…lol, that’s the Southern boy in him. I usually make him my famous Blondie but I had just made him some a few weeks ago when he came to visit. So I doubled the recipe and made half of the Butter Pecan because that was his favorite ice cream treat as a child, and then played with your Cinnamon Scone Recipe and added a Cinnamon Pumpkin Glaze to the top! Both are a huge hit! Now I have to take a break from the scone world or my butt will not fit in any doorway without greasing it first! Lol
So…first, yay for more scones! I’m glad you tried a variation that worked. Now, you know yummy scones are accessible whenever you want! Second…I’m a blondie lover too, so I’m dreaming about what your “famous” blondie is…Finally, I hear ya about taking a break from the scone world. Soooo good, but they are a splurgey treat, that’s for sure!
I love to cook! So any great recipe I can share with the family is absolutely wonderful! Getting in the kitchen is fun for me even though my husband says he won’t go near my kitchen for fear o messing something up– I tell him that what u get when u mix a chef with someone with OCD. He laughs enjoys the food and keeps far away from “the corner” of my kitchen. My famous blondies are thick and fluffy an full of butter flavor! The original recipe always calls for walnuts but I once made a variation with sweet coconut and pecans from my granny that made the whole family gaga! So I sent them into a local contest and win first place– so everyone calls them my famous blondies– even if it’s just in our family! Hope this finds you having a wonderful day! BTW the scones were a huge huge hit with not only my little brother who I thought wouldn’t even know what a scone was but also his whole construction crew! Good job lady! Wonderful recipe! When a southern family says Yee-haw dang that’s good! U know your in the right track!
Boy, you sure made this “northern” girl’s day! I’m thrilled that my scones have made the grade in your family :) And, I love hearing about your baking endeavors; your famous blondies sound amazing!
Loved your scones! We didn’t use the icing- we just put a small pat of butter on them while they were warm…Amazing!
Hi Marilyn, so glad you enjoyed them! I agree, even without the icing, they are delicious :)
Hi Marilyn!
I have been asked to bring scones to our book club Christmas Brunch. Your recipes sounds delicious, but need to know if I have to make them the morning of the party? A lady earlier in the blog indicated that she was freezing hers to bake at a later date and you said the texture would be different. Could you please let me know if freezing them the day before would adversely affect the texure and flavor? I’ve never made scones before, so I want to make sure I do everything right! Thank you for your help :)
Hi April, If you wanted to make them the day before, I would just bake them and take them the next day. They have a light crispness to the edges when they’re first baked that I really like. However, we always have leftovers and I still love them the second day. The texture I talked about was the texture after they’ve baked and sat for a day. It will be slightly denser and softer, but still delicious. To be honest, almost every time I’ve needed to take scones to an event the next morning, I make them the night before. There’s enough butter and cream in these so they won’t dry out. The glaze will also keep them from drying out overnight. If you want them to be freshly baked, which is also a wonderful choice, then go ahead and make them, freeze them and bake them the next morning. They may need to bake a bit longer because they’re frozen, but they should be just fine as far as texture. Either option should work out fine for you. Good luck!
These are awesome the day after, or the day after that…. I have had them upto four days, mainly because that’s all they last!
:)
Can you make ahead and freeze this scone?
Deborah, you can make the scone ahead and freeze before baking. I would cut and separate them on a tray, let them freeze, then store them in a freezer bag once they’re frozen and won’t stick to each other. Baking time will be a bit longer since you’re starting from frozen, but otherwise you should be good to go.
Thank you. I have a large family and a lot of season baking to do. This will help.
Do u have a recipe for praline scones ?
Not at this time, but it sounds like a delicious idea!
Thanks Ramona for getting back to me concerning the gluten free flour. I think I’m going to give it a try. Theses scones are irresistible. I must have them!!
Thank you, Ramona, I can’t wait to try them, and I’ll certainly let you know how they turn out!
Today I made the scones with gluten free flour mix. They came out great. I don’t know how to post a picture in your comments so can’t show you. They are delicious…I’ve already tasted them. The only thing I changed was to use gluten free flour. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Can I substitute 1/2 and 1/2 for cream?
Hi Theresa, I’ve never tried it but I think that will be fine. Let me know how they turn out for you!
I can’t wait to try this recipe…. I would like to use it for our town’s Relay for Life Cancer Bake Auction in April. need to practice a time or two of course.
Sounds like a wonderful idea for a wonderful cause!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I made it for my family this morning and everyone loved it! How should they be stored, on the counter or in the refrigerator?
I store them on the counter, usually wrapped in foil or in a container, lightly covered. The more air tight the container is, the softer they will get overnight since the glaze on top has moisture. I like to reheat scones in the toaster oven. When they’re glazed, the glaze does melt in the oven, but I over look that so I can get the unglazed sides a little crisper since they do soften overnight. And, Linda, if you liked these scones, definitely check out the biscuit and scone section in the recipe index under, “Breakfast.” I know you’ll find another scone to love :)
These came out great!! I ended up adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the batter, substituting 1/2c of flour for ground oats and omitting the glaze (I promise I wasnt trying to destroy your recipe’s integrity, I’m just all about experimenting) they came out beautifully sweet and the perfect texture!
Maria, I am all about experimenting! I have a recipe for cinnamon scones as well, if you’re looking for a scone with some spice. It’s got a different texture than this one. That being said, I’m glad you were able to use this as a launching pad to make your own version. It sounds delicious!
Have been making these for a few years now and they are hands down everyone’s favorite scone! Super delicious! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Nola, you’re sweet to come back and leave such a lovely comment! I’m glad they’re still a hit :) I have a bunch of scones on the site that are worth checking out if you love this one. I also have a cookie recipe I’m planning to post that’s sort of related to this scone. I think you might like it. Stay tuned! I’ll be posting it this week!
I’ve had this recipe pinned for a while but I just never seemed to have time to try it – until this morning that is…now I regret waiting so long! These are delicious!! The only change I made was to toss in a good handful of toffee bits along with the pecans. With adding those I didn’t use the glaze thinking it might be overly sweet but I may try it next time. Thanks for a fantastic recipe that whips up in a hurry when you want something different than toast or muffins for breakfast!
Crap – it wouldn’t let me post the rating so here we go now lol
:)
Jane, two thumbs up for adding toffee bits! I love throwing those things into everything. Glad you finally got a chance to try them!
This is the first scone recipe that I have seen that makes sense. Other ones direct you to mix the dry ingredients with the liquid and blend together. Then throw in any additions. This prevents the additions from being well distributed and the additional stirring makes the dough tougher. My go to recipe is very much like yours. Just made a batch this morning with mini-chips and toffee bits
What a nice compliment! Great minds think alike, Jan!
Almost every single link for this recipe that you have on Pinterest is useless. A picture of these scones is a waste of time
KC, I am confused by your comment. The pins I have placed on Pinterest have the appropriate links back to the recipe. I assume you found the post through a pin. I’d be happy to help you if you could clarify what the problem is.
Just made these yesterday and they turned out PERFECTLY! Today I made your Strawberries and Cream scones and theyโre also great. Thank you so much for making scratch baking feel achievable, even to those of us without much experience. Next up: Maple Bacon Biscuits!!!
You are so welcome, Colleen! It makes my day that you feel my recipes are so helpful. You’re making things from one of my favorite categories, scones and biscuits! I think you’re going to love the Maple Bacon Biscuits. They are gobbled up so fast regardless of whom I’ve made them for. That sweet and salty combo is always so dangerously addictive. Oh, and once you feel comfortable with making the biscuit dough, you’ll see more recipes on the site using that dough for all kinds of yummy recipes like cinnamon rolls and oh…they are amazing when you add cheddar cheese…Fingers crossed that you’ll love them as much as I do!
The “sandy” texture is from the brown sugar in the glaze. But I wouldn’t change a thing. These are delicious and this recipe is absolute perfection!
Hey Lezlie, when I mentioned, “sandy”, I was actually talking about the texture of the scone itself. I meant “sandy” like a pecan sandy cookie that is a little bit crumbly, even though this scone isn’t really crumbly. That being said, I’m happy to hear that you love them as much as we do. And, regardless of how any of us might describe them, it’s sound like we can all agree that they’re delicious! :)
Can this recipe be doubled?
Bailey, I’ve never doubled the recipe. If I need more, I usually make two batches. One batch takes a good amount of baking powder. One of the things that doesn’t always need to double is the leaveners. Generally you would need less, but I haven’t experimented with either doubling everything or doubling and then reducing the amount of baking powder. If I were to test it, I would probably double everything, but for the baking powder, I would try 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons (or a total of 5 teaspoons.)
I’m really excited to try this recipe out as it’s my first time baking scones! I had a question before I started baking though – how long can these be stored in the fridge? I would like to bake them ahead of time to take home but I won’t be going home for a few more days, any advice?
Sanjana, most of my scones hold up well for two to three days stored at room temperature. Refrigerators can tend to dry out baked goods. This is a slightly trickier scone because the nuts absorb moisture and make for a slightly different textured scone than the rest of my scone recipes. Maybe the best way to get ahead is make the scones dough and shape it into the rounds. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags. A little closer to your date, let them sit out at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes. They should still be cold and firm. Then, cut into wedges and bake. It might take a bit longer to bake depending on how much they’ve thawed. You can certainly try baking today and seeing how they hold up, but refrigerating them isn’t really going to extend their life much. I’d rather you wrap each baked scone individually and freeze them. That would be better than refrigerating them. I hope that helps. I rarely use those options, though. I always bake them no longer than the day before serving which I know doesn’t always work with our busy schedules. Good luck!
Hi Ramona,
Just wanted to let you know that I made these and they came out wonderfully, AND, they lasted about 3-4 days! I was very pleasantly pleased with the results. I actually didn’t end up freezing them, and baked them two days before I took them home, so they held out well. Thank you for this recipe + advice!
Hi Sanjana, I’m happy to hear that it all worked out well for you!
I have made several batches using the scone recipes here and adding in my own twists, I have found that if you form them and freeze them you can pull them out how ever many you want it need. I always lay out an extra because they are so good! I always thought scones were dry pasty pastry until I found the recipe here! They are amazing!
Anyway I lay them in fridge overnight if I know ahead of time, then bake as directed. 12-15 minutes. If straight from the freezer 15-40 minutes in counter and then about 15 minutes in the oven.
Heather, thanks for sharing your success with making them ahead using either the fridge or freezer. I’m thrilled that you’ve found some good base recipes to play with. Scones are really one of my favorite things to make and the variations you can make are endless! I simply never make enough to need to freeze them. They always go so quickly!
Thank you so much for responding! Itโs so nice to hear from you! Yes these go quickly in my house too! When I make them I have to make a double batch and then put a third in the freezer right away. They would never last if I kept them all bakedโ lol but when it requires a little effort on the boys in the house they wait until mom does it! Haha! I made these with orange zest and orange juice with a little of the cream and the hubby scooped them up and took them to work said they were too sophisticated for teenage pallets! Lol hope you have a great day! Keep up with the wonderful recipes I enjoy them all very much!
Just made this for the second time. Love them, the texture reminds me of a Pecan Sandie. Probably obvious but I would not brush them with heavy cream unless I was not using the glaze. Makes them too doughy in my opinion.
Janet, so glad they worked out for you! I go back and forth on brushing with cream depending on which scone recipe I’m making and what my eventual topping choice will be. I’ve not encountered the doughy issue when brushing with cream though. I brush lightly and the scones are generally chilly enough that the cream sort of solidifies soon after brushing. As you’ve stated, it’s not really necessary to brush with cream if the plan is to glaze them. If not, then the cream either helps a raw sugar topping to adhere or simply adds a little sheen to the top if left plain.