There is something about baking. It is a magical mixture of chemistry and art--exact measurements married to finesse. It takes time, a commodity that so many of us are lacking these days. Vacation days and rainy weekends are the perfect time to indulge in both the pleasure of making something from scratch and the delicious results.
Last summer, my sweetie and I took a wonderful vacation in and around Burlington, VT. It rained have the time we were there, but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time relaxing, lazing, exploring.
Popping into my pantry this morning after my run to grab some mix-ins for my oatmeal I spied a bag of maple sugar from Dakin Farms that we got last summer. I knew it was time to use it.
One of my favorite cookbooks of all time is
The recipe for these scones is in this book.
Maple sugar is really the star of these scones,
but brown sugar could be substituted.
Ingredients:
3 cups AP Flour
2/3 cup maple sugar
8 TBS. very cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 TBS. pure maple syrup
1 large egg
for the topping:
2 TBS. pure maple syrup
2 tsp. maple sugar
Method:
1. Put oven rack on middle rung. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, maple sugar, baking powder,
baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Add butter pieces and using a
pastry blender (or 2 knives), cut the butter into the flour mixture until the
butter pieces are no larger than peas. Add the nuts and mix briefly.
Mix together the buttermilk, syrup, and egg until just blended.
Drizzle liquid over flour mixture and toss with a rubber
spatula just until the dough comes together in moist clumps.
3. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Briefly knead the
dough to combine and shape into a 7-8 inch round.
Using a lightly floured knife, cut the dough into equal wedges.
4. Arrange wedges on a prepared cookie sheet (not touching).
Brush tops with maple syrup and sprinkle with maple sugar.
5. Bake until puffed and a toothpick comes out clean--about 18 minutes.
Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
Using a spatula, lift the scones from the sheet to a rack to cool.
Storage: Layer bakes and cooled scones between parchment or
waxed paper in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature
for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
A delightful breakfast with a cup of tea!
