Brown Sugar Pecan Scones
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It’s one week before Halloween, the leaves are different hues of red, orange and yellow, and we can’t stop obsessing over making cozy meals. It’s officially that time of year—where we can use cold, fall days as an excuse to make some baked goods or cook a soul warming dinner.
One of our favorite breakfast foods to make during the fall and winter are scones. No matter the flavor, they are always the perfect pairing with a hot cup of coffee. Since we’re deep into fall now, we wanted to create a scone that represented the coziness of the season. When we were brainstorming fall flavors this year, we knew we wanted to make something with brown sugar and pecans. They are two simple flavors, however when paired together, are like a warm hug.
Make these brown sugar pecan scones for your next fall brunch or Thanksgiving with the family. We guarantee they’ll be a crowd favorite!
Brown Sugar Pecan Scones
Ingredients
What’s the key to making good scones?
Over the years we’ve made many scone recipes to create one of our own that was 100% perfect. Through all the experimentation and testing, we realized a few of things that made our scones absolutely perfect every time:
1. Use Cold Butter
The key to a delicious, light, buttery scone is cold butter. Not only is it incorporated in the dough, but we also recommend that you keep the dough cold throughout the process. That’s why you’ll notice some notes in the instructions to place the butter mixture in the fridge while you complete other steps in the baking process.
2. Cut the Cold Butter into the Flour
While many people don’t recommend using your hands to “cut” the butter into the flour, we’ve found that it’s the easiest way to break down the butter and disperse it throughout the flour mixture.
The key to not making the butter too soft is to only use your hands for about a minute. Otherwise the butter will get warmer than desired.
3. Use a Cookie Cutter to Shape Scones
One of the easiest ways to make each scone the same size is to use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to shape the scones. Not only does this make the process so much easier, but it will also ensure that the scones all cook evenly as well.
What’s the difference between a scone and a biscuit?
The difference between scones and biscuits come down to one key ingredient. That ingredient is eggs. Biscuits do not have eggs, while scones do.
Scones however do have more sugar in than biscuits, because they often tend to be sweeter in taste.
Why do you add eggs in scones?
Eggs help to bind all the ingredients of the scone together. They provide structure and added flavor to the scone as well.
The Key to Making Your Scones Light and Fluffy
Brown Sugar Pecan Scones
Brown Sugar Pecan Scones. A brown sugar scone with chopped pecans and topped with brown sugar glaze and even more chopped pecans.
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Pecan Scones
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Brown Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
Chopped pecans for topping
Instructions
Brown Sugar Pecan Scones
- In a medium or large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cube the cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Add the cubed butter to the dry mixture and cut it into the mixture with a pastry cutter or fork. Cut the butter in the mixture until small pea-sized crumbs. Transfer the mixture to the fridge while you combine the wet ingredients.
- While the butter-flour mixture is staying chilled in the fridge, whisk the heavy cream, egg and vanilla in a small mixing bowl.
- Remove the flour-butter mixture from the fridge. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and fold in chopped pecans. Mix the dough until just combined.
- Flour a flat surface and turn the dough out. Sprinkle the top with a bit more flour and roll the mixture until it’s about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the scone dough into rounds. Once you’ve used all the scone dough, transfer the scones to a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the fridge to chill for 10 more minutes.
- While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk one egg in a small mixing bowl to use for the egg wash. After 10 minutes has passed, take the scones out of the fridge, brush the tops with egg wash and bake for 18-25 minutes.
Brown Sugar Glaze:
- Whisk the powdered sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and milk together. If the mixture is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk at a time. Top with
- Once the scones are baked, let them cool for 5 minutes and then drizzle the glaze to the top and top with chopped pecans. Enjoy!
