Ina Garten Maple Scones Recipe

Ina Garten Maple Scones Recipe is a sweet American take on a classic bake, featuring a rich dough flavoured with pure maple syrup and toasted walnuts. These scones are finished with a thick maple glaze that soaks into the warm pastry for a double hit of autumn flavour.

If you do nothing else, keep your butter as cold as possible until the moment it hits the flour. That’s the difference between a scone that rises into tall, flaky layers and one that spreads into a flat, heavy biscuit. I always dice my butter then pop it back in the fridge for ten minutes before I start mixing.

The maple syrup is doing more work than you’d think in the dough. Without it, you lose that distinct caramel depth, but adding too much liquid can make the dough impossible to handle. This is one of those recipes that looks harder than it is; the whole thing comes down to not overworking the flour once the wet ingredients go in.

Ina Garten Maple Scones Recipe Ingredients

For the scones

• 440g (15.5oz) plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 170g (6oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 60ml (2fl oz) pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 120ml (4fl oz) double cream
• 115g (4oz) chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp full-fat milk (for egg wash)

For the maple glaze

• 150g (5.3oz) icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp pure maple extract
• 60ml (2fl oz) pure maple syrup
• 1–2 tbsp double cream (as needed)

How To Make Ina Garten Maple Scones Recipe

1. Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6) and line a large baking tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients: Sift the plain flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and whisk them together so the raising agent is evenly spread.
3. Cut in the butter: Add the cold diced butter to the flour and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to rub it in until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized bits of butter still visible.
4. Mix wet ingredients: Whisk the eggs, double cream, and maple syrup together in a separate jug until the mixture is a pale, uniform colour.
5. Form the dough: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a fork just until the flour disappears. Mix in the walnuts now if you are using them, but stop the moment the dough holds together.
6. Shape and cut scones: Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it very lightly about three or four times to bring it into a ball. Pat it out into a circle about 2cm (3/4 inch) thick and cut into 8 even wedges with a sharp knife.
7. Bake the scones: Move the wedges to the baking tin, leaving space between each one, and brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake for 18–20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the edges feel firm.
8. Make the glaze: Whisk the icing sugar, maple syrup, and maple extract in a small bowl while the scones are in the oven. Add the cream a teaspoon at a time until the glaze is thick enough to coat a spoon but thin enough to drizzle.
9. Glaze and serve: Spoon the glaze over the scones whilst they are still slightly warm so it runs down the sides. Let the glaze set for 15 minutes before eating so it forms a thin, sugary crust.

Recipe Tips

Do not overmix the dough. The more you stir and knead, the more gluten develops, which turns a light scone into something tough and bread-like. Stir just until you can’t see any more dry flour streaks and then stop immediately.

Toast your walnuts first. Spending five minutes browning the nuts in a dry pan before chopping them brings out a much deeper flavour. Let them cool completely before adding them to the dough so they don’t melt your cold butter.

Use a sharp knife or cutter. When cutting the scones, push straight down without twisting the tool. Twisting seals the edges of the dough and prevents the scone from rising upwards in the oven heat.

Adjust the glaze consistency carefully. If your glaze is too thin, it will just soak into the scone and disappear. It should be thick like double cream so it sits on top of the pastry and drips slowly down the sides.

Keep an eye on the oven temperature. Scones need a high heat of 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6) to rise quickly before the butter melts. If your oven runs hot, check them at 15 minutes to ensure the sugary tops aren’t browning too quickly.

What To Serve With Maple Scones

These are quite sweet so they are lovely served with a pot of strong black tea or a coffee to balance the sugar. If you want to go all out, serve them with a bit of salted butter or a dollop of extra thick double cream.

For a proper brunch, they pair well with crispy streaky bacon or a side of fresh fruit like sliced pears. The maple flavour also works well alongside a small bowl of Greek yoghurt to add a bit of acidity.

How To Store Maple Scones

Fridge

You don’t need to keep these in the fridge as it can make the pastry go stale faster. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, though they are best eaten on the day they are baked.

Reheat

The best way to refresh a day-old scone is in a 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) oven for about five minutes. Avoid the microwave for reheating as it makes the glaze sticky and the dough rubbery.

Freeze

Wrap unglazed scones tightly in clingfilm and freeze for up to three months. To serve, defrost at room temperature and then warm them in the oven before adding a fresh batch of glaze.

Ina Garten Maple Scones Recipe Nutrition Facts

• Calories 540
• Protein 8g
• Fat 26g
• Carbohydrates 69g
• Sugar 32g
• Sodium 420mg

Estimated. May vary based on ingredients and cooking methods.

FAQs