Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones

These Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones are so tender and flaky, made with a buttery sourdough discard pecan scone dough, and topped with a simple salted maple glaze.

Sourdough discard tenderizes the maple pecan scones and they’re moist with nutty pecans throughout. The scones aren’t too sweet and are cozy for a fall breakfast or an afternoon treat with coffee or tea.

The recipe includes lots of instructional tips and images so you get moist, tender, and flaky sourdough maple pecan scones every time!

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⭐️ Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Sourdough discard tenderizes scones, just like it does in Sourdough Pie Crust.
• The pecans and salted maple glaze make them not-too-sweet and a little savory like my Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes with Pecans.
• Extra flaky and buttery sourdough scones, akin to how I make Flaky Sourdough Biscuits.
• Pecans add crunch, with other nut or seed substitutions.
• Can easily be made ahead and frozen before baking.

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones

• Don’t overmix the scone dough
  • Too much mixing leads to gluten development. It’s something you want in a sourdough bread recipe, but it can make scones tougher if you mix the dough too much. This is the same idea as overmixing Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Cheddar Biscuits, or Sourdough Blueberry Yogurt Muffins.
• Chill scones before baking
  • Freezing the scones for at least 30 minutes before baking will make them flakier as the butter releases steam in the hot oven, creating many layers. It’s how my Sourdough Strawberry Galette and Sourdough Apple Pie are so flaky.
• Stack the dough to create flaky layers
  • To make flaky biscuits or scones, I stack (or laminate) the dough a couple of times to make more layers. This is an easy lamination technique like in Sourdough Croissants or Sourdough Croissant Bread Loaf.
• Toast the pecans beforehand
  • You should almost always toast nuts before baking to release more flavor and so they keep their crunch.
• Bake at a high temperature
  • Like baking other pastries or breads that you want to rise tall, such as sourdough brioche or sourdough chocolate muffins, bake the scones at 400ºF (204ºC) so they will release a lot of steam and quickly rise from the blast of heat.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a few basic tools to make these sourdough discard maple pecan scones. No mixer required!

• Baking scale: Since the density of flour and sourdough starter may vary among individuals, it’s recommended to weigh your ingredients for accuracy. Weighing your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Whisk: For mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately.
• Bench Scraper: Helps shape and cut out the scones.
• Baking sheet: I bake the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour: For tender scones, use a softer wheat flour, such as all-purpose flour. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour in my recipe testing. Substitute whole wheat flour for whole wheat scones or gluten-free flour like cup-for-cup.
• Baking Powder: for leavening and creating a tall, tender scone.
• Salt: This recipe leans savory, and the salted maple glaze is very similar to the favorite salted maple buttercream filling in my Sourdough Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. It makes these irresistible!
• Dark brown sugar: These scones aren’t too sweet and lean savory, but the brown sugar adds moisture from molasses. You can substitute with coconut sugar if you’d like.
• Pecans: Toast nuts for the best flavor. Can substitute with walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. Another recipe with maple and pecans I love is my Sourdough Maple Pecan Sticky Buns.
• Unsalted butter: Use grated, frozen butter for this recipe. Cold butter prevents gluten development, resulting in flakier scones and helps them rise taller.
• Heavy Cream: Heavy cream (or whipping cream) gives these scones the best flavor. If you use milk, use whole milk to add more fat to the recipe.
• Vanilla Extract: for aromatic warmth
• Sourdough Discard: If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how to make a sourdough starter guide. See my top sourdough starter tips here.
• Maple Syrup: Use real maple syrup for this recipe. I like dark or robust maple syrup in baking for the most flavor.
• Powdered Sugar: The very fine confectioner’s sugar dissolves quickly and easily for glazes like the glaze for my Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins or my Sourdough Hot Cross Buns.

Variations

• Chocolate: Add ½ cup of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to the batter.
• Other Nuts: Substitute the pecans with toasted walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or hazelnuts.
• Oats: Make a copycat of the discontinued Starbucks maple pecan oat scones by adding 1/2 cup of rolled oats to the dough.
• Plain: Leave the maple glaze off for a plain sourdough pecan scone. Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar for crunch before baking.
• Orange zest: For added brightness, add orange zest to the dough.
• Butterscotch or Caramel: Add ½ cup of butterscotch or caramel pieces to the batter.
• Spiced: Add 1 tsp of cinnamon or other spices for more warmth and flavor interest.

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🍁 How to Make Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones

Follow this visual and detailed recipe guide as you make these flaky sourdough maple pecan scones.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Add the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, dark brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Break apart any brown sugar clumps.

Toast pecans for a couple of minutes in a small skillet until fragrant, cool slightly, and chop. Mix the pecans into the dough.

2. Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a liquid measuring cup or other mixing bowl, whisk the heavy cream, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract.

3. Grate the Frozen Butter

Grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl of dry ingredients and toss.

4. Mix the Scone Dough

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and use a fork or your hand to gently toss the dough.

The scone dough will be quite scraggly and dry at first.

Toss the dough in the bowl until large clumps form, but many floury spots remain.

5. Shape and Freeze the Scones

Dump the scone dough out onto a clean countertop (Image 1). It’ll still be scraggly and a little floury, like making pie dough.

Using a bench scraper, bring the dough together into a mass as much as you can (2).

Cut the dough into quarters and stack them on top of each other (3). This will help create many flaky layers!

Use floured hands or your bench scraper to press down on the layers of dough back into a round mass. Repeat the cutting, stacking, and pressing down twice more and pat it down into an 8-inch round, about 1 ½ inches high.

Use a bench scraper to cut the scones into 8 triangular wedges (4).

Place your scones on the prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.

Freezing the scones will help them retain their triangle shapes, be flakier, and rise taller.

6. Bake

As the scones freeze, preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).

When ready to bake, brush the tops of the scones with a couple of tablespoons of additional heavy cream.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until the scones are light golden brown.

Cool on a wire baking sheet as you make the salted maple glaze.

7. Make the Salted Maple Glaze

This salted maple glaze is so easy to make!

Simply add powdered sugar, salt, and maple syrup to a bowl and mix with a spoon to your desired consistency. I prefer a thicker glaze so it sets well.

If the glaze is too thick, add a little more maple syrup. If runny, add more powdered sugar.

Finally, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones, then sprinkle with a small amount of reserved toasted pecans.

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How to Store

Sourdough maple pecan scones are best served within the first couple of days after baking and are especially great at breakfast. If you can wait to drizzle them with the glaze, they’ll last a little longer if you know you won’t consume them all in one sitting.

Keep the scones in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days.

You can store them in the refrigerator too, if you’d prefer to get another few days out of them. Reheat before serving.

I don’t recommend freezing already baked scones, but you can easily freeze the unbaked scones months in advance before baking, as I note in the instructions above.

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❓ FAQs