Maple Pecan Scones for #BreadBakers

For this month's Bread Bakers, we are baking with natural sweeteners. I looked high and low for yeast bread recipes using natural sweeteners but couldn't find one that I wanted to try. Finally found the recipe for these Maple-Pecan Scones in Vegetarian Times Magazine.

Our host for the month Mayuri (Mayuri's Jikoni) wanted us to bake using natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, blackstrap molasses, dates, coconut sugar etc. These are healthier and tastier alternates to refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners.
These scones are a little different from the other scone recipes I've tried. First off these are eggless and are made in the food processor AND use maple syrup for sweetness. It is important to freeze the butter and have it ready for the scones.

These come together in no time. Only a part of the flour is added to the dough and the rest is used to roll the scones in before baking. Please read the recipe completely before starting to make it. The dough is quite sticky which is why rolling in the flour makes them easy to handle.

The scones turned out flaky and delicious. I was surprised that both my kids loved them too (even though they didn't have any chocolate in them). I liked them with a tiny bit of jam, but cream cheese would taste great too. They are perfect when eaten fresh, but they stay well for 2~3 days when stored in an airtight container.

Maple Pecan Scones

Ingredients:

• 3cups All purpose flour (I used 2cups APF and 1cup Wholewhat pastry flour), divided use
• 11/2tsp Salt
• 1tsp Baking powder
• 11/4tsp Baking soda
• 1tsp Cream of tartar
• 1 stick (8 oz. or 1/2cup) Unsalted butter, frozen and cut into small pieces
• 1cup Pecans
• 3/4cup Maple Syrup
• 1cup Chilled Sour Cream (low fat is OK)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse 2cups flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar until combined.
3. Add the butter and pulse until butter reduces to pea-size pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Grind the pecans in food processor until they start to clump together. Stir pecans into butter mixture, add maple syrup and sour cream and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough is rather sticky at this stage.
5. Place remaining 1cup of flour on a plate. Scoop 2" balls of dough into the floor and roll to coat with flour.
6. Arrange the dough balls 2" apart on prepared baking sheets and bake for 24~26 minutes or until the edges turn golden.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Breads with Natural Sweeteners:

• Blackberries and Honey Bread by Kidsandchic
• Cheddar Honey Flowers by Ambrosia
• Date and Chai Muffins by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Date Sweetened Banana Bread by Herbivore Cucina
• Eggless Banana Chocochip Bread with Cranberries and Coconut Sugar by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Eggless Carrot Coconut Quick Bread by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Eggless Wholewheat Maple Banana Oat Muffins by Spill the Spices
• Einkorn Drop Biscuits with Peaches and Blueberries by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• English Granary-Style No Knead Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Grape Bread by The Bread She Bakes
• Healthy Banana & Blueberry Bread by Baking in Pyjamas
• Honey Almond Banana Muffins by Baking Yummies
• Honey Cider Quick Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Honey Cornbread by Magnolia Days
• Honey Oat Pain de Mie by Hostess At Heart
• Honey Pineapple Pull-Apart Rolls by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Jackfruit Honey Bread by The Schizo Chef
• Jackfruit Semolina Muffins with Jaggery by My Cooking Journey
• Mangalore Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Maple Bacon Cheddar & Pickle Pull-Apart Bread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Maple Pecan Scones by Cook's Hideout
• Maple Oatmeal Bread by A Baker's House
• Pain au Levian avec Banane by What Smells So Good?
• Tangerine Honey White Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.