Golden brown and loaded with cozy fall flavors, these maple walnut cranberry scones will steal the present at your subsequent vacation breakfast or brunch! Flavored with heat spices, brown sugar, and maple extract, these festive scones are prepared quick. Simply be sure you chill the scone dough for quarter-hour earlier than baking.

Maple Walnut Cranberry Scones

Let’s bake some yummy festive scones as we speak! As a result of these golden brown bakery-style cranberry scones are essentially the most pleasant deal with to bake throughout the vacation season. Particularly when beautiful ruby crimson contemporary cranberries can be found! However in a pinch, you should use frozen cranberries, too.

I even have three different cranberry scone recipes on my web site:

So what makes THESE maple walnut cranberry scones stand aside from the others? Their cozy and festive taste profile! Heat maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar give these scones the coziest taste ever. And the addition of crunchy walnuts is a complete dream.

Chilly Butter is King

Earlier than we dive into the elements, let’s talk about a very powerful ingredient in any scone recipe: BUTTER. Extra specifically, chilly butter. Chilly butter is important to creating flaky golden brown scones that maintain their form whereas baking.

The easiest way to make sure your butter is chilly sufficient? Freeze your sticks of butter for quarter-hour earlier than including them to the flour combination.

Scone Dough Components

• All-Goal Flour: Maybe a very powerful of all of the dry elements! Make sure to not pack your flour into the measuring cup – both weigh it or flippantly scoop right into a measuring cup. And don’t sub different forms of flour for all-purpose flour.
• Baking Powder: Sure, one complete Tablespoon of baking powder is right! Don’t sub for baking soda, or add any baking soda in any respect. Baking powder offers elevate, baking soda spreads, which isn’t what we would like for this recipe.
• Brown Sugar: I want utilizing gentle brown sugar, however in a pinch, darkish brown sugar will work. You possibly can even use granulated sugar as a substitute, however be aware they are going to be much less flavorful and golden brown in shade.
• Spices: Floor cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt all improve the flavour of our scone dough.
• Chilly Butter: Unsalted butter works greatest, however salted will work in a pinch. Merely omit the salt known as for within the scone dough recipe.
• Walnuts: Pecans make a advantageous substitute right here! Or be happy to omit the nuts utterly for a nut-free deal with.
• Cranberries: Recent or frozen cranberries will work, however contemporary work greatest.
• Heavy Cream: Aka whipping cream. Don’t use milk or half and half as a substitute.
• Egg Yolks: For the flakiest scones, we use the yolks solely, because the egg white creates a extra biscuit like texture! Make sure your egg yolks are chilly.
• Extracts: For much more taste, we’ll add vanilla extract AND maple extract to the scone dough. These are each optionally available, be happy to go away one or the opposite out if desired.

Make the Scone Dough

• Scone Prep: Earlier than you begin making the scone dough, preheat your oven to 425 levels. Then line a big baking sheet with parchment paper and set the ready baking sheet apart. Now you’re able to make the scone dough!
• Mix the Dry Components: In a big bowl, mix the spices, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the Chilly Butter: Use a pastry blender minimize in butter till the combination resembles coarse crumbs. You need to cease mixing when chunks of butter aren’t any massive than hazelnuts and no smaller than peas. 
• Mix the Moist Components: Whisk collectively the moist elements till they’re nicely mixed. Then pour the liquid combination into the flour combination.
• Add the Combine-Ins: Into the stomach of the moist elements, add the cranberries and walnuts. Then use a spatula to stir every thing collectively till simply moistened. And don’t fear if the dough seems too dry right here.
• Knead the Dough: Pour the scone dough out onto a flippantly floured floor and knead the dough till it comes collectively. This may take a couple of minutes, so be affected person and keep away from the urge so as to add extra liquid.

Form and Lower the Scone Dough

• As soon as the scone dough has come collectively, press it right into a flat circle and form it into an 8-inch disc. 
• Lower the disc into 8 even wedges and punctiliously switch them to the ready baking sheet. Place every scone about 2-inches aside, to make room for spreading.

Chill for 15 Minutes

For the tallest and flakiest scones, be sure you chill the dough for at the least quarter-hour, or as much as half-hour, which is the best. This quick burst within the fridge helps the butter agency up once more. And the flour combination to relax and take up a number of the liquid elements. Belief me, it’s definitely worth the wait!

Let’s Speak Egg Wash

To make an egg wash, you’ll want 2 easy elements: 1 massive egg and 1 teaspoon water. The rationale we brush our scones with egg wash is to encourage browning. So if gorgeously golden brown scones are vital to you, don’t skip this step. Baking with out the egg wash will yield a paler, albeit nonetheless scrumptious, scone.

I additionally counsel sprinkling the scones with glowing sugar! You’ll do that proper after you sweep them with the egg wash, which ensures the sugar sticks to the scones. Glowing sugar makes these cranberry scones further candy and beautiful!

Drizzle with Maple Glaze

The maple glaze is one other tremendous straightforward step. And solely requires 3 elements: confectioners’ sugar, pure maple syrup, and milk. These scones are usually not overly candy, so this glaze is a welcome addition and amplifies their taste. I don’t counsel skipping it, however be happy to experiment for those who should!