ina's maple oatmeal scones

i always pick the scone at a bakery. they always look so good - nice and shiny, dusted with sugar or coated in glaze. and the flavors always get me - lemon cream, cranberry orange, almond. and it's almost always dry and bland. that's when i decided to start making my own and i've never looked back.

scones are unbelievably easy to make, as long as you remember a couple things -
- make sure the butter is cold when you mix it in. it should be incorporated, but you should still be able to see bits of it.
- don't overmix. mix the wet and the dry together just enough so it's a dough. it's ok if the dough is a bit lumpy.

i saw ina make these on "back to basics" on the food network a couple weeks ago. they are really good, nice and moist, but the maple flavor isn't very strong - if someone served them to me, i wouldn't guess they were maple flavored. could be the maple syrup i used. and i think a small amount of cinnamon would be good added to this recipe, or delete the syrup, increase the milk, and make cinnamon oatmeal scones. i'll try those sometime and see how they come out.



maple-oatmeal scones
adapted from food network magazine

time start to finish - 1hr (includes baking time), makes 8 hearty scones

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup cold milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 egg mixed with a splash of water for the egg wash

for the glaze
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
splash half and half

1. preheat the oven to 400F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. combine flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. using a mixer, blend in the butter.
3. in a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, syrup, and eggs together.
4. add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. the dough is really sticky.
5. turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface and roll to about 1 inch thick.
6. cut into eight wedges and place on the baking sheet.
7. brush the tops with egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
8. while the scones are baking, make the glaze by mixing the confectioner's sugar, syrup, and vanilla. add a splash of half and half or milk to thin the glaze a bit and make it pourable.
9. when the scones are finished baking, let cool on the pan for about five minutes. remove and let cool on a rack.
10. when the scones are still warm, drizzle with glaze.