Maple Pecan Sourdough Scones
I absolutely love the flavors of maple and pecan. This combo is popular during the fall and winter months, but these flavors and ingredients can be found year round. My sourdough maple pecan scones are a super yummy and easy recipe to use up your extra sourdough discard. They require only a few pantry staples you probably already have and make a great addition to your breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea.
Why You Will Love this Sourdough Maple Pecan Scone Recipe
These scones can be made start to finish in less than one hour. This same day sourdough discard recipe is super fast and easy but your friends and family will think you spent hours making these delicate scones.
You will love the flaky texture, contrasted by the crunch pecans and the sweet maple glaze drizzled over the top.
How to Use Sourdough Starter in Scones
I have made several scone recipes with sourdough discard (like my sourdough strawberry scones, blueberry lemon sourdough scones, cranberry orange sourdough scones, and sourdough pumpkin scones) so I’ve learned all the tricks to make a great scone. The key to adding sourdough starter to your scones is to control the moisture. Adding too much moisture will result in scones that spread and do not look very aesthetic.
I recommend using 100% hydration starter. This means you use equal parts of water and flour by weight to feed your starter. It is okay if you starter is not a 100% hydration. You may need to add a bit of flour or water to your starter to get the right consistency.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour: I recommend all purpose flour but bread flour can also be substituted.
- Sugar: We use plain white granulated sugar in this recipe. I have not tried substituting brown sugar. Doing so may result in dough that is too wet and may cause the scones to spread slightly.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter: We use unsalted butter for this recipe. You can use regular salted butter but I would recommend reducing the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon if you do.
- Pecans: You can substitute walnuts in this recipe for similar results.
- Sourdough starter: You can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard straight from the fridge.
- Milk: You can use any type of milk or milk substitute. I have made these with oat milk with good results.
- Maple syrup: I highly recommend using pure maple syrup. Maple flavored syrups typically do not taste quite the same nor do they have the same composition. The results may not be as good if you substitute this ingredient.
How to Make
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425F.
Step 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients and gently mix together with a wooden spoon, rubber spatula or your hands.
Step 4: Stir in the pecans.
Step 5: In a separate bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, milk and maple syrup. Add this mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients.
Step 6: Gently mix the dough until a shaggy dough that just holds together forms.
Step 7: Transfer the scone dough to a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a 9 inch circle.
Step 8: Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the scones into 8 equal sized wedges.
Step 9: Transfer the scones to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 5 minutes. Then, reduce temperature to 375F and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow the scones to cool completely.
Step 10: Make the glaze and drizzle over the scones.
How to Make Ahead
You can freeze these scones and make several months in advance. I recommend adding 2 minutes to the initial baking time at 425F if baking from frozen.
How to Store
I recommend storing these scones in an airtight container or on a plate wrapped with plastic wrap. They are best when eaten the same day but will last at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 7 days.
If you love making sourdough and discard recipes, check out more of our other sourdough recipes:
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Sourdough Granola
- Sourdough Tortillas
- Rich and Fudgy Sourdough Brownies
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup sourdough starter active starter or discard
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
For the Glaze
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Use a cheese grater to grate the butter into shreds. Try to work quickly to keep the butter cold.
- Use a rubber spatula or your hands to mix the butter shreds into the flour mixture until fully coated and crumbly.
- Stir in the chopped pecans.
- In a separate medium bowl, stir together the starter, milk and maple syrup.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir until mostly combined and a shaggy dough forms. Do not overwork the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into an approximate 9 inch circle.
- Use a large knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 equal sized wedges.
- Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 1½ inches apart.
- Bake the scones for 5 minutes at 425℉. Then, reduce the heat to 375℉ and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
To Make the Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, milk and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Allow to set before serving.
Only 15 minutes total baking time? I’ve never made scones before, just want to get it right. Thank you.
Yes that is it 🙂 Like cookies, they don’t need much time in the oven. I hope this helps!
A friend made these and they were so VERY GOOD! I pinned the recipe to make later.
Thank you for the feedback, Debbie!
Can I use heavy cream in place of the milk?
Hi Catt,
I think it would work but I have not tested it in this specific recipe. If you do try it, I would love to hear how it goes!
These are delicious! I could not find my cheese grater (??) so I grated the butter in my food processor, then switched to the blade and added the dry mixture. Added wet ingredients, gently mixed with a spatula and the dough came together perfectly! I’m using this method for scones from now on.
Is it possible to make the scones small so it’s better for a big gathering?
Great question! So I would shape it into a rectangle and cut the dough length-wise. Then, I would cut those longer pieces into 4 squares and then cut those across diagonally. This would make twice the number of scones to make mini scones. I hope this helps!
How long would you bake these minis for?
Hi Stacey, I have not tried baking mini versions of this recipe so I would maybe start with 12-13 minutes and see how they look.
Did you ever end up doing these smaller scones? How did the baking time work, if so?
SO easy and delicious! Love them!!
What is the best way to store these?
I recommend storing them in an airtight container or a gallon ziplock bag. They can be stored at room temperature for a couple days but beyond that I recommend storing them in the fridge to prevent them from becoming moldy. I hope this helps!
Jessica, you did it again! Another delicious recipe! These scones are absolutely delicious, and your directions are easy to follow. I know I can never go wrong by making your recipes. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m curious if you’ve ever tried to let the dough do its sourdough ferment thing. Even if the dough could rest in the fridge overnight. Any chance you’ve tried it?
Hi Karen,
I do with some of my recipes and I have let the scones chill in the refrigerator before baking. I think they would be fine in the fridge for 2-3 days to do a long fermentation. Thanks for the feedback. I will try to add instructions for long fermentation more in my recipes.
Do you have these measurements in grams?
Hi Sarah,
I just updated the post to include measurements in grams. There is a tab on the recipe card that you can select for the metric system.
Love these! I’ve made them a few times and the family loves them!
Can honey be substituted for maple syrup?
I have not tried it but I think it would work just fine! They have such a similar consistency that I think it would work great. It would just taste more like honey than maple. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
First time making them with fresh milled hard white flour. Followed the recipe to a T and these will be a new staple in my baking. Thank you. I did change the measurements at the beginning to metric I’m used to weighing the ingredients thank you for that option. ☺️
I just made them today using freshly milled Kamut. I used 275g as I wasn’t sure if the Kamut could be substituted 1:1 with AP flour. They turned out amazing! These are my favorite scones!
I made them yesterday. They were awesome!!
Love these scones! I put the prepared scones in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to baking and they retain their shape nicely and get a nice crisp on the outside. I also add a little maple extract to the dough and the glaze for a stronger maple taste.
these are delicious!!! I will make again!! Very easy!!
The scones were delicious and so easy to make. I gave some to a friend and she loved them. She asked for the recipe but she does not do sourdough. Did you ever make these not as sourdough or do you have a recipe substitute? Thank you
I love this recipe and I have made it several times! Have you ever tried freezing them after baking? What are your steps when you pull them out?
If I want to make these for my farmstand… what is your best suggestion on how these would do and would they be okay in a display or does the topping make them get soggy? Thank you!
Hi Kayla, I do not think that these would get soggy. The topping will set and dry after about an hour so it shouldn’t make them soggy.
Very good scone, i made a few adjustments. Used half and half for milk, cut back a bit on white sugar and use some brown sugar, used a bit more BP and a bit of maple extract.
Took a bit longer to cooked for me, about 3 to 5 mins longer at 375 but that could be my oven. They were a big hit!
I’m not the blogger, but I have a scone recipe that calls for cinnamon chips (I use butterscotch instead), and it calls for buttermilk, which would produce the fermentation/rise aspect as to what the sourdough starter/discard would in the recipe. It does not call for regular milk though. My recipe makes 12 scones though, and it calls for 1 cup of buttermilk. If you use that much, in lieu of the milk and sourdough in this recipe, maybe cut it back to a little less than 1 cup.
These turned out so well! I’m happy to have another discard sourdough recipe to turn to when “Seymour” gets too big for his jar! They are also a quick treat to make when I want to take something to my neighbor, or we have company coming. Thanks for sharing, Jessica.