Move over, pumpkin spice – it’s time for maple everything

The word on the street is that when it comes to fall flavors, pumpkin spice is out and maple is in. The masses have grown weary of pumpkin-spice-everything, which was a phenomenon that began when Starbucks introduced its first spice lattes in 2003 and 2004. Our taste buds and our markets are ready for a new fall flavor to take over. Enter maple.

Earlier this week, a teacher friend of mine in California texted me a photo of scones she had made for co-workers at her school. It was an old maple pecan scone recipe I had written in November of 2011. My friend makes my scone recipe annually; it's a little fall tradition that she keeps. Inspired by her text, I decided to revisit this old recipe and give it new life, just in time for our newfound love of all things maple.

In this updated version, I omitted the pecans in the dough, mostly to make them more kid-friendly. But if you're a pecan lover, you can still sneak them in by sprinkling some finely chopped roasted salted pecans on top of the glaze before it sets.

Glazed maple oat scones

Makes 8

1 cup quick oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

1 egg

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

For the glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon maple extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the quick oats in a food processor until almost fine. In a mixing bowl, stir together the ground oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, cream and maple syrup until smooth. Fold the cream mixture into the flour mixture until the dough is moistened and it begins to come together. More cream can be added if needed until it just begins to hold together (you do not want the dough to be sticky, but a little crumbly, holding together when pinched between two fingers. Be careful not to overwork the dough, as this will result in dense scones).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough out into a circle about 1 inch thick. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the circle into 8 triangles. Carefully transfer the scones onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes, or until set and golden on the bottom.

To prepare the glaze: whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, maple syrup and maple extract until smooth. More cream can be added as needed to thin. The glaze should be thick, but still able to be drizzled. Drizzle the scones with glaze while the scones are still warm. The glaze will set as the scones cool.

Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.

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