maple oatmeal walnut scones

Grant me a little grievance here with this one, friends. I have to admit that my love of scones came from none other than Starbucks.  Yes, I know, how westernized-consumer-tastic of me.  But do I get extra points for telling you that love was only deepened once I realized that, to my surprise, I had a scone genuis right in my own family?  My Gramma makes some of the best scones I've ever had!  Every now and then my dad would come home with a bag of scones from her, laden with currant scones, cinnamon chip (amazing!), blueberry (my fave, obvi), cherry (oh, wait, that's my fave...) and so many more.  These. things. are. incredible.

So this Thanksgiving when I was home for a week, I made it a point to take my sister and Aidan over to Gramma's for some quality time.  She even had scones at the ready for me when we got there!  She knows her granddaughter well.  So, like a true foodie, I asked my gramma if I could look in her recipe box.  Two hours later, I found myself with three pages of scrap paper filled with as many scribbled recipes as I could cram in.  This recipe was the first one I searched for, and I can assure you, this won't be the last recipe you'll see from Gramma McGregor. 

Like I've said before, I think a scone and a latte would probably be my last meal.  I just love how dense and flavorful they can be, and how well they go with any type of coffee.  Not to mention the infinite possibilities for mix-ins.  So, even though my favorite scone is likely blueberry or cherry (look for some of these soon), I've been itching to use some of the maple syrup that my dad sent me a while ago.  And there you have it: maple oatmeal walnut scones.

I was surprised at how well these turned out for my first batch, considering how I used my Gramma's recipe as a base and modified it from there.  Next time I'll definitely add more walnuts and more maple syrup, since I opted for the more conservative side of measuring for experimentation's sake.  But I love how they crack and rise as they bake, and have a somewhat hard exterior and crumbly inside.  Try these with a latte or even a rich, deep coffee like a Jamaican Blue Mountain from Burman Coffee.  There's really no better breakfast treat!

Maple Oatmeal Walnut Scones

Based on my wonderful Gramma McGregor’s recipe 
 
2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-tbsp pieces
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk [I used skim, but use buttermilk if you can.]
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup maple syrup

Maple Drizzle:

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large mixing bowl. 
3. Add butter pieces to flour mixture and incorporate until crumbly. Sprinkle sugar on top, not mixing together. 
4. Beat egg and buttermilk in small bowl and pour over flour/sugar mixture. 
5. Carefully mix milk and egg mixture into dry ingredients with a fork, scraping from bottom to top in large swift sweeps. 
6. When dough is about half-mixed, add maple syrup and walnuts. Continue to mix until all flour is incorporated, but no further.
7. Form dough into a rectangular loaf and cut into 8 triangular pieces. Sprinkle sugar on top before baking. Place each triangle on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Once scones have cooled, mix maple syrup, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a small bowl and drizzle over top of scones.