Maple Oat Nut Scones

When I was in college, there was a period in which I went to Starbucks on the corner of George Street daily. Every day. I would stop by on my way to class, on my way to rehearsal, or make a special trip out, just to sit there with my coffee and study or read. I absolutely loved it--it was such an indulgence and made me feel so relaxed and happy.

My default drink was just black coffee, although if I were feeling super fancy I might get a chai latte or an caramel apple cider. I knew I was in trouble when my body had become so accustomed to the caffiene in a venti (20 oz) black coffee that I was STILL nodding off in my Wednesday afternoon class. (In my defense, I was an art history major and the majority of my classes took place in the semi dark, looking at slides...still...)

Often I was in a rush and would forgo a meal at the dining hall in favor of getting something to eat at Starbucks with my coffee. (The foolishness of living off of scones, black and white cookies, and coffee cakes shall not be discussed.) One of my FAVORITE things Starbucks offers is their Maple Oat Nut Scone. I'm just a sucker for baked goods and I love a good scone. Especially with icing. And nuts. (To illustrate my love of scones--I told Justin when I knew he was thinking of proposing marriage that if he were to acquire a scone to accompany the engagement ring, it wouldn't hurt his chances of me saying yes.)

Needless to say, over the past 3.5 years, I've been missing my Starbucks. Of course they have Starbucks in Europe, but the closest to us it several (3?) hours away and they don't carry the same kinds of baked goods as American Starbucks. So when I came across this recipe from recipezaar for a Maple Oat Nut Scone, Starbucks style, I knew I HAD to make it.

I wasn't holding out much hope that it would be as good as the real thing, but in fact I think it actually might be. I made a few alterations to the original recipe (linked above) when I made my scones--my variation on Charmie777's scones follows:

INGREDIENTS

For the scones:

1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1 1/2 cups
flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup (the real
kind, you know NOT in a plastic bottle)
2 1/2 tablespoons
cold butter (small pieces)
1 large egg
1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream (I used heavy
cream)
1/2-3/4 teaspoon maple extract (all I could find was maple
flavoring, but it worked fine)
2/3 cup (or maybe a bit more) coarsely
chopped pecans

For the maple glaze icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
(again, I used maple flavoring)
5 teaspoons maple syrup
add water to acheive desired thickness and consistency

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Using a food processor or blender, finely grind oats.
• In a mixer, mix flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking powder.
• Add maple syrup and butter and mix well.
• In a small bowl, beat the egg with the cream and maple extract.
• Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well.
• Add pecans and mix just to incorporate.
• Place dough on a floured surface. Knead and pat dough into a 8 to 10 inch
  circle and cut into 6 wedges. (The original calls for 8-10 wedges, but I
  like mine big--like at Starbucks!)
• Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place wedges on top and bake for 13
  to 15 minutes, or until light brown.
• Remove scones from oven to wire rack. Let cool about 3 to 5
  minutes.

Mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Adjust the amount of water to get to the
desired consistency. I like the glaze to be rather thick. Spread lots of glaze
over each scone and dry about 15 minutes before serving.

They came out so close to the real thing, I was amazed! If you're a scone fan, you must give these a try!