An easy recipe for guilt-free breakfast pastries!
Twice in my teens, I flew 3000 miles across the country to visit NYC. The first time, my grandparents treated my dad and me to a week of Broadway shows, Bloomingdales, ferry rides, and Central Park. A few years later, Dad and I dragged my mom and brother back to the Big Apple under the guise of a family vacation, while our true priorities lay with watching baseball games at Shea and Yankee Stadium. (Only 9 more parks to go!)
On both trips, we booked rooms at the Hotel Beacon. Our views overlooked Broadway Street, and we amused ourselves by watching throngs of people rush by the Fairway Market across the road. Although we only visited once with my grandparents, we stopped in nearly every day on our second vacation. Mom always stashed plenty of snacks, fresh fruit, and veggies for us in her backpack while out sightseeing!
With a little kitchenette in the room, we also grazed on breakfast foods each morning before hitting the streets. To stock up, we browsed the bakery section of the Fairway Market in pursuit of lemon poppy seed muffins for my brother (his childhood favorite) and “something interesting” for Dad. At an end cap, I spotted bags of freshly baked scones and immediately plopped the cranberry ones in the basket.
A year before, I sampled my first scone in Seattle while on a different baseball trip with Dad. Mesmerized by the crunchy sugar-coated crust and soft moist interior, I quickly devoured mine and actually stole most of his too! I reasoned that if we were both infatuated with those scones, these would be a huge hit too, so Mom and I paid the cashier, walked out, and sprinted across the streets flashing “No Walk” signs with our plastic bags bouncing like locals.
A few months later, I saw the Nutrition Label for a typical large bakery-style scone and just about collapsed onto the ground. So much butter! So much fat!
But today, I’ve created healthier scones you can actually feel good about eating, especially after all of the cookies, candy, and fudge we all indulged in during the holidays. These Maple Pecan Scones are secretly skinny and low in fat, but they’re just as soft and moist as those butter-laden ones!
These lightened scones start with a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. The all-purpose flour helps the scones rise and prevents their interiors from turning too dense, while the whole wheat flour adds fiber and nutrients. (It also gives the scones a subtle nutty undertone, which pairs perfectly with the pecans!)
I only cut a mere 2 tablespoons of butter into the scone dough. Yes, only 2! I know that sounds crazy, but these scones still turned out incredibly light because of my secret weapon: Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt adds a lot of moisture without all of the fat and calories from butter, and it also bumps up the protein content!
I mixed in two sources of maple: maple syrup and maple extract. The syrup lacked enough maple taste to completely flavor the scones. You’d need to pour in practically half the bottle, which would result in a huge sticky mess (and a big sugar crash later!). The extract greatly increased the maple flavor without adding lots of empty calories. Don’t skip it! (And you can make these maple bacon breakfast cheesecakes with the leftover extract!)
To create that characteristic crisp exterior, brush on a generous coating of milk and sprinkle with a pinch of sugar. After baking in the oven, they turn into a beautiful golden brown crust with the perfect kiss of sweetness. It just might be the best part of the scones!
I pressed my pecans on top of the milk-and-sugar coating because I strongly dislike nuts inside of my baked goodies. Even as an adult, I still pick them out to nibble on separately! By placing the pecans on top, it created a pretty finishing touch that I could pull off and eat as soon as I finished the photo shoot. But feel free to fold yours into the scone dough before dividing it up for baking!
If you made a New Year’s Resolution to start eating healthier, bake more homemade meals, or lose that last bit of holiday weight, these healthy Maple Pecan Scones are the perfect guilt-free breakfast pastry for you!
The scones barely require 30 minutes to make: 15 minutes of mixing, 15 minutes (tops) of baking, and 30 seconds to devour. The soft fluffy interior contrasts beautifully against the crisp sugary crust, while the toasted pecans add a wholesome taste to the light golden treats. Trust me… They’re irresistible!
Ready to start baking?
These scones are incredibly soft and moist with a delightfully crisp crust. Don’t skip the maple extract—it adds a lot of flavor without excess calories or sugar! They’re best if served the day they’re made, but they’ll keep in an airtight container for a few days.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with two knives or the back of a fork. Mix in the yogurt, maple syrup, 5 teaspoons of milk, and maple extract. Divide the dough into 8 balls, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Flatten each ball to about 1” tall. Brush with the remaining 1 teaspoon of milk, and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Gently press the pecans into the tops. Bake at 425°F for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Maple has to be one of my favorite flavors in a breakfast pastry. Maple donuts, maple scones, maple syrup atop a pile of pancakes… Ina garten has a killer maple scone recipe that I actually blogged a long time ago- and they are delicious, but they come with a huge side of guilt for sure! Maybe next time I have a scone craving, I’ll go for these instead… And skip the guilt! 😉
I actually remember those scones!! They looked superb and I wanted to grab one off the screen. 🙂 Didn’t you make something strawberry-related by her too? And these scones totally made our entire house smell like pancakes. Absolutely amazing! (Since I made 3 batches to get them right, our house will probably stay that way for days…)
These look delicious! Thanks for sharing =)
Thanks Jett; it’s my pleasure!
You are so right about the tons of butter and fattening stuff in the scones in coffee shops and such. They are good but I never can justify myself in buying one because of the calories. 🙂 Your recipe is just what I’ve been looking for! And I love using Greek Yogurt when baking! 🙂
I can’t justify buying scones for breakfast or snacks anymore either, but if one looks much too tempting in the display case, I’ll purchase it and save it all day long until after dinner as my dessert for the day. If I don’t have the willpower, I can’t buy the scone! 😉
I told my husband about you and your dad’s baseball stadium thing and he’s jealous he’s not your dad’s kid, lol. 🙂
Love the scones!
Thanks Dorothy! It’d be fun to have someone else tag along, and it’d give us a fantastic excuse to go to all of the previous 21 stadiums again! 😉 Is Mel an A’s or Giants fan (or another team)?
Giants! He used to be super into baseball when I met him, had season tickets and all that. Now he’s more into football, but he still has a soft spot for the Giants, San Diego, and AZ (all places he/we’ve lived). 🙂
Season tickets?? I’m SO jealous! My dream is to own season tickets for a baseball team (and hockey too, seeing as that’s my guy’s favorite sport). That’s too funny about San Diego and Arizona — we have family in both places, so we have soft spots for those teams too! Sounds like we’d get along really well at a ballgame. Maybe next summer we should take a vacation day from blogging and head out to one with Mel, Jordan and my dad! 🙂
Greek yoghurt scones? Genius! Love the fact that these are full of mapley, nutty goodness but they’re still pretty darn good for you! I’ve never heard of maple extract. I’ll have to do some hunting for it. Btw, I cannot believe how perfectly spaced those bits of pecan on the scone are. Whaaat? I am never that neat! Happy new year Amy!x
I’ve been a perfectionist ever since I was about 2 years old. That’s the only reason the pecans turned out the way they did, and it’s also why it takes me forever to bake cookies. I have to make sure the chocolate chips on top are spaced evenly too! My local grocery store carries maple extract, as does Walmart (although I’m not sure if you have those where you live). I used to add maple extract to my homemade granola to really amplify the flavor too; it’s wonderful!
I can’t believe there are only 2 tablespoons of butter in here! They look just like the real thing! I love scones, but I always wish they were lighter because I really can’t stop eating them! Looks like you solved the problem, these look great!
Thanks Cate! I suffer the same problem with scones… Well, anything sweet really. 😉 So anything I can do to lighten them up helps immensely!
I rarely eat scones because they’re so fattening, but I love how you’ve lightened them up. I love maple anything. 🙂
Thanks Tina! I’m the same way; I treat scones as “dessert” more than breakfast. It’s great to be able to indulge without feeling guilty after eating one!