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Want more healthy breakfast ideas? Try this healthy maple scones recipe! Even with no egg & no heavy cream, these easy scones are so soft & moist inside. These breakfast scones are lightly sweetened with maple syrup (no sugar!) & ready in 30 minutes! They also have a protein boost from Greek yogurt. Clean eating with gluten free options & great for healthy snacks! Put them on your list of baking recipes to try. They’re the BEST homemade scones!

Healthy Maple Scones

© Amy's Healthy Baking
Yields: 8 scones
Cook Time: 25 minutes
These homemade bakery-style scones are lightly sweetened with cozy maple flavor filling every bite. They’re soft and moist on the inside with a hint of a crust on the outside and can be topped with an optional maple glaze. Simple enough for a weekday breakfast treat – and delicious for weekend brunches too! Unglazed leftovers will keep for at least four or five days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
5 from 4 votes
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Ingredients 

  • 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed (see Notes!)
  • ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (55mL) nonfat milk, divided
  • 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) maple extract
  • optional: maple glaze, for serving (see Notes!)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter (highly recommended!) or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Pour in the Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons of milk, maple syrup, and maple extract. Stir them together, then gradually stir in the surrounding flour mixture until just incorporated.
  • Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife (but don’t separate them!). Bake at 425°F for 23-27 minutes, or until the tops are deep golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, separate and top with the maple glaze, if using.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's really important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much will dry out your scones and make the dough crumbly.
 
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not separate the 8 dough wedges before baking in Step 3. Instead, leave them touching on the baking sheet! This helps make the insides really moist, soft, and fluffy.
 
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE – READ BEOFRE BEGINNING: As written, these scones aren’t overly sweet. If you prefer sweeter scones, substitute an additional 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup for an equal amount of milk in the dough. (For example, use 4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and reduce the milk in the dough to 2 tablespoons.)
 
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
 
BUTTER NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: It’s very important that your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. (Freezing it isn’t necessary for this recipe!) With very cold butter, it won’t heat up until you put the scones in the extremely hot oven, and it will create little air pockets and a very tender crumb when it melts.
 
For this reason, I don’t recommend substituting coconut oil. It melts at a lower temperature, which affects the texture of your scones. (See the “cold unsalted butter” header in my blog post above for more information!) If you do decide to substitute coconut oil, just keep that in mind!
 
For a dairy-free or vegan version, use stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) in place of the unsalted butter for the best results.
 
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
 
PURE MAPLE SYRUP NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Pure maple syrup is the kind that comes directly from maple trees. It’s usually sold in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this). It only includes one ingredient: maple syrup. (In contrast, pancake syrup is maple-flavored syrup that’s often made from corn syrup or sugar and natural maple flavor, along with other ingredients.)
 
In other recipes, I’d say that honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup… But that seems silly to include here, given that these are supposed to be maple scones! However, it’s still true; honey and agave will work in place of the pure maple syrup, if you’d like to substitute them for any reason.
 
I don’t recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. Those are often water-based, which affects the scones’ texture. They usually turn out denser and collapse some while cooling.
 
MAPLE EXTRACT NOTE: I do not recommend substituting anything for this! It adds a big boost of maple flavor, so your scones will taste rather plain without it. Maple extract is usually sold on the baking aisle right next to the regular vanilla extract. I generally use McCormick and Watkins.
 
EGG-FREE OPTION: No modifications necessary!
 
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I really like this one from Bob's Red Mill!) will work as well, if they’re measured like this.
 
DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN OPTION: Use stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) in place of the butter, your preferred non-dairy yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based), and non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk.
 
OPTIONAL MAPLE GLAZE: In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon (15g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt and 2-3 teaspoons pure maple syrup (depending on how thick or thin you prefer your glaze). Drizzle on top of the fully cooled scones just before serving.
 
HOW TO STORE: Store your scones in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for at least four or five days, if not longer. (It’s best to store the scones and glaze separate, if possible!)
 
I highly recommend reheating leftover unglazed scones in the microwave before eating! It really improves their texture and makes them soft and fluffy again! I heat them on 30% power until they’re warmed all the way through.
 
The unglazed scones also freeze really well!
 
{gluten-free, egg-free, clean eating, low fat, dairy-free option, vegan option}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.