Healthy Pecan Scones
These breakfast scones are really soft and moist inside, with an added crunch from the nuts nestled inside of the dough and pressed into the tops. They’re lightly sweetened, and they use a special (but common!) ingredient to achieve a classic bakery-style flavor. Leftover scones will keep for at least four or five days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They freeze well too!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (55mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 3 tbsp (42g) diced pecans, divided
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. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of milk, and almond extract. Fold in 2 tablespoons of diced pecans.
- 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!). Press the remaining diced pecans into the tops.
- 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.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) 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 TASTE NOTE – READ BEFORE 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 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.
SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup. I don’t recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. It's often water-based, which affects the scones’ texture. They usually turn out denser and collapse some while cooling.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
ALMOND EXTRACT NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: Almond extract makes these scones taste a bit sweeter, and it also gives them their “bakery-style” flavor. If you don’t have any, vanilla extract may be substituted for the almond extract.
PECANS NOTES: I like to chop the pecans so they’re in between the size of miniature and regular-sized chocolate chips to ensure every bite contains a nut morsel or two. Use them straight from the bag (don’t toast them first!), and wait to press them into the tops of the scones until after you’ve brushed the dough with milk. Both of these things help prevent the pecans on top from burning.
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 dairy-free yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based), and dairy-free milk in place of the nonfat milk.
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.
I highly recommend reheating leftover scones in the microwave before eating them! 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.
These 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.