Maple Oat Nut Scones

1.

For the scones: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, ground oats, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add the butter pieces and use a pastry cutter to work the butter and dry ingredients together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Whisk together the cream, maple extract and egg in a small bowl. Pour into the flour mixture, stirring gently until it all comes together. (The mixture will not come together in one cohesive ball; it should be in a few large clumps with some crumbs in the bowl.) If it is overly crumbly and will not come together at all, add a couple of tablespoons of extra cream and work it in.

Turn the dough out onto a cutting board or floured surface and use your hands to press it into a 6- to 8-inch circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges (or you can cut into smaller wedges to get more).

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake until poufy and set and just barely golden, 20 to 24 minutes. (They shouldn’t have much color on them at all.) Allow to cool completely.

For the icing: Combine the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee and maple extract in a large bowl. Make sure the icing’s thick but still pourable.

Drizzle a very generous amount of the icing onto each scone, then sprinkle on a few more chopped pecans. Allow the icing to set completely, then serve.

The scones will keep nice and fresh for days in a plastic zipper bag.