Maple Oatmeal Scones

I'm often struck by the irony of watching the Food Network while I work out at the gym, but that's about the only time I catch any food shows these days. The other day I was on the elliptical salivating over these scones that Ina Garten was making. And, she made it look so easy! I don't think I've ever made scones from scratch before and I went right out to get the ingredients. It was one of my spring break plans to bake these (you have to aim high and be productive on time off, right?) and this morning I did.

I'll start by saying that they taste good - a little more dense than I had hoped but moist and flavorful. They're not the best homemade scones I've ever had (my friend Vanessa makes awesome scones) and they don't compete with my favorite store bought scones (Il Fornaio or Euro Pane), but they came out of my oven all warm this morning.

When Ina turned out her dough, she could cut it with a biscuit cutter. My dough was a soupy, wet mess. I double checked the ingredients and my work and I'm pretty positive I had the right amounts of stuff. I formed it into a big rectangle on my baking sheet and scored the scones and then cut them when they had cooled a little bit. The maple glaze was awesome - if you try these, don't skip that part.



I'm having a little trouble getting over the ONE POUND of butter in the recipe and the yield was way too much for us . . . if you live nearby, stop by and have one. I'd halve the recipe next time.

Maple Oatmeal Scones (makes 14 large scones)
From Ina Garten / Food Network

Ingredients:

For the Scones
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water, for egg wash

For the Glaze
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend the cold butter in at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4 to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.