Maple Bacon Scones

Bacon sizzling on the stove.

Pancakes hissing on the griddle.

Gently warmed maple syrup.

Eggs, ready to scramble...

Ah, a multi-tasker's dream!

But what if you're NOT one of those bright-eyed sorts who leaps out of bed at 5 a.m., ready and eager to tackle another day? What if weekend breakfasts leave you cold - with dread?

You're the worst pancake-maker ever. You burn the bacon every time  – to say nothing of spattering the stovetop, and a 12” radius of countertop, with sticky bacon grease.

Perfectly scrambled eggs? Forget it. The pan's too hot; the pan's too cold. And besides, you've run out of patience.

Where's Cap'n Crunch when you really need him?!

But wait - so what if you're not the best breakfast cook in the world? Step away from the stove. Get out your mixing bowl. And whip up a batch of these Maple Bacon Scones, the easy solution to one of those “gotta have pancakes and bacon” mornings.

Love maple? Here are a couple of tasty ingredients: Vermont maple sugar, and maple flavor.

Next prepare the breakfast meat of your choice. Whatever you use, make sure it's cooked.

A half pound of maple-cured ham is a good choice. And it's easy to dice it with a pair of scissors.

You want pieces about 1/4” to 1/2” wide.

How about a pound of maple-smoked bacon?

Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet...

...and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, till golden brown. No standing over a hot stove being spattered with bacon grease!

Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Carefully pick up the parchment, and discard. Your baking sheet will need only a quick wash in soapy water to remove the small amount of grease that escaped the parchment. No scrubbing; no fuss.

Put the following in a mixing bowl:

3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar or maple sugar (29g)

Add 8 tablespoons (113g) cold butter, cut in pats.

Work the butter in till the mixture is unevenly crumbly.

Combine the following:

1 large egg
1/2 cup (113g) cold milk
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor, optional

Whisk till well combined.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture.

Add 2 cups (227g) diced cooked bacon or ham. That would be 1/2 pound of ham, or 1 pound of bacon, cooked.

Mix just till everything is evenly moistened.

Does this look evenly moistened? No.

Ah, there we go!

Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment or a lightly floured or lightly greased work surface.

If the dough seems fairly stiff, grease your work surface. If it's REALLY sticky, use flour. This dough wasn't at all sticky, so I sprayed my rolling mat with Everbake.

Roll or pat the dough into a 9” square.

For the best-looking scones, try to make the square fairly straight-edged.

GENTLY cut it into nine 3” squares. If you're using a rolling mat, don't bear down; you don't want to cut into your mat.

Cut each square diagonally to make two triangles.

You'll have 18 triangles.

Place the scones on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes.

While the scones are chilling, preheat your oven to 425°F.

Brush the chilled scones with milk or cream...

...and sprinkle with additional maple sugar, about 2 tablespoons (20g) total.

Is your oven up to temperature?

In they go.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, till scones are a medium golden brown.

Like this.

Remove from the oven, and let them cool briefly on the pan.

Serve in all their simple glory, with scrambled eggs, if desired.

Or gild with maple syrup. Or maple butter.

Now THAT is tasty!

Read, rate, and review (please) our recipe for Maple Bacon Scones.