Maple Pecan Pull-Apart Scones.

Monkey bread + scones + the sweet, buttery, maple deliciousness of pancakes = 

These. 

Maple pecan pull-apart scones.

Swoon.

I made these for Mother's Day since my mom likes anything I make scones and maple and the pull-apart fun of monkey bread. 

And also because I love her and she's the best mom in the world. 

On the outside the scones are crisp and flaky, with a sugary crust and a rich, melt-in-your-mouth maple icing, but on the inside they're as light and tender as a buttery biscuit, full of pecans and maple flavor, but not so much that it's overpowering or super sweet. 

If there's such a thing as a maple pancake scone, then that's what these taste like. Even my dad loved these... and I'm pretty sure I've never seen him eat a scone. 

Ever. 

Maybe it has something to do with this icing?

Either way, they're fast, fun, and easy to throw together, they bake up quickly, and warm from the oven with a spoonful of icing will make any morning a little more special, whether it's a Mother's Day or Monday. 

Bake them? Please?

Maple Pecan Pull-Apart Scones

Printable Recipe

Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 heavy whipping cream
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/4 cup sugar

Maple Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
2 to 3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with no-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 3/4 cup chopped pecans.

Combine whipping cream, egg yolks, and 1 teaspoon maple flavoring in small bowl; beat with wire whisk until well mixed. Pour whipping cream mixture into flour mixture; stir until a moist dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; gently knead 10 times or until smooth.

Place sugar in small bowl. Roll dough into 48 (1-inch) balls. Roll each ball of dough in sugar. Place 3 balls of dough into bottom of each muffin cup...

... and top with another ball ball of dough.

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan 2 minutes. Remove from pan; place onto cooling rack.

To make the maple glaze, combine powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon maple flavoring, and enough milk for desired glaze consistency (I used a little more than 3 teaspoons) in a small bowl until well mixed. Drizzle glaze over warm scones.

Makes 12 scones.

Source: Land O' Lakes Recipe Collection: Harvest Baking Magazine.

Cinnamon Pinwheels with Maple-Coffee Icing.

Fun fact: I don't really like cinnamon rolls. Don't even get me started on sticky buns. Nuts in my pastries? That's almost as bad as nuts in my cookies.

But if I could only eat one thing for breakfast for the rest of my life, it would be these.

Unless eating peanut butter straight out of the jar counts as breakfast. And I totally think it should.

Either way, cinnamon pinwheels are one of my most favorite things to make for special occasions.

Like Easter. Or Tuesdays. Or (once) for dinner.

They're quick to put together, there's no yeast or waiting around for dough to rise, and in about fifteen minutes, you can have a piping hot pan of buttery, tender, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits bursting with rich swirls of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, with a crunchy layer of cinnamon and brown sugar baked right onto the bottom.

But they need something else, don't you think?

That's what I thought.

I've eaten entire batches made these at least twenty-seven times and I've never once thought of putting an icing on top. Adding more sugar to something so good just seemed kind of wrong. 

Pfft. It was the best decision I've ever made. 

And this isn't just any icing... it's an over-the-top, change-your-life sort of icing. Maple-coffee icing, the same one used on Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls (which I still need to make), and it tastes exactly like the glaze on a maple bar doughnut.

Please make them. And if nothing else... make this icing. Pour it on your eggs. Drizzle it on your pancakes. Stir it into your coffee. Make a smoothie or lick it off a spoon. You won't regret it.

Cinnamon Pinwheels with Maple-Coffee Icing

Printable Recipe

Pinwheels
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Maple-Coffee Icing
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
A pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1 tablespoon strongly brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper liners and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Mix Bisquick and milk together with a wooden spoon until dough comes together, then turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 3-4 minutes.

Roll dough into a large rectangle, 1/4-inch thick, and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the brown sugar mixture over the dough; sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup well.

Roll dough, jelly roll fashion, tucking in the ends so that the brown sugar stays inside; slice into 12 biscuits. Place cut-side down in muffin cups on top of the brown sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Turn out of the pan onto waxed paper immediately.

For the icing, mix together all the ingredients with a whisk until icing comes together. It should be thick, but too thick to pour. Depending on the consistency you want, you may want to add a tablespoon more or less of powdered sugar. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls and serve warm.

Makes 12 pinwheels.

Source: Cinnamon Pinwheels from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking. Maple-Coffee Icing from The Pioneer Woman.