Maple Syrup Scones

Whole Foods had a 2-for-1 deal on whole grain pastry flour and I needed pastry flour for a pie crust recipe. I'm a sucker and got the deal and would never recommend using whole grain pastry flour for a sweet pie. My roommate's doing is part by trying to get rid of it. He made these scones and added strawberries to the mix.

Ingredients

1/4 cup real, good quality maple syrup
6 tablespoons milk or cream
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (or rolled oats)
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
large-grain sugar (for example: turbinado)

9 scones

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees, rack in the top 1/3. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the maple syrup and milk in a small cup, and set aside. Combine the flour, quinoa/oats, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Using a food processor, cut the butter into the flour mixture, pulsing until it resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). You can also cut the butter into the flour using a knife and fork, or smushing it through your thumb and fingertips. Now add the maple syrup milk. Pulse (or mix) until the dough just comes together - don't over mix. If the batter is too dry add more cream a bit at a time -you want it to hold together w/o being crumbly.

Turn out onto a floured surface, kneed once or twice, just enough to bring the dough together. Now arrange the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle (see photo). Trim the edges and slice the dough into nine equal-sized squares. Arrange the scones next to one another on the prepared baking sheet - 1/4-inch distance between each of them. Brush generously with the egg wash and sprinkle with the large-grain sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden along the bottom and tops.

45 min