What a heck of a week it's been! Seriously, could we cram anything more into 5 days?!! Airport pickups and drop-offs, hockey tournaments, galas, a video shoot and somebody's senior prom tonight--seriously, it's time to stop, take a breath, kick back and bite into one of these wonderful Oatmeal Maple Scones and focus on Joanne Chang, the versatile baker, bakery/cafe owner of Flour and author of Flour and Flour,Too and subject of today's Famous Fridays!

Flour is one of my new favorite baking cookbooks (it came out in 2010 but as usual, I'm a little late getting to the party). It's filled with wonderful breakfast pastries, breads, cakes, cookies and other sweets, all with a slant towards homestyle cooking. Everything I've made from the book is flat out fantastic and clearly explained and I can't wait to get my hands on Flour, Too which focuses more on Joanne's cafe menu, you know, soups, salads, sandwiches. If you read my blog regularly you probably know that I like to try the first recipe in the book of any new cookbook I pick up (the theory being that people put their best first) but in this case I would have gone with these oatmeal maple scones anyway because they're one of my mom's favorite treats. For years she got something similar at Starbucks and then they discontinued them. When I saw the recipe for these, I just had to make them!

These scones are everything you hope they'll be--crumbly, light, a little buttery and full of the wonderful flavors of oatmeal, maple syrup, toasted pecans and sweet golden raisins, all covered with a delectable maple glaze. And believe it or not, they're not difficult to make. You go from mixing up the batter to dropping them onto the cookie sheet like this in only 10-12 minutes or so, which makes them a perfect weekend or holiday treat--special, but without too much time or fuss!

Once they've baked, you let them cool for a while and then brush them with the very easy-to-make maple glaze. So yummy!

And according to my mom, better than Starbucks! So, brew yourself a hot cup of tea and make these wonderful creations from Flour this weekend. C'mon, don't we all deserve even a few measly minutes of downtime? Ok, enough griping--have a great weekend everyone!

Flour's Oatmeal Maple Scones-Famous Fridays

Makes 8 Scones

Prep Time:  10-12 minutes; Bake Time:  40 minutes:  Cooling and Icing Time:  40 minutes (only a few of those are active, though)

Ingredients

For the Scones

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (don't use instant or quick cooking)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 8-10 pieces
• 1/2 cup cold heavy cream
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 egg, cold

For the Maple Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1-2 tablespoons water

The Recipe

1.  Make sure rack is in center of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2.  If you have an stand electric mixer, attach the paddle, otherwise just use a regular handheld mixer. In a large bowl, on low speed, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt, pecans and raisins for 10-15 seconds or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top and beat the mixture on low speed for half a minute or so until the butter begins to break down a bit.

3.  Whisk together the cream, maple syrup and egg in a small bowl until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and beat for 20-30 seconds or just until the dough begins to come together. The dough will seem pretty wet still.

4.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure that all of the dry mixture is incorporated into the dough. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, drop rounded cupfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart. You should be able to make 8.  (in the book, Joanne says that at this point you can wrap the scones tightly in plastic wrap, freeze them for up to a week and bake them frozen, tacking on 5-10 more minutes to the usual baking time. I didn't try it, but I bet it would work well)

5.  Bake scones for about 40 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. While scones are cooling you can make the maple glaze.

6.  To make the maple glaze:  In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of the water together. If glaze seems too thick to pour, add the second tablespoon of water until the right consistency is achieved.  Now brush cooled scones evenly with the glaze, let sit for another 10-15 minutes and serve. These taste best on the day you make them but are still pretty good for about 2 more days stored airtight at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Flour by Joanne Chang.