Butterscotch Pecan Scones
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Meet your morning coffee’s new best friend—flaky, buttery scones with toasty pecans and pockets of melted butterscotch.
My dear friend Betsy Goldstein recently told me about the most amazing scones she enjoyed while on a weekend getaway at The Salamander Resort in Middleburg, VA. In raving about the scones (the caramelized bottoms! the butterscotch! the toasted pecans!), Betsy admitted to having brought one home for me to taste, only to have succumbed to temptation before having the chance to give it to me. So, being me, I trekked an hour out to Middleburg to hunt down the scones.
I’m happy to report that they lived up to the hype, and I was able to create a copycat version by making a few tweaks to my favorite chocolate chip scone recipe. The scones are tender, sweet, and rich—almost like giant cookies. Make them for brunch or wrap them up for friends, neighbors and teachers over the holidays.
“Made these with a friend this afternoon and had them with tea. They are absolutely delectable and the kitchen smelled like caramel and butterscotch.”
What You’ll Need To Make Butterscotch Pecan Scones
- Cake flour & baking powder: Form the base of the scones. Cake flour creates a soft, tender texture, while baking powder helps them rise light and fluffy. (No cake flour? See the recipe card for a simple substitute using all-purpose flour and cornstarch.)
- Butter, cream & egg: Add richness, moisture, and structure, creating tender, flavorful scones with a delicate crumb.
- Brown sugar & vanilla: Lend sweetness and warm, caramel-like flavor that perfectly complements the butterscotch chips.
- Butterscotch chips & pecans: Add pockets of buttery sweetness and nutty crunch in every bite.
- Demerara sugar: Sprinkled on top before baking for a caramelized, bakery-style crunch.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Toast the pecans. Place the pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast in a 400°F-oven until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Let them cool, then coarsely chop them and set aside.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar.
Step 4: Add the butter and blend it in. Be sure the butter is cold—this is key to creating little pockets of steam that make the scones light and flaky.
Use your fingertips to rub the butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized clumps of butter within.
Step 5: Add the mix-ins. Stir in the butterscotch chips and pecans.
Step 6: Combine everything. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the cream mixture.
Use a rubber spatula to mix until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky, almost like chocolate chip cookie dough. If it seems dry, add a bit more cream little by little (no more than 2 tablespoons should be necessary).
Step 7: Form the scones. Dust a clean, dry work surface with flour, and place the sticky dough on top. Dust the top of the dough with a little flour. Knead gently a few times until dough comes together into a ball. (Sprinkle lightly with more flour as needed so that the dough doesn’t stick.)
Press the dough into a circle about an inch high, then cut into 8 wedges.
Step 8: Prep for baking. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart, and then sprinkle each one with Demerara sugar.
Step 9: Bake and cool. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Butterscotch Pecan Scones
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup pecans
- ½ cup heavy cream, plus more if necessary
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (see note on substitution)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (13-mm) pieces
- ⅔ cup butterscotch chips, best quality such as Guittard
- Demerara sugar (also called raw sugar or turbinado), for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Slide the parchment off of the hot baking sheet and let the pecans cool on the countertop. When the pecans are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop them and set aside. Place the parchment back on the baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and brown sugar (use your fingers to rub the brown sugar into the mixture until no lumps remain). Add the pieces of butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized clumps of butter within. Stir in the butterscotch chips and pecans. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the cream mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky, almost like chocolate chip cookie dough. If it seems dry, add more cream little by little (no more than 2 tablespoons should be necessary).
- Dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the sticky dough on top and dust the top of the dough with a little flour as well. Knead gently a few times until the dough comes together into a ball. (Sprinkle lightly with more flour as needed so that the dough doesn't stick.)
- Press the dough into a circle about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high, then cut into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart, and then sprinkle each one with about ½ teaspoon of Demerara sugar. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The scones are best enjoyed fresh on the day they are made, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Notes
- If you don't have cake flour, you can make your own: simply whisk together 1¾ cups (228 g) all-purpose flour and ¼ cup (35 g) cornstarch.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: To freeze the dough, arrange the unbaked scones on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm. Transfer the frozen wedges to a resealable plastic bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes to the bake time. To freeze after baking, let the baked scones cool completely, then store them in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or foil. Before serving, remove the scones from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I previously commented that I was going to make these as soon as I purchased cake flour! Well, I did purchase, and I did make them and I was blown away! So easy, so delicious, and yes, they were sweet with the butterscotch chips, but the toasted pecans offset that. The flavor and light bite, topped with the texture of the nuts, chips, and turbinado sugar sprinkled on top just was perfect. Such an easy recipe, with an impressively delicious result. This is a mainstay in my baking now.
HI. I would like to make these a few days ahead. I am on vacation, in a rental unit that has a very tiny freezer, so it would be hard to freeze the dough in triangles as you suggested. Any ideas as to the best way to bake these a few days ahead in this situation? Thanks!
Hi Jane, While these are best on the day that they’re baked, they will last for up to 3 days in an airtight container, so you could go that route. You can also bake and freeze them. Just thaw them on the counter for about 12 hours before serving. Hope that helps!
Delicious! Even my son who says he doesn’t like nuts was raving. I baked half with dinner and then refrigerated and baked the rest in the morning for coffee with a friend. Worked great, thank you!
Hi I want to try these, what is cake flour? Never heard of it. I’m in Ireland. I also have never seen butterscotch chips. anyways I’m going to give these a go. I love trying different things. laura
Hi Laura, you can make your own cake flour by combining 1-3/4 cup All-Purpose flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch. I’ve made the scones this way and while they aren’t quite as light and tender as they are with cake flour, they are still very good. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Made these with a friend this afternoon and had them with tea. They are absolutely delectable and the kitchen smelled like caramel and butterscotch.
I will definitely bake them again.
Jenn, I would love to make these scones, however, I live at high altitude, where the use of cake flower is not advised. Will there be a significant difference in the scones if I use all purpose flour, or half all purpose and half cake flour?
Thanks
Hi Maria, I think half and half will be fine. 🙂
My husband absolutely loved these scones. I would like to experiment with dried cherries instead of butterscotch. Do I need to add more sugar to offset the sweetness of butterscotch? If so, brown or granulated sugar?
So glad he enjoyed them, Anna! I would increase the brown sugar to 4 tablespoons. Please let me know how they turn out!
These look great!
Do you have a food processor adaptation of these, or can I just use the same dry then wet used in your pumpkin scone version?
I’ve tried so many other scone recipes, and I don’t know if it’s my technique or my Florida weather, but I’ve never been able to successfully cut the butter by hand or with dough cutter/fork into the dry ingredients (recipes always came out heavy, and butter was melting rather than breaking up), until your pumpkin scone recipe (which was PERFECT), and easy.
Sure, Rachel, using a food processor is fine. I just decided against that for this recipe because of the pecans and butterscotch morsels that get added. You can definitely use the technique from the pumpkin scone recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, These scones are just delicious! Because I’ve made your chocolate chip scones (also, no surprise, amazing!), I thought I’d try to shape this dough to make smaller ones. I shaped the dough into a square, still with the one inch thickness. I cut the square into 4ths, and each 4th into 4 triangles. I baked half of the scones for 14 min, but I think I’ll go 12-13 next time. I froze the other half of the unbaked scones, so all set for a nice quick treat another time. Thanks, Jenn, for another wonderful recipe!
Just made these tonight and they are AMAZING! Even my picky eater, chocolate lover husband tried it and gave it a thumbs up. I gave him a piece of my scone and he was hesitant to try it because it wasn’t chocolate. LOL After he took a bite he asked if I had anymore. YAY! I gave him his very own scone. : ) I’ll be making these again.