Seasonal baked goods are worth a cheat meal.
As if I need an excuse…
When a friend brought me figs from her dad’s yard, I knew exactly what I was going to do with them.
You could use dried figs to make these scones, but why? The juicy sweet fruit-candy is plentiful right now.
This recipe for fig-laced scones is one of my all-time favorites. I make a batch once a year when figs are in season… it’s self-preservation, really. If I make them, I eat them.
Over time I have lightened the recipe up a tad, but not to the detriment of taste or texture.
These are not your typical dried out coffee shop scones. They are quite moist, flaky, and full of rich figgy flavor. These free-form scones could masquerade as a muffin top in a pinch.
To sweeten these I used some “real” sugar, but also incorporated a NuNaturals Stevia blend. Using a mix rather than replacing all of the real thing avoids any problem of aftertaste.
Maple extract is another great addition – you can achieve that rich maple flavor without having to add sugary syrup. If you don’t have maple extract, try adding a vanilla or almond extract.
If you make these now, you’ll have them ready to eat while you cheer on the 4th of July race-runners. Or to inhale after YOU run your own race. I’ll be cheerleading for the world’s largest 10K with one of these and a cup of coffee in hand. Stupid knee injury.
[Tweet “These Fig Scones are 100x better than anything in a coffee shop!”]
Fluffy Fig Scones
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Keywords: bake breakfast brunch snack figs spring summer
Ingredients (14 scones)
- 4 1/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/4 C NuNaturals Fiber Baking Blend (or more regular sugar)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 stick (1/2 C) salted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 pound fresh figs (~6 large)
- 1 C buttermilk (I made mine with just under 1C almond milk and 1T lemon juice)
- 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 C unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 T cream
- Palm (or raw) sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter until you have pea-sized pieces. I find it’s easiest to just use my (clean) hands to do this.
Once combined, dice up your figs into 1 inch pieces and toss them in with the dry ingredients/butter mix.
Add milk, cream applesauce, and extract and briefly stir, just enough to bring the batter together. Do NOT over-mix.
the batter is moist, so I just make these free-form scones. Scoop ~1/4 C blob of the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Mix together your egg yolk and cream to form a wash. Lightly brush the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
***
Totally off subject, but I laughed so hard when a friend posted this on Facebook that I have to share:
“NBC Gymnastics Trials Announcer: ‘This young lady has certainly turned into quite the confident beam-worker.’
If I said that about a 14 year-old girl, I’d be arrested.”
What are your plans for the 4th? Any race-runners?
What is your favorite scone flavor?
My brother is a huge fan of figs.. and I bet you that he would really like this recipe! Looks great!
4th – we are just laying low – having some friends up on the 5th though!
You should make him scones! 🙂
Happy 4th!!
And I can attest that these are GOOD! 😉
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed them! Thanks for the stamp of approval.
MMM… these look so good. I agree that scones can get a bad wrap, but these look amazing. That stinks about your knee, but spectating with a cup of coffee sounds like a great idea to me!
This is the first year in 6 years that I’m not running it. I’m okay with that though. Too hot!!
So funny this is the second recipe with figs I saw today , I have actually never had a fig before.
You have to try them! They’re even good just plain atop some Greek yogurt. 100x better than the dried ones.
I’m such a sucker for scones — and figs! These look awesome; wish I’d had one with the coffee I just finished…
LOVE figs! I keep eyeing the gorgeous fresh figs at the market but I haven’t had any ideas for what to do with them other than shove them in my face directly. I may need to try this recipe just so I can have an excuse to buy them!
You have to buy them while you can! Carol told me you can even freeze them for later use in baking.
I have a fig tree in my yard, but none of the figs are ripe yet.
These look amazing though… I’ll have to keep this in mind when those babies ripen up!
I wish I were running the peachtree road race, I didn’t think I would be here for the 4th.
Have fun!
YUM. Scones. I occasionally make biscuits, but I don’t make them clean. I definitely use bacon grease and potato flour, but I make one or two.
Bacon grease biscuits = brilliant.
You can have your cake/scone and eat it too! Especially with all your weights! Booyah!
I never thought of baking figs into scones, but that does sound yummy. If you talk to any Brit they will inform you that scones should NOT be dry and crumbly. I never liked coffee shop scones but the “real” flaky ones are so wonderful.
Those Brits… ever the authority on things that go with tea. 😉
Yummy!!!! Ahhh I still need to meet up with you… Sorry I’ve been flaky! Are they all going to be gone? PS Where will you be with the Peachtree? I’m in corral G and will be looking for you wherever you are!
No worries! I put on in the freezer for you. 🙂
Not sure yet about cheering position… I’ll watch for you!
I really like figs, but I’ve never made anything with them. I’m a sucker for fig crustinis and flatbreads though!
These look delicious, we love scones and ADORE figs! Fresh figs are hard to find around here, but we will certainly have to track them down- you’ve given us such a craving! 😉
P.s. we totally know how you feel about not being able to race! We’ve both missed out on entire seasons because of the same knee injury you have, but we promise you that the best thing you can do is rest it! “Runner’s Knee” aka patella femoral syndrome is a slow-healing injury. But if you work on strengthening your butt, stretching and giving it the proper rest, it WILL go away! 🙂
Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Mine is actually an ACL thing, but I’ve had runner’s knee before in the other knee and you are right – rest is the only cure.
Oh my gosh these look amazing! I haven’t seen any fresh figs around here yet. I need them though…I need to make these! You are good to be cheering for the Peachtree runners. It’s so miserable out there. I may try to run next year…may.
You should! I love to do it – the people watching is worth the entry fee. 🙂
These are amazing- I bet they taste fab with the figs!
Laura, these look amazing! Love the addition of maple flavor.
I am going to have to recreate these in a vegan-friendly form – I was very jealous!! This must be to get even for not making the maple bacon donuts early enough to share with you, right?! 😉
Haha – I actually thought about tweeting you that. 🙂
Mmmm! Scones are the best. I’ll be cheering on the PRR runners too! I bought a vuvuzela so my hands don’t get raw from clapping for 4 hours this year…
I have vuvuzela envy! 🙂
Where will you guys be? Would love to see you!
Looks awesome! Yeah scones kind of need to be the real deal.
I have never had a fresh fig. These scones look really tasty!
I do hope you try one soon – it’s night-and-day from the dried version.
I will have to take a trip to find really fresh ones! 🙂
Oh yeah! Figs? Scones? Mmmm!
I have never had a fig! Now I want to try them!
I’m so surprised at how many people haven’t! We have tons of fig trees down here!
I love scones with fruit and have never had one with figs. Girlll! I wish you were raffling off some of them. 🙂
I’ll send you a batch any time!!
I adore figs – I could eat an entire package plain! I’ve never had fresh ones though, and I’m sure they would be amazing too. These scones look, like all of your recipes, amazing!
Add that to the list of things to eat when you come visit! 🙂
anything with figs is a winner in my book! love them!
favorite scone that I have had has been cranberry orange 🙂 but I would take this fig one any day!
Cranberry orange is a great flavor too. That makes me think of cookies! 🙂
Fluffy indeed! I love the idea of fig scones, never tried its now an absolute must! 🙂
Figs in scones is a new one for me but definitely not to be forgotten – they look stunning 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I love scones so much! One of my all time favorites and I agree, I hate when they are sold in coffee shops and are hard and stale. Yours look so beautiful, fluffy, and delicious!
Hahaha at your friend!! Also your scones look great, I made some plain ones the other day and they were delish! Would have been soooo much better with figs though! Ooh or maybe dates?? Gahh I wish I could bake more often! :/
Or how about fresh plums??? YUM! I wish I could taste your scones. They must be better coming from the UK. 🙂
ha, i think we both had figs on the mind this week! can’t get enough! dang, i should make these next with them!
How come I didn’t win the giveaway? Was I not gluttonous enough?
i am such a sucker for scones. they are my favorite (that and banana bread). do you think i can substitute other flours, such as almond or coconut?
I’m not sure about that… scones can be temperamental. I’d try subbing in for half the flour first and them gong from there. Watch the liquid with the coconut flour – you often will need to add a little more. Let me know how it turns out!