Good morning, friends! Today I’m kicking off something I’ve had swirling around in my head for a couple of years and I’m so excited to finally do it! Each month I’m going to feature a new scone recipe paired with a seasonal tea suited for that particular month. It’ll be our own little “tea and scone of the month club” and I hope you’ll join me in trying these recipes and tea blends!
I know this month is almost over, but I’m going ahead and squeaking in a September teatime post because my daughter and I had a lovely tea with friends last weekend, and I tried a new recipe that was delicious and a perfect welcome to fall. If you’re not able to try this September pairing before this sweet month comes to a close, no worries, this duo can be enjoyed throughout the entire fall season.
Our little gathering this past Sunday afternoon with my friend Missy and our daughters was the ideal time for me to test a September tea and scone! I was originally planning to make a Toffee Apple Scone until the day before our tea when I happened to flip through the September/October 2023 issue of Victoria magazine and came to a screeching halt at a Maple Pecan Scone recipe! My goodness, they would have had me at either “maple” or “pecan”, but the combination instantly gave me all the fall feels, and I knew I had to try it.
The Maple Pecan Scones are featured on page 43 in “Leaves of Tea” by Melissa Lester. Melissa is the editor of Victoria and also a sweet friend of both Missy’s and mine which makes receiving each month’s issue even more of a treat. Melissa is exceptionally talented, and her writing is lavish in beauty and creativity.
I think most people who have never made scones assume they’re labor intensive. However, let me assure you they are actually quick to mix and bake with minimal ingredients and equipment required (you won’t even need an electric mixer). These Maple Pecan Scones are no exception to this, but their taste would make you believe otherwise. Everything about these scones is perfection–texture, flavor, maple glaze, and pecans. The recipe is easy to follow with general pantry ingredients I had on hand except for one. It called for vanilla bean paste which I did not have so I substituted with vanilla extract and maple extract (if you don’t have maple extract, I encourage you to try it with your fall baking!).
I served the scones with apple butter, maple pumpkin butter, and clotted cream. Delicious!
For our tea blends, I served “Falling Leaves” from the Smith-Byrd Tea Room in Prattville, Alabama and a Pumpkin Spice tea my sister gifted me. Falling Leaves is a delightful autumn blend of rooibus, honeybush, green rooibus, and maple leaves. You can order this and many other tea blends through Smith-Byrd’s website. The Pumpkin Spice is a Charbrew blend of black tea with pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. It’s very tasty and fallish without being overpowering. Both tea blends complimented our scones so nicely! I’m sorry I forgot to take photos of the teas.
Up until an hour before our guests arrived, I really didn’t have a definite plan for the table, but I knew I wanted to keep it warm, casual, and slightly rustic with a hint of elegance. We stopped at Fresh Market after church (It’s a little dangerous having a Fresh Market right by our church!) and I picked up some Alstroemeria in a rich burgundy. I added the last of my yard hydrangeas and some fern fronds. I like to think out of the box when it comes to vases, so I looked in my butler’s closet and decided to use a new pitcher I purchased on summer clearance from Aldi. It has a pretty woven straw wrap and handle. I looked in my butler’s closet again and grabbed a long wooden tray and filled it with a couple of votive candles and artificial apples and pumpkins in more rich fall hues.
I love wood and thought it would offer a warm woodsy nature vibe to our fall table, so I used some wood slices from my daughter’s wedding reception as chargers along with teal napkins, gold flatware, and just my white everyday mugs for our tea. I usually would use teacups and saucers for a tea party but the only neutral ones I had were my wedding China, which was too fancy, so I decided that my everyday cozy mugs were more suited for this table.
The apple and maple pumpkin butters and clotted cream were served in little ramakins, but the cutest addition was some tiny wooden pumpkin spoons for spreading. I found these at Hobby Lobby and wish I had more, but they are currently sold out.
In addition to enjoying scrumptious Maple Pecan Scones and warm mugs of fall tea, we ladies shared friendly conversation and laughter, catching up on the details and stories and goings-on. It’s always such fun to visit over tea and scones!
In future monthly teatime posts, I’ll share the recipes of the scones I feature. Today, however, since this recipe is from a current issue, I kind of hate to post it just yet so I’ll encourage you to pick up a copy of the September/October Victoria magazine from your local bookstore or grocery store. Better yet, treat yourself to a subscription! You will enjoy the investment!
Wishing you all the loveliest autumn!
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