Whole Wheat Cranberry Almond Scones
I have a secret to tell you. It’s different than my confession from last week. It’s a big one, so you have to promise not to tell anyone! Do you promise?
Ok, I’m trusting you…
This is not the first time I’ve tried this recipe. In fact, it flopped twice before I came up with this golden combination! 3 times really is the charm! Well, sometimes anyway. You see, I was trying to come up with a gluten free recipe for scones. Not because I believe in gluten free by any means. Because I don’t. But because I do believe in sugar free, and white flour is a refined sugar.
The first recipe I tried used of almond flour and coconut flour with an oil as my fat. Well, those just fell apart because there was nothing to bind them. The second recipe I tried used coconut flour only and butter as my fat. I cut the butter in, thinking that maybe this would help keep things together. Well, this recipe was still pretty crumbly, and incredibly and painfully dry. Also, coconut flour absorbs liquid like crazy. So, my scones actually looked more like a spongy science project than a delightful and delicious breakfast food. So that didn’t work. This recipe has a mix of whole wheat flour and coconut flour, with butter as the fat, and the addition of plain yogurt.
It turns out that scones need a little gluten to create some bonds, some butter to form fat pockets (so much yummier than it sounds), and a little dairy to keep them moist. And this is the secret of making a great scone!
Ingredients:
2/3 cup coconut flour
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (cut in)
1 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
Preheat oven to 350
1. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until well combined.
2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or cutter. I find using my fingers to cut the butter in works best if you don’t have a pastry blender.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. If you’re really anal, you can combine the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add them to the dry ingredients.
3. Add the dried cranberries and roughly chopped almonds to the dough until well-incorporated, avoiding the #1 commandment of pasty making, which is don’t over-mix the dough.
4. Now that you’ve mixed the dough perfectly, and I know you did, add it to a well-greased round dish.
5. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cut into 6 triangles and enjoy!
375 Calories, 14.9g Fat, 45.6g Carbohydrates, 11.2g protein
NOTE: these are pretty filling, so you may find that you only eat half a scone. In that case, cut the nutrition information in half.
I have two questions to pose to you: 1. What was your worst recipe flop; and 2. What is your favorite kind of scone?
Crystal is the founder of Simply Playful Fare. She has been in the kitchen for as long as she can remember. She has a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing.
Why are you making them in a pie plate?
It just makes them more uniform. You can certainly line a cookie sheet with some parchment paper and form the dough into a circle to get the same effect if you prefer.