Honey + WW Raspberry Scones

As part of our winter CSA share, we get bags of frozen berries that were plucked during the summer. I love eating fresh berries right out the carton at summer market and atop yogurt or in fruit salads, but when it comes to using them up in pies, muffins, and other goods -- I'm often uninspired.

Or maybe stumped is a better word. Anyway, I've been making an effort to use them in new + different ways. Here's my latest creation.

HONEY + WHOLE WHEAT RASPBERRY SCONES
vegans can substitute maple syrup for honey

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons ground flax
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

Method . . . 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil or Earth Balance.
2. Place the flours, Earth Balance,  and honey in a food processor and pulse until fully combined. 
3. Then pulse in the salt, flax, and baking soda. Pour these dry ingredients into a bowl.
4. Add the almond milk and vanilla extract; mix until just moistened. Do not over-mix.
5. Fold in the raspberries and coconut flakes. Let sit for a few minutes until chilled by the berries.
6. Scoop the dough onto a clean, but well-floured work surface. Loosely shape into a circle and pat down.
7. Cut into wedges and then place on a cookie sheet. 
8. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let cool before serving.

Honestly, of all the scones I've made, these are the lightest and fluffiest. Maybe it's because I usually use baking powder and -- since I'm out of that at the moment -- subbed in the baking soda. Or it could be that I fluffed the flour a bit before I put it in the mix. I tend to pack it in, which I've realized is making my baked goods ever-dense.

Whatever happened, they're delicious.

I'm sure Stephen will be thrilled to find a few waiting for him when he gets home from work today. That is, if Ada doesn't eat them all. She munched on one for breakfast and I couldn't give it to her fast enough.

Thursdays are my favorite -- how about you?!

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Chai Scones

I'm out of OATS!
Not a crisis at all, really.
OK . . . maybe to a food blogger.

Oats are a key ingredient in the bean burgers I wrote about yesterday. I tried substituting brown rice and -- I think I used too much sweet potato this time around -- they turned to mush. A gigantic patty of delicious mush seasoned with just the right amount of cumin, thyme, and paprika.

I got nothing. I woke up early today and decided to bake scones before sunrise.

I promise I don't have some sort of baking addiction. But if I get the kitchen to myself and the house is otherwise quiet (like before Ada wakes up for the day, bless her heart), I must take full advantage.

Then while I was waiting for enough daylight so I could photograph them, I wrote a post all about how baking vegan doesn't mean using strange ingredients. The text got rather long and took on a life of its own, so I'm saving it for another day.

It's been a while since you've had a descent recipe. Let's get to it.


CHAI SCONES w/ CHOCOLATE CHIPS + WALNUTS = Vegan recipe

What you'll need . . .

• 2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance*
• 1 cup chai tea, double-bagged**
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup crushed walnuts

* I imagine you could also use oil or butter, for that matter.
** Just brew a cup of tea, but use two bags of your favorite chai.


Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. If you have a baking stone, place it inside you oven. Otherwise, a baking sheet should do fine, just grease a bit.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder, and salt.
3. Then cut your Earth Balance/butter into small pieces and toss it in the flour mixture. Use your hands to incorporate it until the flour looks like coarse meal. (If you have a food processor -- especially if you plan to try oil -- you could also put it all in there and pulse until incorporated.) Set aside.
4. Once your tea is brewed nice and dark, pour it into a smaller bowl and mix with the flax meal. Let sit for a couple minutes. Then add in the maple syrup, brown sugar, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Mix.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spoon until just combined.
6. Then fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. I actually folded them together with my hands -- being careful not to knead the dough.
7. I place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so. Then on a floured work surface, I rolled out into a round disk and cut into 8 slices. You can make smaller scones, too. It's up to you.
8. Then place on your baking stone (or sheet) and bake for 15 minutes. You may need a couple more minutes depending on the size of your scones.
9. Let cool a bit before serving. But they are delicious warm with a cup of -- you guessed it -- chai tea.

Go forth & make scones!

(And if you do, please tell me how they turn out for you!)

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Blueberry Cornmeal Scones

These days, it's hard to get to the grocery store. It's even harder to make our way through the aisles without tons of well-meaning strangers stopping us to sneak a peek of Ada. Our refrigerator shelves have never been so bare!

I spy mostly condiments. How about you? Thank goodness we picked up our CSA farm share last night. At least our freezer is stocked with tasty produce.

Harder yet is finding time to make meals during the day and then actually finding time to eat them. Despite Ada's incredible crankiness yesterday, I made scones. Baking as therapy, I suppose. Bonus is that this morning I could just grab my breakfast. You know, change a dirty diaper with one hand and eat with the other.

It's getting that bad. (But I'm being dramatic. Overall, she's a fantastic baby. And she turns 1 month today!)


BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL SCONES

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup fine grain cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/3 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup almond milk (or regular/soy/etc. milk)
• 1 Ener-G egg replacer plus 2 tablespoons water (or egg/other substitute)
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, cornmeal, maple syrup, Earth Balance, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Mixture will be crumbly.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg replacer (with water). Add the dry-ish ingredients to the wet and mix until just moistened. Do not over mix or you risk the scones being tough.
4. In another bowl, toss the frozen blueberries with the cornstarch. Fold them into the scone batter.
5. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop heaping mounds (10 to 12) onto your cookie sheet.
6. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Until golden brown on edges.

And that reminds me. We still haven't done our Christmas shopping. This weekend should be interesting as we make our way to all the stores. I was thinking we could skip it. Maybe I could just frame this abstract art the scones left behind on the parchment?

If you've been following our family happenings, today on (never home)maker, baby! I've written all about week 4 postpartum. I'm feeling much more like my old self again, despite some scary sleep happenings.

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