Healthier Blackberry Scones (refined sugar free!)

Every summer around late August my family is forced to get creative with blackberries. As the proud owners of a wild and unruly blackberry bush, our garden is flooded with the tiny berries in the late summertime. From crisps to cakes we have used these blackberries for pretty much everything over the years, but my favorite has always been scones. I don’t know why but I’ve always felt like blackberries and scones go incredibility well together.

When I woke up this morning, however, I was craving something a bit healthier than a regular scone. Don’t get me wrong, the crisp crunch of a buttery scone sprinkled with sanding sugar and brushed with a sizable amount of heavy cream is one of my favorite tastes, but sometimes you want something a little bit healthier. That’s why today’s recipe is refined sugar free. When searching online for a scone recipe without sugar to see if it could be done, the results that came up were honestly, disappointing. So I set out to fix that and thus this recipe was born. The maple syrup adds a sweetness, but with roughly 1.5 teaspoons per scone, it’s not overwhelming amount per scone (and it’s unrefined!).

Healthier Blackberry Scones

• Servings: 9-10
• Time: 1
• Print

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats + 1-2 tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk + 1-2 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 lemon’s zest
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans (optional, I find they add a nice texture)
• Bake 18-22 Minutes 400 degrees

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Grate the cold butter and place in the fridge to keep cool until needed.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, 1 cup oats, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
4. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the 1/3 cup buttermilk, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and lemon zest.
5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combine. Add in the blackberries and pecans (if using).
6. Drop about a 1/4 cup of dough onto the parchment paper and place each scone about 3 inches apart. Brush with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle the remaining oats on top.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes until the scones begin to brown. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

Bonus Tip:

I made these twice, once without glaze and once with and I think that the glaze can add a little extra something. Although adding the glaze adds refined sugar to the recipe, I think that it’s worth it 🙂 To make the lemon glaze combine the juice from 1/2 a lemon with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 teaspoons of water. Drizzle on top of the cooled scones and allow to dry.

Hope you guys try this recipe and like it, I’ll probably have some new blackberry recipes scattered throughout the year from all the blackberry testing I’m doing now!