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
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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!

Pumpkin Scones {Vegan}

As you all probably already know, Fall doesn’t seem to be coming this year.  Weather wise, that is.  It’s hot one day and freezing the next.  The leaves aren’t quiet sure what to do and most of them aren’t turning their normal fire-y red or orange.

Despite the fluctuating weather, however, fall flavor is in full swing.  All of the grocery stores have stocked up on apple and pumpkin flavored foods and have mounds and mounds of candy stacked in every aisle for the upcoming holiday.

Last year, I ushered in the transitional season by sharing my favorite apple cake.  This year I wanted to kick off fall by sharing something with a pumpkin flavor.  These scones are delicious and melt in your mouth.  They’re the perfect breakfast to make when you want a bite of fall, but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.  Just be careful when you make them, before you know it you’ll have eaten the whole plate!

Pumpkin Scones

• Servings: 6
• Time: 1
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Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup frozen coconut oil
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Grate the frozen coconut oil over the mixture and work it in with your hands until the mixture resembles wet sand.
4. Add the pumpkin and cinnamon chips and fold with a spatula until combined.
5. Dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and pat the mixture into a circle about 3/4″ thick.  Cut the circle into 6 sections and place the six wedges of dough on the prepared parchment paper.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the scones are golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.
7. While the scones are cooling whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon and water in a small bowl.  Once the scones are cooled drizzle the glaze on and enjoy!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Scones {Vegan}

You guys are about to love me because I found a way to make eating chocolate healthy.  Or healthy-ish.  Yeah, I know, you’re probably confused because the words chocolate and healthy never seem to go together, and when they do the chocolate isn’t really chocolate.  Well today, you and me and a bowlful of batter are going to change all of that.  I mean, it’s about time, isn’t it?

These scones are good for you because of a little secret ingredient that makes the texture 10 times better and adds to your daily vegetable count.  This wonderful ingredient is zucchini.  Now I’m sure that you’ve all heard of zucchini muffins, but really zucchini scones are the next big thing.  I’m telling you, you can’t even tell that it’s there!  Zucchini is packed with potassium, Vitamin C, and dietary fiber, so why wouldn’t you throw a cup or so into all of your favorite baked goods?

These scones also include my latest obsession- coconut sugar.  It’s a tad bit healthier then plain white sugar and it’s loaded with flavor.  Coconut (in all forms) contains fatty acids that boosts your immunity and helps you absorb nutrients.  Looks pretty healthy in comparison to regular sugar, doesn’t it?  There’s a sort of cinnamony nutty aroma and flavor about it that I think adds a new dimension of taste to all of my creations in the kitchen.  I became hooked after making Dessert for Two’s Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They’re amazing and a 110% must try.  Lately, I’ve found myself subbing out regular sugar in all the recipes I make for coconut sugar just so I can get that extra boost of flavor.

Now onto the actual scones.  They’re vegan (because why not?) and even thought they’re lacking in dairy, they’re certainly not lacking in flavor.  I’m in love with these scones, and I’m pretty sure you will be too after you try them.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Scones

• Servings: 8
• Time: 40
• Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil frozen (stick in the freezer for at least 10 minutes prior to using)
• 3/4 cup grated zucchini (about 1 small zucchini)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips
• Coarse sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Seat a baking sheet with parchment paper aside for later.
2. Whisk the flours, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Remove your coconut oil from the freezer and grate it into the bowl with the dry ingredients.  Use your hands, a pastry cutter, or a fork to work the coconut oil into the mixture until completely combined and no coconut oil chunks remain.
4. Grate the zucchini into the mixture next and then add the almond milk, maple syrup and chocolate chips.  Combine.
5. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a roughly 8 inch in diameter circle.  Then cut the circle into eight sections.
6. Place each scone onto the baking sheet roughly 2 inches apart.  If desired, sprinkle each scone lightly with coarse sugar.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.  Enjoy!

Yum.  Just thinking about these scones makes my mouth water.  I hope you like them as much as I do because I am definitely going to be adding these into my weekly  

 

The Best Apple Pecan Scones

This morning I woke up and I wanted a scone.  Scratch that I needed a scone.  But not just any random run of the mill scone, I wanted a very specific scone.  Not drenched in icing sweet but not crumble apart dull.  The very scone I was craving was fluffy in the most desecrate way, covered with a subtle crunch.

I dashed into my kitchen and flung open the refrigerator, only to find that I was lacking one very vital scone ingredient- berries.  Feeling rejected I sunk into my couch and opened up my laptop in search of a non-berry scone.  It was then that I spotted the shiny red of apples out of the corner of my eye.  Within a second I was peeling apples and scribbling down notes on what would pair well.

If you’re craving a scone and are in the same berry-less boat as me, I’ve got you covered.  This recipe has got everything a scone lover like myself could hope for.  They are without a doubt the perfect scone for Fall (it’s not winter quite yet!).  I mean come on, they’ve got all the fall essentials.  Apples?  Check.  Pecans?  Check.  Cinnamon?  Check.  Oats?  Check.  They’ve even got a little bit of whole wheat flour so when you’re reaching for your fourth helping you don’t have to feel too guilty because they’re ‘healthy’.Without further ado, I present to you the scones that my own mother stated were so good that she took two, and she never takes two.

Apple Pecan Scones

• Servings: 8
• Time: 45
• Print

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter grated
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (about two medium) peeled and chopped apples
• A generous pinch coarse sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, pecans, oats, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Work the cold grated butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your hands.  I find that it’s always easiest to use your hands, just because you can feel any remaining chunks of butter.  Continue until the mixture is mostly combine and then set aside.
4. Measure out the cream in a wet two cup measuring cup and crack the egg in it.  Add the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla to the measuring cup and then whisk.
5. Pour the wet mixture on top of your dry ingredients. Then mix the mixture together with a rubber spatula until no flour chunks remain. Add the apple cubes and fold them into the dough.  The mixture will be a little wet- that’s okay.
6. Cover a flat surface (like a cutting board) and your hands with flour.  Transfer the dough to the surface and kneed it three times to make sure that everything is evenly incorporated, adding a little more flour if needed.
7. Shape the dough into a circle, about 8-9″ in diameter.  Brush the cream over the disc and then scatter the coarse sugar on.  Cut the dough with a sharp knife into 8 even portions.  Put the scones on the prepared baking sheet in two rows, eight on the top and eight on the bottom, so that there is roughly two inches of space in between each scone.
8. Place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.  The scones will have golden brown edges when they are done.  Allow scones to cool for a few minutes and then devour.  These scones will be gone in seconds, so it’s understandable if you can’t wait for them to cool, don’t worry, I didn’t wait either.

Note:  This recipe is adapted from these scones and these scones.  Both recipes are really good and I encourage you to try them out as well!