Tag Archives: scones

Better Than a Biscuit Dairy-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Scones

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Dairy-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Scones

I’ve steered clear of biscuit-making ever since I mixed up a crumbly mess of dry ingredients with butter and buttermilk years ago. The end result, inedible hockey pucks, came after a very frustrating baking experience. The wanna-be biscuits wound up in the garbage. That was when I decided I just didn’t need to ever, ever be making biscuits. And that’s why, when Katie Novotny, owner of St. Paul Classic Cookie Co. said that scones are simply a biscuit, I got nervous.

Katie Novotny offered to show members of my Bemidji Cookbook Club how to make the perfect scone. We gathered in her bitty bakery with an enormous menu of sweet treats in the south St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul on a recent Friday morning.

She sliced small chunks of butter into a bowl holding her measured dry ingredients, emphasizing the fact the butter must be well-chilled. I use the same technique when I make my favorite recipe for scones — the ones I plop onto a baking sheet using a measuring cup. That technique keeps my hands off the dough, convincing me that I am making scones, not biscuits.

With a gentle touch, the experienced baker used her fingers to quickly work the butter into the flour mixture in her large, metal mixing bowl.

“Never over-handle the dough,” said Novotny as she mixed cold milk into the bowl. “Less is more.”

She patted the soft dough into a rectangle on her work surface and speckled the top of it with chunks of frozen strawberries and rhubarb. She explained that frozen fruit will hold its shape while baking.

Each long side of fruit-embedded dough got folded into the center, sealing the fruit inside. Novotny expertly cut the dough into four equal squares. She created triangle-shaped scones by cutting diagonally through each square.

She placed the fluffy fruit sandwiches on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

While the sweet fragrance of baking scones wafted through the bakery, the multi-talented baker gave us a lesson on how to frost sugar cookies using a pastry tube with tips attached.

I was still doubtful about my own scone-making skills. Novotny reassured me that it just takes practice with really good recipes. She suggested I watch other experienced scone-makers in action.

Could I really make scones as good as the ones created by the hands of Katie Novotny?

My first attempt didn’t work. I used my tried-and-true drop scones. With Novotny’s flatten, fill and fold method, my soft, moist dough flattened in the oven. The scones did not hold their triangular shape.

I called Novotny for help. She went over my recipe and suggested some changes. My next try ended with a batch of moist, light triangles of fruit-studded biscuit dough. Katie Novotny is not just a great baker — she is an excellent teacher. My flatten, fill and fold-friendly scone recipe is in my column this week. Click here to get to that recipe.

I became so confident, I was ready to experiment with a dairy-free scone. Why dairy-free? Less fat, less calories, less cholesterol. But, I still wanted moist, delicious scones. And that is just what I got.

The dairy-free scones are made with organic coconut spread rather than butter and unsweetened flax milk. My local natural food co-op carries Good Karma Flax Milk. You can try another non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy.

Coconut spread melts very quickly, so I measured it and put it in the freezer while I organized the remaining ingredients. Because I was using quick-melting coconut spread, I did not use my fingers for mixing. I put my pastry cutter into the freezer to chill and used that for cutting the butter into the dry ingredients.

I made Dairy-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Scones over the weekend. When my husband came home from the golf course on Sunday, he was blown away by these moist, not-too-sweet, fluffy and light scones topped with  honey-sweet crunch.

And, I’m blown away by the fact I can now make “really just a biscuit” scones that are the real deal. Thanks to Katie Novotny.

Katie Novotny’s St. Paul Classic Cookie Co. is located at:

2386 Territorial Rd,  Saint Paul, MN 55114

 

Dairy-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Scones

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup organic coconut spread
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened flax milk
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberry chunks
  • 1/2 up frozen rhubarb chunks
  • 2 tablespoons local honey, for brushing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Use a whisk to mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, nutmeg and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl. Add cold coconut spread by small chunks to the bowl. Use chilled pastry cutter to mix coconut spread into flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Pour in cold flax milk. With a gentle touch, use a spoon to mix until just combined.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Working quickly, pat the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Evenly distribute the frozen chunks of fruit over the dough. Press the fruit to embed the chunks into the dough. Fold one long side into the middle. Fold the other long side over to cover the fruit. Pat to seal.

Cut the rectangle into 4 squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form 8 triangles. Place triangles on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each one with honey. Bake scones in preheated 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes, until done. Remove from oven. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Makes 8 scones.

 

 

 

 

Scones of sweet potato and darling clementine — oh, my!

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I’m stuck on darling little clementines. Their sweet, juicy fruit is a burst of sunshine on a gray winter day. At just 35 calories per average-sized clementine, they are a smart snack when eaten out of hand. They offer lots of fiber and a good dose of Vitamin C.

Just before Christmas, I ordered a case of organic clementines from my local natural food co-op. My grandchildren love the little citrus fruit. My three-year-old granddaughter refers to them as cuties, enunciating each syllable so that it comes out sounding like “Q-teez.” All the grandchildren were expected to be here during the holidays. Unfortunately, the flu bug came to our house during the Christmas weekend. The ones who were here got sick. The ones not here never came because of the stomach flu-infested house. I had lots of bright orange clementines left in the large, 25-pound box.

When they are stored in a cool place, like my northern Minnesota garage, they keep well for a few weeks. During that time, I’ve used the easy-peel citrus fruit in all kinds of ways. I’ve used the juice in marinades and vinaigrette and have splashed it into sparkling water for a refreshing beverage. The fruit has been tossed into salad and stirred into rice pilaf. The aromatic zest has been shaken into salad dressing and has flavored scones. Yes, scones. One of my favorite morning treats with a cup of steaming, strong, dark coffee.

The Clementine Cream Scones I write about in my column this week are flecked with chopped dried apricots and chunks of toasted pecans. Their fresh flavor comes from clementine juice and grated zest. They are heavenly.

Once I developed these Sweet Potato -Clementine Scones with Clementine Honey Glaze, it was hard for me to decide which of the two clementine-spiked scones is my favorite. To make these moist, orange-hued scones, I mashed up a baked sweet potato until I had enough to fill a 3/4-cup measure. Their tender texture is a result of the magic cream and butter and sugar create when they are stirred into scone or biscuit dough and baked at a high temperature. Clementine zest and juice add fragrance and bright flavor to the scones. Dried cranberries and broken toasted pecans add welcome texture and another layer of flavor in each bite of a Sweet Potato-Clementine Scone.

The scones are delicious just as they are, but drizzle a bit of Clementine Honey Glaze over the top, and they are impossible to resist. A long time ago I had seen a Honey Almond Glaze over on Katie Goodman’s Good Life Eats blog. She spooned the glaze over Pear Almond Scones. I used her idea to create Clementine Honey Glaze.

I ate one scone while it was still warm from the oven. I ate one for breakfast this morning. I ate another one a little while later. After all, I had to taste a scone drizzled with Clementine Honey Glaze. I can’t stop eating them. I’m serious.

I guess it’s not all bad that my house was filled with stomach-flu afflicted humans during the holidays. If we’d all felt well, we would have eaten well. There would have been no clementines left in the box for making scones.

If you are like me and just can’t get enough of sweet little clementines, you will want to check out the salad I made on Lakeland Public Television. I used clementines in the salad and in the vinaigrette. Just click HERE.

Clementine-Sweet Potato Scones with Clementine Honey Glaze

  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces) clementines
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 3/4 cup mashed baked sweet potato
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Grate the zest from all of the clementines. You should have at least 1 tablespoon of zest. The more the better.

Squeeze enough juice from the clementines to make 1/4 cup. Set zest and juice aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Cut the butter into small cubes and scatter over the dry ingredients in bowl. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. This can also be done in a food processor.

Stir in chopped nuts and dried cranberries.

In a small bowl, mix mashed sweet potato with whipping cream, reserved 1/4 cup clementine and grated zest.  Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients in bowl. Stir just until combined.

Scoop 1/2-cup mounds of dough on prepared baking sheets, forming 8 scones.

Bake scones in preheated 425-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven when scones are puffed and golden. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool completely. When scones are completely cool, drizzle with Clementine Honey Glaze. Makes 8 scones.

Clementine Honey Glaze

  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon local honey
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed clementine juice

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. When glaze is smooth, drizzle over cooled scones.

Tips from the cook

  • Toast pecan halves in a single layer on a baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately transfer to a plate to cool. Be sure pecans are completely cool before adding to the mixing bowl.
  • If you prefer smaller scones, use just ¼ cup of batter per scone and adjust baking time accordingly.

Weekend Baking: Orange you glad it’s thyme for rhubarb scones?

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There’s a new kid in my garden. Can you see that dainty little sprig of green right on top of that pretty scone? Well, that’s it. That’s the new kid. His name is Orange Thyme of the Thymus family. I’ve known his cousin, Lemon Thyme, for many years. For several summers, Lemon Thyme has been a favorite visitor in my kitchen, adding shindig to my sugar cookies, cha-cha to chicken, liveliness to my lemon bread and sassy flair to my salads. I love Lemon Thyme. When she’s not in my kitchen, she’s just outside the door basking in the sunshine.

And then, last weekend I spotted tiny Orange Thyme at the Kingfield Farmers Market in Minneapolis. I snapped up the potted herb and found a spot for it very near to Lemon Thyme. If all goes well, Orange Thyme should be making a perennial appearance in my garden.

I could not wait to snip a few stems of Orange Thyme and start baking. With a few stalks of rhubarb still in my refrigerator, I chose to make Rhubarb Scones with Orange Thyme, using my favorite base recipe for scones. I added a bit more sugar to balance the tartness of the bits of rhubarb that I stirred into the batter. Since I didn’t want to take too much from my newly planted Orange Thyme, I only added a tightly-packed 1/4 teaspoon. Next time I might use a full teaspoon in order to get more of its light citrus tang. Bright and zesty Lemon Thyme would also work well in this recipe. But, if you don’t have either one, just use a 1/2 teaspoon of grated orange zest and these scones will still be wonderful, because the star is tart rhubarb.

These scones will make you so happy. Warm from the oven, they are so moist with almost a creamy texture. Each bit of soft, tart rhubarb will send bubbles of joy from your taste-buds to your tummy. Break through the crunchy sweet sugar sprinkled over the top of the scone and your lips will become a smile. You’ll just want to keep eating more. Really. That’s how good they are. Even the next day after baking, these scones bring sighs of joy.

I couldn’t help shooting a few pictures of some sweet flowers in my garden as I was out taking a picture of Orange Thyme. These flowers make me smile, too.

Blooming flax, the color of beautiful blue sky on a perfect summer day:

I think this one is called a Pincushion flower, a perennial I bought a few years ago.

Yesterday Gracie was outside with me and she pulled one of those flowers out by its root. The bud hadn’t opened yet. I brought it in and put the stem in some water. Today the bud is open.

Gracie is forgiven. Just look at that face. I’m sure she thought that flower was a weed and she was just helping me get the job done…

The forget-me-not plants my neighbor dug from her garden to share with me are still blooming and just as cute as can be.

There you have it. Summer flowers and rhubarb scones. I’m smiling. How about you?

Rhubarb Cream Scones with Orange Thyme

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/4 teaspoon, packed, orange thyme leaves
  • 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small (1/2-inch) chunks
  • 2 cups finely chopped fresh rhubarb
  • 1 cup pecans or walnuts, broken
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add butter and orange thyme leaves. Use a pastry blender (or two table knives) to cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in rhubarb and nuts. Add whipping cream and yogurt. Stir just until combined.

Drop 1/2-cup mounds of batter onto prepared baking sheets. You should have 4 or 5 mounds on each sheet. Sprinkle each mound with 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar. Bake 20 minutes, until puffed and dark golden. Transfer to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes (if you can wait that long), before serving. Makes 8 to 10 scones.

Not Just Any Old Scones

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There is something indulgent about starting the day with a cup of rich dark coffee, (no cream or sugar, thank you), and a big, warm, moist scone that is loaded with dried apricots and a generous amount of big chunks of nuts and maybe, sometimes, still-soft morsels of dark chocolate that melt on the tongue with each bite.

But, the coffee must be aromatic and wonderful. These days, my morning coffee is French press. And the scone, well, it can’t be just any old scone.

The scones I eat must be my own homemade variety. Yes, they are full of fat. That’s why they are pure indulgence. And, that’s why I make them only as a special treat once in a while. But, it is the fat that makes them so moist and flavorful.

The cool mornings we experienced last week gave warning that fall is in the air and much colder days are ahead. I was in desperate need of one of my scones.

These rich scones don’t take long at all to mix up. Because I’ve been on a crystallized ginger kick, I chopped up some of the spicy-sweet ginger and stirred it into the dough. Dried apricots are my favorite fruit to add, but any variety of dried fruit can be used. I always add big pieces of walnuts or pecans, but this time, I used up the last of the roasted and sea-salted mix of almonds, cashews and macadamias, the same nuts I used in the cookies that I shared in my previous post. Those nuts just may have put these scones right over the top.

I use a 1/2-cup measure of dough for each scone, forming 8 large scones that look like the big drop biscuits my Auntie Vera in Indiana used to make for strawberry shortcake. I love the homey look of dropped scones. The uniformly-shaped wedges and rounds are not necessary for my morning luxury.

The scones are most delicious when still warm from the oven. I have stored some in the freezer to enjoy another time. I allow them to thaw at room temperature and then heat them in the oven for a few minutes before eating.

The addition of crystallized ginger will not be something I stir into the dough every time I make these scones, but they were a bright change from the norm. If you prefer, you can leave out the ginger.

You really must make these scones and taste for yourself. They are out of this world. Really. Pure indulgence anytime of day.

Nutty Apricot Ginger Scones

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
  • 1 cup dried apricots, cut into large chunks
  • 1 cup nuts of choice, chopped coarsely
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pulse flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar in bowl of food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, stir the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Lay the chunks of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal. Alternatively, use two table knives or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients.

Add chopped ginger and pulse once for just a second or two.

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Gently stir in dry ingredients. When dry ingredients have almost disappeared, add the nuts and apricots and stir to mix in. Add whipping cream and half-and-half and stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Using a 1/2-cup measure, fill with scone dough and drop onto prepared baking sheets, forming 8 scones, 4 on each baking sheet.

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over tops of scones.

Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm. Makes 8 large scones.

Tip from the cook

It is best to use soft, moist dried apricots in these scones.