Who doesn’t love a good scone? That’s one thing I missed when I switched over to a gluten free, vegan lifestyle. There was a bakery in Austin that had the most amazing chocolate chip scones and I miss them, but now that I have a foundation for plant-based scones, the possibilities are endless! I originally found this amazing recipe on CookieandKate.com and it was so delicious looking (and easy) that I had to try it. The scones came out great! I’ve tweaked the recipe so that’s it gluten free and vegan (original is not gluten free), added one minor ingredient, a couple of other small changes and bam! – scones that are yummy, healthy, and cruelty-free. I’ve made this recipe so many times – I’ve tried it in scone form, muffin form, and full on cake form. I have to say the scones are still my favorite.
First things first, toasting the pecans. It calls to toast them in the oven on parchment paper, but of course I never have parchment paper (sigh…) so instead I used coconut oil spray on the baking sheet and it worked perfectly. After 3 minutes, pull them out of the oven and chop them up. I don’t get too focused on chopping them finely, otherwise my OCD will kick in and it will take me an hour just to chop the pecans.
Next comes the dry ingredients. To make this recipe gluten free, I substituted the 2 cups of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of brown rice flour and 1 cup of almond meal. You can use any gluten free flour you like; when I was out of almond meal one time, I used millet flour with just a touch of coconut flour to get that more dense texture. Toss in your baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, and my secret ingredient – xanthan gum. It’s used as a thickening agent and also helps bind ingredients together. I’ve noticed in the past when I make vegan, gluten free goodies they come out really dry and crumble at the slightest touch – probably because ingredients like eggs and the gluten from flour is what holds everything together and makes them soft and chewy. I just add 1 tsp of xanthan gum, which any natural foods store should have, and it works to support the mixture.
The original recipe calls for solid coconut oil, but for me personally, it left a strange aftertaste in my mouth when I ate the scones. So the next time I tried it, I used Earth Balance, which has the taste and consistency of butter but is plant-based and vegan. I used the original spread; they also sell a soy-free version. I melted it in the microwave until I had 1/4 c of liquid and it worked great.
The rest of the wet ingredients include about 2 bananas mashed, non-dairy milk (I use either plain almond milk or flax milk), maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Then comes the hardest part in my opinion. The original recipes calls for you to form the dough into a large circle and cut 8 even slices. I think because of the non-dairy and gluten free ingredients in this recipe, the dough is too malleable and it’s really difficult to do this. I just dig into the bowl, grab a handful of dough and pinch together the shape of the scone that I want. Way easier for me!
Pop those babies onto a baking sheet (again I used the coconut oil spray, or parchment paper) and bake until golden brown. It only takes 15-17 minutes and while they’re in the oven, I make my maple glaze. I don’t like baked goods that are super sweet, so I lightened up on the powdered sugar. Instead of 1 cup, I only use maybe 1/3 cup, but it still makes plenty of glaze. Mix in salt, some more Earth Balance, vanilla, maple syrup, and you’re good to go!
Drizzle the glaze onto the center of the scone, it will trickle down and cover the scone without too much getting on the baking sheet. Top it off with some of the leftover chopped pecans and voila!
Be sure to snack on one hot out of the oven with maple glaze on it! Trust me, they won’t last long. Mine always come out with the perfect consistency, fluffy and moist, but with a bit of crunch on the edges.
Store in an airtight container. They last for a couple of days at room temperature, and if you haven’t eaten them all by then (you will though), then store them in the freezer. Perfect for breakfast with coffee or for a snack later in the day. Enjoy!
- 1 cup raw pecans (or walnuts)
- 1 cup of almond meal
- 1 cup of brown rice flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 c melted Earth Balance or coconut oil
- 3/4 c mashed ripe bananas (about 2 med sized bananas)
- 1/4 c non-dairy milk (almond, flax, coconut, etc)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Maple glaze: 1/3 c powdered sugar, dash of fine sea salt, 1-2 tsp of melted Earth Balance or coconut oil, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/8-1/4 c maple syrup
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or coconut oil spray. Toast nuts in oven for about 3 minutes. Chop into fine pieces.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 3/4ths of the chopped pecans, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Mix together.
- In a liquid measuring cup, mash bananas until you have 3/4 cup. Add non-dairy milk on top of bananas until it reaches the 1 cup mark. Pour on top of dry ingredients, along with melted Earth Balance, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Take a handful of dough and pinch into a triangle, then place onto baking sheet sprayed with coconut oil or lined with parchment paper. Bake 15-17 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- While scones are baking, mix together the ingredients for the maple glaze until smooth. I like my mixture a little thicker, so I don’t add as much liquid. Let scones cool for a minute, then drizzle with glaze and sprinkle the remaining chopped nuts.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Jillian♥
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