Orange-Cranberry-Blueberry-Walnut Scones

Now that's a mouthful!

These are fantastic scones, just perfect for a rainy May afternoon.

Use the Cranberry-Orange Scones recipe that you will find here http://downrightvegan.blogspot.ca/2017/05/cranberry-orange-scones.html as your base recipe.

Prepare the recipe and add  add 1/2 cup of Walnuts and  1/2 cup to 1 cup (depending on your prefernce for blueberries, to the batter.

Continue as in the base recipe.

Cook at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes.

"Honey" and Oatmeal Scones

I recently found a brand of vegan honey that is not made by bees at all, rather it is made from concentrated apple juice.  It's called Bee-Free Honee and it although it does not taste exactly like honey, it is a close approximation, and what's more, it behaves like honey in recipes.

My last two blog entries were about scones, and today's will be about yet another type of scone, a vegan Honey Oatmeal Scone.  

This scone is a little heartier than regular scones, and I think would be a good accompaniement to a good thick fall soup if it was made with a little less sugar and no walnuts.  In the form that I made them today, they are a nice side addition to a hot cup of tea.

 

Pre-heat your oven to 400F

Ingredients

1/3 cup of quick cooking oatmeal

1 2/3 Cups of all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup of sugar

1 rounded tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 cup of margarine - I used earth balance brand - and it has to be really cold.  Measure it out and put it in the freezer for twenty minutes so that it gets good and hard

1/2 cup Almond milk or soy milk (or your cruelty-free milk of choice)

1/4 cup of bee free honey or agave syrup

Instructions

Place the oats, flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients until they are blended.

Using a pastry cutter, cut in the marg until the mixture resembles coarse sand, but you should still be able to see little bits of marg in with the flour.

Combine the honey or agave syrup with the non-dairy milk and stir into the dry ingredients until the the dry ingredients are incorporated into the liquid.  

At this point if you want to add nuts or dried fruit, you can.

Turn your batter out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and shape into a circle or rectangle, as you prefer.  Using a bench knife, cut your shaped batter into wedges or rectangles, as you prefer.  

Sprinkle a bit of sugar on the top of the scones and place them into the oven. 
Set your time for 20 to 25 minutes.  I find, with my oven, that the scones are perfect at 22 minutes.  

Maple-Walnut Scones

I'm on a roll with scones.  Easy to make, practically fool-proof, these are a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea on any afternoon.

After making the orange-cranberry scones that were posted earlier today, I was thinking of a different flavour of scones.  I had both walnuts and a good supply of maple syrup in stock so I thought I would try my hand at making maple-walnut scones.  They turned out beautifully!

Pre-heat your oven to 350F
Spread one cup of chopped walnuts (or pecans) on a parchment-lined baking tray, and bake for about 6 or 7 minutes to toast them.  Set them aside until they cool completely.

Increase the heat on your oven to 400F

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of sugar

3 teaspoons of baking powder

A pinch of salt

1/2 cup of vegan margarine - this has to be very firm - I measure out 1/2 and then put it in the freezer for a few minutes until it is good and hard.  This makes it easier to cut in with a pastry cutter

1/4 cup of good quality maple syrup

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of plain almond milk (will also work with soy milk)

1 cup of toasted and cooled chopped walnuts


Instructions

1. Whisk together in a large mixing bowl, the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Cut in the margarine with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles small crumbs. You should be able to see little bits of margarine in the flour.

3. Stir the maple syrup and the almond milk together and stir into the flour mixture.

4. When all of the flour is fully incorporated into the dough, add 3/4 of a cup of the cooled, toasted walnuts, and stir them into the dough.

5. Dump the dough out onto a parchment lined baking tray and shape into a round or rectangle, as you prefer, and using a bench knife, cut the shaped dough into wedges or squares, as you prefer.

6. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the dough and pat them down slightly into the dough.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the scones are golden.  In my oven, the scones are perfect after 22 minutes.

8. Using your bench knife, separate the scones along the lines that were made in the dough before you put the pan in the oven.

These are fantastic with a cup of tea or coffee.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

If you are looking for a nice scone to have alongside a cup of tea, look no farther than this recipe. These scones are light and tasty with a burst of orange flavour that is both surprising and delightful.  I took these scones to a bridge game and they were very well received!

First: Pre-heat your oven to 400F

Ingredients 

2 cups + 1/8 cup of all purpose flour (1/8 cup is two tablespoons)

1/2 cup of sugar plus more for sprinkling

3/4 Cup of plain almond milk

1/2 to 3/4 cup of dried cranberries

Zest of 2 naval oranges

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of margarine - I used earth balance brand - and it has to be really cold.  Measure it out and put it in the freezer for twenty minutes so that it gets good and hard

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.  Add solid margarine and a pastry cutter, and cut in the marg until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Add cranberries and orange zest and the almond milk and stir until all the dry ingredients are mixed in and a soft, slightly sticky dough is formed.  
4. Dump the dough out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  If you like wedge-shaped scones, shape the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter and cut into eight wedges with a bench knife.  The dough will be too sticky to separate the wedges, but that's ok because you will have to cut them again later.  If you find that your dough is firm enough to separate the wedges, you can do that before you put the pan in the oven.  If you prefer smaller scones you can shape the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches x 4 inches and cut it into squares.
5. Before you place the scones in the oven, sprinkle sugar over the top.  It will make them look   slightly sparkly when they are all done.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the scone is golden and the edges begin to brown.
7. If you were not able to separate the individual scones when you put them in the oven you will notice that they have baked into one large round scone.  You should still be able to see the marks from where you cut the dough into wedges - use your bench knife to cut along these lines and separate the wedges to allow them to cool faster.

These are great with tea.