Cranberry & Apricot “Buttermilk” Scones
By taking a quick glance out the window it looks as though it’s April out there. Everything is wet, there are only tiny patches of snow remaining and the sky seems to be eternally grey. In case you didn’t know, April is one of my least favourite months of the year. I like to refer to is as “the November of the spring” (November is my other least favourite month). I feel like I’m we’re being cheated by Mother Nature with this April weather in January. It looks like this year we’re getting double the April yuckiness. Not cool.
Right now it’s slow season at the bakery, so I’m not working as many shifts as I did in the fall months. I’m not complaining though because it is nice to have some time off and I do have a few other jobs that are keeping me afloat. But it can get a bit boring sometimes. With most of my friends away university and the rest either working or still in high school, it can get a bit lonely. Lucky for me, I have Kate! Since she returned from her year-long exchange she’s been great company. Yesterday it was particularly yucky outside (it poured with rain the entire day), so Kate and I headed into Collingwood and bummed around for a couple of hours. Today we are undertaking the challenge of making vegan chocolate from scratch. We bought all the ingredients that we need and are eager to give chocolate making a shot. But that’s besides the point. We are also baking up a fresh batch of my cranberry and apricot “buttermilk” scones.
This recipe is based off of my favourite scone recipe. Unfortunately, the original recipe is filled with dairy and wheat, which are not my friends. This version uses spelt flour, which is much easier on the tummy for people that suffer from IBS. In place of butter I use a mix of coconut oil and apple sauce to give the scones that classic moist while still a bit crispy texture.
These can really be made with any kinds of fruit, mixed berries, for example, would be really nice here. I personally like cranberries and apricots because those are the fruits used in the original recipe that I love so dearly.
When the weather outside is this crappy we all deserve a little treat to pick ourselves up. These scones are great to have as a quick treat to help cure the April (January?) blues. They are a perfect pairing with a nice warm cup of tea. I hope you’ll give them a try and let me know what you think!
xx
Ashley
Ingredients
- 3-1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 -1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut oil and apple sauce. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients. The mixture should resemble a coarse meal.
- Measure out 1 cup of the almond milk and stir in the lemon juice. Allow this to sit for about 5 minutes. This is your "buttermilk".
- Meanwhile, stir in the cranberries and apricots. Pour in the "buttermilk" and stir until just incorporated.
- Gather the dough into a ball, then transfer to a lightly floured workspace. The dough will be quite wet. Lightly flour the dough and flatten the ball into 3/4 inch thick circle and cut into 8 roughly even triangles.
- Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet and brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of almond milk. Pop the scones into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
