Vegan Blueberry Scones

I have an ongoing need for vegan baked goods of all varieties. The working day is long and there is so much coffee to drink! Who doesn't love something flaky and sweet with their caffeine? Although Toronto is currently enjoying an explosion of vegan bakeries, there are none around my office, so I find myself looking for ways to make my own. Watch this space for more ideas in the future.

This recipe is a bit of a Frankenstein's monster with bits and pieces from two others. I started with Martha Stewart's decidedly non-vegan blueberry scone recipe and mated it with a a lovely vegan biscuit recipe from Ceara's Kitchen. After a couple of tweaks, I got the recipe below. Martha may disagree, but I thought they turned out pretty darn well, even with no hint of dairy or eggs. (The blueberries are the star of the show anyway.) Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar + more for sprinkling on tops

3/4 cups blueberries, picked over and rinsed

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 1/4 cup chilled full fat coconut milk + more for brushing tops (put the can of coconut milk in the fridge the night before)

1 Tbl vinegar

Note about coconut milk: "Full-fat" is a bit of a nebulous concept when it comes to coconut milk. The brand I use comes in a can and has 11 g of fat per 1/4 cup. Yep, pretty fatty, but it's a pastry :)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or (better) a silicone mat.

A microplane grater, available from better dollar stores everywhere, is great for collecting zest from a lemon.

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Gently mix in blueberries and lemon zest.

Pour coconut milk into a food processor or blender and blend until homogeneous. Measure out 1 1/4 cups coconut milk and add vinegar to measuring cup. Mix well in measuring cup. Save remaining coconut milk for brushing tops.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Add coconut milk/vinegar mixture.

Gently mix together with a fork until it just comes together. Do not overmix.

Turn out onto a kneading board and gently hand knead until somewhat smooth. Shape into a 6" square, around 2" thick.

Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into two triangles.

Lay scones out on the baking tray.

Brush each scone with extra coconut milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 15 minutes or so, until lightly brown on top. Let cool on a wire rack.

Now, take a break. I'm sure you've earned one!

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Posted: Tuesday, October 11, 2016