Tea and toast is my idea of a nightly “cocktail” after the kiddos go to bed. I know, it isn’t as exciting as a glass of red wine, but for me it is the ultimate way to wind down the day. I’ve had tea and toast as my nighttime ritual nearly every night for as long as I can remember (with the occasional bowl of cereal thrown in to change it up a bit). My friends often make fun of me, as I will still go home to have my tea and toast after a night out clubbing or seeing bands (yes, even though I am a mom of four and soon to be five kids, I still like to routinely go out to discover new bands or see dj’s spin). But lately, I’ve found myself craving and reaching for a different take on tea and toast; tea and scones.
It sounds very British and elegant, but most of the Brits I know aren’t particularily prim and proper. Regardless, they know their scones. And I have learned the hard way that getting scones perfectly delicious isn’t always an easy task. It takes the right recipe, of course, but also a feather light touch in regard to kneading the dough. It needs to be handled as little as possible in order to achieve delectable results. Overmixing this dough will certainly result in little hockey pucks, something I would never eat. And neither would my kids.
Before I started making my own scones I would rely on Starbucks to fufill my fix. But if you happen to order a scone toward the end of the day, you’ll get less than desirable results. Then I started looking for scones at my local bakery, and even though they were so much fresher, I still felt the need to try them at home so I could experience these little biscuits warm from the oven. I always heard Krispy Kreme doughnuts were dynamite when eaten fresh out of the oven, so I figured the same should be true of scones.
I’ve worked with many versions of scones over the years, but it wasn’t until I had to develop a version with no milk or eggs that I found the challenge. Soy or rice milk works beautifully as a substitute, and who really needs the egg wash anyway? This Currant Scone is amazing; light, buttery (though not a smidge of butter is in it) and delicious with of course, a cup of tea. If you want to make these for company or for your kids first day of school breakfast, simply make the dough, cut into squares, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze until hard and place squares into a resealable plastic bag for later use. When you’re ready to bake, take out what you need, and just add a few minutes baking time. However, I have found this recipe is super fast to pull together on a whim, so usually I just make and bake right away.
Enjoy!
Dairy and Egg Free Currant Scones
Little currants are speckled throughout these scones. These are perfect with a cup of hot green tea.
Yield: 12 small scones
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, cut into small pieces
¾-1 cup soy or rice milk
1/3 cup currants
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt using a wire whisk. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour ¾ c. soy milk into the well, stirring with a rubber spatula until dough just comes together. Add more soy milk if needed. Stir in the currants.
Preheat oven to 425ºF, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead about 15 times on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry cutter, divide dough in half, and shape each half into a flattened ball. Roll each ball out into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cut each circle into 6 wedges and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
I’ve been wanting to try scones. I think I need more hours in my day, that, or I need to be ultra organized so I don’t get side tracked and have time to cook/bake what I need. I’ve been considering taking refined sugar out and replacing it with either maple syrup (grade b or higher) or agave nector. We saw the cardiologist this week that gave us a thumbs up for our efforts but clearly there is more we can do, which is a bit exhausting, at best. Flax seed will be a part of our daily life of late, that is for certain (although I haven’t bought any yet and I’m not sure what that says of me, since it’s been 2 full days since the cardiologist told me to get it). The stress of being the mom is sometimes a bit overwhelming, wouldn’t you say?
I am so excited about this recipe. Thanks to my Mom I have learned the pleasure of an excellent cup of tea. I drink tea in the afternoon so I think this recipe will fit perfectly into one of my favorite times of day when both of my toddlers are napping and the water is boiling in my teapot. Thank you.
Agave nectar is a fabulous substitution and i’ve started using more flax seed around here too…sprinkle it on everything it seems. But Colette I would totally say you ARE organized, way more than I will ever be!
That sounds perfect Liz. I am excited for you to try it too! In my book I have another scone recipe, cranberry orange that is super delicious as well!
Kelly..
I just wanted to let you know that you are a life saver, as I have tried so many recipes from various allergy cookbooks and they always come out inedible at best, despite the fact that I am a half decent baker. I have tried several of your recipes and they are fantastic. They even come out better than those with milk and eggs. So far, ALL of the recipes I tried from your web site have passed the test with flying colours. My two year old suffers from extremely severe allergies to milk, eggs, and peanuts, and she fell in love with your pumpkin bread. Even my husband, who hates banana muffins, and loathes pumpkin bread, could not stop himself from eating the ones I made following your recipes. In fact, between my husband and daughter, the pumpkin bread did not last 24 hours in our household. I did not even get to take a bite! Our extended family loved your recipes as well. None of them could tell that the muffins or cakes are milk free and egg free.
I am eager to try these scones too. They look delicious, and so do all of your other recipes. There is no doubt, I will definitely be buying your book when it comes out in Canada.
Sincerely,
One extremely grateful allergy mom in Canada
Thanks SO MUCH Canada Mom!!! Your email was so sweet and I LOVED hearing how much your husband and daughter loved the pumpkin bread! Bringing our families together, with or without food allergies, is what its all about. Thanks so much for your comment! It meant the world to me!
This recipe sounds soo tempting! I’d like to make the scones for my son, but he’s allergic to wheat. What flour(s) do you recommend I substitute? And I’d like to add blackberries — his favourite berries. Would that work out ok, do you think?
Thanks for writing Alison! I think you need to play around with a combination of flours, but using White Rice Flour, Tapicoca Flour, Sorghum Flour and Potato Starch Flour would work well. But they all react slightly differently so you’ll need to play around with the recipe a little. I think the blackberries would be a delicious addition! Just be super careful in mixing it into the dough….blackberries are super delicate and can “bleed” into the dough. Not itself a bad thing…but the berries won’t hold their whole berry texture. Give a shot and let me know!!
I adapted the recipe and the blackberry scones are a big hit in our house! Thank you so very much for the encouragement! I substituted wheat flour for rice flour (1 cup), fava and chick pea flour (1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour, plus 1tsp of xanthan gum to help bind it all together. This was just all the different kinds of non-wheat flour I had, but I liked the result. The dough was very sticky, so I shaped the scones with two desert spoons instead of your method, and that seemed to work ok. Rather than currents I used a large handful of ripe blackberries cut in half. The mostly held their shape, which was nice. My sons love them — especially my youngest, and it’s a struggle to get him to eat anything at the moment. I’m going to try to adapt more of your recipes too. They all look so great! I’m a novice at wheat-free cooking, though, so any recipes you do without that flour would be much appreciated. Thanks again. Alison
Love the comment Alison! So glad the recipe adapted well for you! I can promise you that I am looking into more wheat free now…so I will post as I develop them. I am unable to test using fava and chick pea flour though, because John is allergic to legumes. Thanks so much for the update!
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been hungry for scones and baking, but had no milk…only left over pediatric drinks for my little ones (made from soy). It worked great in your recipe! My little ones helped me bake today and I enjoyed the results. My little ones, though not crazy about the scones, had fun baking! Thanks for the treat!