Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat Scones (Naturally Vegan!)
Do you ever find yourself muttering not-so-nice words under your breath when you discover that your “loved one” has eaten the prettiest star from your batch of baked goodies before you’ve had the chance to photograph it? All you recipe bloggers out there must know what I’m talking about.
This issue occurs on random occasions in our home, but I now empathize with the temptation that my husband sometimes can’t resist. The draw to that perfect looking product. You know, the one that you might drool over in a magazine, or specifically request (no, not that one, THAT one!) in a bakery. Because this time, I ate the perfect looking scone before I had photographed the recipe, and by the time I got my camera out, all that was left was this one …
You see, I baked them for Mother’s Day, and took four of the “almost” perfect ones to my mother-in-law (shhh! Don’t tell!), and kept the “perfect” one and the lesser-looking beauties for our morning treat. But, I just couldn’t resist. My tired taste buds had to have that it-feels-like-I-got-up-at-6am-just-to-get-the-best-scone-from-the-bakery treat. And I sure wasn’t in any mood to take photographs.
So, if you want to see that perfect looking scone, you’ll just have to make this healthy breakfast recipe for yourself …
Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat Scones
The whole wheat pastry flour definitely makes for a heartier scone … something my palate prefers in the a.m. …
A little texture close-up of my whole wheat version to give you an idea.
If you prefer something fluffier, feel free to sub all or part of the flour with all-purpose flour or even cake flour. Also, I’m sure you can easily make this recipe gluten-free, if desired, with your favorite gluten-free flour blend and a little xanthan gum or guar gum (or even an egg added).
These are gently sweet, but I like to add a little crunchy sugar on the tops for that extra oomph of indulgence.
This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Soy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free.
- 1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Coconut / Palm Sugar, divided (I’m enjoying a 5 lb bag of Blue Mountain Organics brand, but you can sub Evaporated Cane Juice or Brown Sugar if needed)
- 2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/3 Cup solid or softened Coconut Oil (I use Nutiva brand, but you can sub Dairy-Free Margarine or Shortening)
- 1 Apple, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup of apple shreds)
- 1/2 Cup Milk Alternative (I used Coconut Milk Beverage, which is a little higher in fat – feel free to use any plain, unsweetened, or vanilla milk alternative of your choosing)
Preheat your oven to 425ºF, and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Place the 1/4 cup coconut / palm sugar in your spice or coffee grinder and give it a quick whiz to powder it; this should take more than 10 or 15 seconds. You can skip this step if using brown sugar.
Pour the powdered coconut sugar (or brown sugar) into a large bowl. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until everything is well-combined. Add the coconut oil (or other fat) and using a fork or pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in the apple and milk alternative, until the mixture starts to come together. It should be a little crumbly, but fairly easy to handle (not sticky) and easy to form into two balls. If it is too wet, add a little flour, too drink, sprinkle in some more milk alternative.
Take those two balls of dough, and gently flatten them into two disks that are about an inch to an inch and a half high on a baking sheet . Sprinkle the scones with the remaining tablespoon of sugar (the stuff you left coarse) or even a little more if desired. Cut or score the disks into 4 or 6 triangles (like a pizza), and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the scones begin to take on a nice golden brown hue on the tops and edges.
Makes 8 to 12 scones
Blog Events: Entered in the giveaway of coconut oil @ Cara’s Cravings
26 thoughts on “Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat Scones (Naturally Vegan!)”
the scones look amazing!
and congrats to the winners in the last post. i wish i was going to the conf to meet you 🙂
Delicious!
These look amazing! I’ve been thinking about scones a lot lately. I need to make these gluten free for us. I too love putting sugar on top…makes everything a little extra special!
Doesn’t it though? I always find that a little sugar on top allows you do reduce the sugar in the baked good by even more!
If this is your less-than-perfect one, I can’t imagine what the “perfect” one looked like! This is totally mouthwatering. I’m going to make this stat! 🙂
Oh wow, I would love to see your variation Ricki!
Unfortunately the only “loved one” in my house is me, so I can’t really blame anyone else when this happens… 😛
These look fantastic! I’ve yet to use my coconut oil in baking – silly!
These look major yum! (I’m gonna use brown sugar, and butter flavor crisco shortening).
I’ll let ya know how they turn out, thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Awesome, please do!
This looks and sounds wonderful. And yep, I know exactly what you mean with picking the best one of the bunch. Often, my items are deemed NO TOUCHING until I’m done with photographing and distributing to outside sources… THEN you can eat them. 😉
It looks perfect to me. And yummy!
My husbands has finally come over to the whole wheat side 🙂 and asked me to make a healthier scone. This should really make him happy and it sounds delish.
One piece is enough to show how great this recipe is, but I do know what you mean! Anyway, need to convert to gluten free immediately. 😉
xo,
Shirley
I’ve never tried making scones with coconut oil before… But now I’m very curious! Yours look incredibly fluffy, I can’t imagine anyone wanting something even lighter.
Oh you should! I have made the spelt scones from Babycakes (my version posted here), and that was one recipe from the book that actually worked. It used spelt flour and coconut oil, and my in-laws (who are the opposite of healthy, but love English-style food – especially scones) raved about them. I’ve felt confident using coconut oil since. When solid or just soft, it works like butter or shortening.
Alisa,
Your photo puts mine to shame! I can’t imagine how lovely your perfect one was. Where did you find a 5 pound bag of coconut palm sugar? I have only seen the smaller ones, and I love it.
Hi Kim, I got it from http://www.bluemountainorganics.com. They even have 25 lb bags!
I’m with Shirley – I must convert this to gluten free ASAP! These look divine. Thanks, Alisa!
Very nutritious with whole wheat and I love the apple cinnamon flavor!
super nice
Good Lord, I am behind in my blog reading!! I had to laugh that it was YOU that ate the perfect looking one. I have gotten mad at my husband, the kids, and once even the dog when they have done the same thing. Yet, I, too, have even managed to do this myself. LOL
These scones look amazing. I would love to try and convert them to be gluten-free. I just may do that this weekend…I finally have some free time to play in the kitchen!! Woohoo!!
And the one you have pictured, looks perfect to me!
PS thanks for the great shout out on Go Dairy Free the other day for my app!! So appreciated! 😉 You are a good friend.
funny when things disappear before you get to photograph them 🙂 this looks fabulous, and i need to try my hand at scones!!
Oh my goodness….I want these!!
They look perfect to me Alisa!
Hubby is the pro scone baker in this household. I’ll have to show him this recipe, though we’ll have to sub for the coconut oil.
It looks pretty darn perfect to me! Thanks for sharing in my coconut oil link up 🙂
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