Vegan Low-Fat Buttermilk Drop Scones with Dried Fruit

En español

I always thought I didn't like scones.  It turns out that I don't like stale scones.  Warm, fresh scones straight from the oven are a different story entirely.  They're fast, easy, delicious, and divine with a cup of coffee or Oaxacan hot chocolate.

I veganized this recipe from The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking.  It really is a great book, even for vegetarians and vegans.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 TB ground flax seeds (you can grind whole flax seeds in a dry blender)
• 3 TB water
• 1 TB white vinegar
• ~1 c. soy milk
• 3 TB oil
• 1/2 c. dried fruit such as raisins, currants, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, chopped apricots, or chopped pears
• cinnamon sugar

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a cookie sheet.
2.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk the ground flax seeds and water until the mixture is viscous.
4. Put the vinegar in a measuring cup.  Add soy milk to equal one cup.
5. Whisk the oil into the flaxseed/water mixture until combined.  Whisk in vinegar/soy milk mixture and dried fruit.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are just moistened (don't over mix!).  The batter will be very sticky.
7. Using a half-cup measuring cup, ice cream scoop, or a soup ladle, drop the scones onto the greased cookie sheet, leaving at least one inch between scones.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
8. Bake on the center rack at 400°F until the tops of the scones are golden, 12-15 minutes.  My oven maxes out at 350°F, so I baked my scones for 20-30 minutes. 
9. Make sure you eat at lease one scone straight out of the oven! 

Makes about 7 scones.

Carrot-Granola Quick Bread

I just got a new oven after going without one for about six months.  I'm on a baking binge now, and nothing's easier to make than quick breads.  They're called panques in Mexico, though your traditional gringo quick bread has more fat, more sugar, and more spices than its Mexican counterpart.  The difference between a quick bread and regular bread is that quick breads don't have yeast.  Instead, eggs and baking soda or baking powder are used to leaven the bread, making preparation a lot faster, easier, and with a lot less mess.

This recipe calls for ground nutmeg.  I've never seen nutmeg in Mexico.  If you're making this bread in Mexico, you'll have to tuck a jar into your checked luggage or ask that someone bring you some.  I've made carrot bread without nutmeg with success, but the flavor loses some of its complexity.

The recipe also calls for granola.  I use a delightful mix I found in the organic farmers market near my house.  It has toasted coconut, toasted pecans, raisins, puffed amaranth, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and toasted oats, and it is sweetened with piloncillo, a by-product of the sugar-making process which is Mexico's version of brown sugar.

As for the dried fruit called for in the recipe, feel free to get creative.  I cleaned out my pantry and tossed in a mix of the many tiny bags full of the last pieces of dried fruit I had.  I used a mix of dried sweetened cranberries, prunes, chopped candied figs, and raisins.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs
• 1 c sugar
• 2/3 c oil (preferably canola oil)
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 c grated carrots
• 1 c granola
• 1/2 c dried fruit

PREPARATION:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C.*
2. Combine eggs, sugar, and oil in a small bowl.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed, but don't over-mix the batter.  Add carrots, granola and dried fruit.
5. Pour the batter into a greased bread loaf pan and bake for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.  This recipe is easily doubled.

* A lot of Mexican ovens either have the numbers 1-5 on their dials instead of temperatures, or the dial controls the size of the flame instead of the actual temperature of the oven, because the oven doesn't have a thermostat (despite the fact that it might actually have temperatures on the dial).  Do yourself a favor and buy an oven thermometer.  It'll save you a lot of heartbreak and burnt breads.