Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chocolate Chip Scones

Josh is home with a fever today so I am taking the opportunity to do a little baking. I like to offer gluten-free after-school snacks to the kids when they get home--plus, it's a good excuse for me to try new recipes. This is a treat was easy to make, the batter is yummy, and the whole family gave it two big thumbs up. Aly, thankfully, had quite a few. Otherwise, I may have eaten them all myself! If you are not a fan of chocolate, try berries, nuts, or chopped dried fruit instead. Be sure to use finely ground blanched almond flour for this recipe, as almond meal will not have the same results.

Adapted from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam.


Makes 16 scones.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw honey
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (I chopped E. Guittard 72% cacao chocolate wafers.)

Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla.
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in chocolate.
  5. Drop batter in scant 1/4 cupfuls (I used a large cookie scoop), two inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
  6. Bake for 12-17 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  7. Let the scones cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheets.
  8. Serve with a cup of tea or coffee for a special treat. Or share with your children, if you must...

29 comments:

  1. Seriously unbelievable! I could do paleo for the rest of my life now that you brought this recipe into my life. Thank you.

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  2. Mine didn't turn out like the picture, they were flat like cookies. I had melted the coconut oil, was I not supposed to?

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    1. Yes, you were correct to melt the coconut oil. What type of flour did you use? I used a very finely ground blanched almond flour. Almond meal would not give you the same texture. Did you include the baking soda?

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  3. Ditto mine did not turn out the same as the commenter above. I used Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Almond flour. http://www.bobsredmill.com/almond-meal-flour.html. Is there another brand you recommend? Thanks!

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    1. Hi, Annie. I am sorry you are not getting good results with the scone recipe. I have to think it is the flour. I haven't used Bob's so I can't comment on it. I have found it much less expensive to purchase my almond and coconut flour online. I love the blanched almond flour from Benefit Your Life. I purchase the largest bag and keep it in the freezer. It ends up costing about half of what I'd pay for buying the small bags in the store, plus it is excellent for baking. I have a link to it from the sidebar under My Favorite Things. Give it a try--I think it will make a big difference!

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    2. Hi I made the scones yesterday and they were/are delicious! Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful creations! I used the Bob's blanched almond flour and they turned out great. I melted coconut oil let it cool a touch and then mixed rest of ingredients together. I used dried cranberries with half chocolate amount. Yummy! I plan to order my almond flour online from now on too after researching it is less expensive to do it that way. Thanks again and happy cooking!
      Michelle

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    3. Oh, good! I'm glad they turned out well for you and that the Bob's flour worked. I bet the cranberry chocolate combo was delicious! I want to try pecans and blueberries next...Thanks for leaving such nice comments, Michelle. Annie, your next batch turns out better!

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  4. These look delicious! I am definitely going to give them a try :)

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  5. They are yummy--and hard to stop eating! I'm going to make them for our Easter brunch! Hope you enjoy them. :)

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  6. I have recently found out that I am "sensitive" to almonds. Can you suggest an alternative flour so I can try these/

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    1. I wish I had an easy answer for you, Kathy! I have had great success baking with coconut flour, but it is not a 1:1 replacement for almond flour. Coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture so you need to increase the liquid. I usually do this by adding in more eggs, but you could also try coconut milk. The scones would have a different flavor and texture, but they would still be good. I will try to do a little experimenting with a coconut flour scone and post the results. I have also baked with walnut meal (brownies). Are you sensitive to all nuts or just almonds? Using another nut flour may give you similar results taste-wise, but the consistency will be different. Please let me know if you end up experimenting before I do. :)

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    2. Thanks, Pam. I will try coconut flour. I am really new to all this so need to find a source. And thanks for the tip on needing to increase liquid.
      To my knowledge it is only almonds that I am sensitive to. But I haven't experimented much yet.

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    3. Kathy, I actually tested some coconut flour scones and they turned out well. I will be posting the recipe within the next couple of days. Thanks for inspiring me to find an alternative to the almond flour recipe. I know a lot of people have issues with nuts.

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    4. I will look forward to your recipe. Is there a way I can be alerted when it appears? I did just make this recipe with coconut flour. I added two extra eggs, then 2 T of water and 1 T of oil (I used olive oil) and then 2 more eggs. It is still rather crumbly. I would love to know what you come up with. Thank you.

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    5. Kathy, you can subscribe via email so that you are alerted each time I post. Just fill out the info on the top right of my blog. The coconut flour scones were a bit drier than the almond flour, but not crumbly. Hopefully they will work for you. Stay tuned!

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    6. Thanks, Pam. Did you add extra moisture to yours scones?
      I am subscribed. Thanks for you contribution to my life:)

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    7. I just posted the coconut flour scone recipe. The eggs help balance the dryness of the coconut flour. Give them a try and let me know what you think. Happy to contribute to your life. :) What a sweet comment! Thanks!

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  7. I've made this a few times. The first time they were kind of flat like cookies.......but oh so good! I quickly didn't care what they looked like as long as they were good.

    I've used different almond flours (blanched, unblanched), and have a few that came out more scone like while others were a little more cookie like (in the same batch, on the same tray.)

    They are so yummy though.

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    1. Hey, Anon! I have made these several times, all with the same blanched almond flour. Because they are drop scones, I could definitely see these being called a cookie--the look is not that far off. But I think they taste more like a scone, and I feel much better having a scone for breakfast than a "cookie." :) But as you mentioned, regardless of the form they take after baking, they are SO YUMMY! Thanks for the nice comments!

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  8. can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?

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    1. Hi, Teresar71. Please see my response to Kathy above regarding coconut flour. Thanks for the post!

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  9. Another winner from Paleo Table... thanks, Pam! These were delicious; wouldn't change a thing!

    Sarah
    http://www.mommade.org

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    1. Hi, Sarah! I'm so glad you tried these--they're one of my favorites! Thanks for the nice comments!

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  10. YUMMMAZING! Thank you sooo much. This was my first try at one of your recipes. It was a great success and I look forward to trying more of your creations.

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    1. Thanks, Jennessa. They are dangerously good, aren't they? I'm so glad you liked them. Thanks for letting me know!

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  11. Whow, how good are these! I'm in Australia and where I am we can't get almond flour apparently in Australia we only get almond meal. I just baked these and they are just Devine! What a great recipe. I am slowly in the process of our household taking the paleo approach. Yum!

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    1. Thanks, MBB--and hello to you in the land down under! I'm glad these turned out well for you even with the almond meal. Thanks for letting me know. Good luck with your paleo conversion. Hope to hear from you again soon!

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  12. Is it okay to substitute pure maple syrup for the raw honey? I am from central NY and we have amazing maple syrup! Needless to say my family stocks up! I'm just wondering if it will have an effect on the recipe?

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    1. I have found that honey and maple syrup are pretty interchangeable as sweeteners, so it should turn out well--but I've never tested it on this recipe. I'd love to hear how your scones turn out!

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