I am so excited to be back! It has been more than four months since I posted one of my own recipes. My life has undergone profound change in those months, but by the grace of God, I'm still here. :) I have been working with a number of recipes recently, but with each one there was still something that was not quite right. This, though, was all I could hope for. I've just had a delicious breakfast, and could not wait to share it with my blog people. :)
Thank you for hanging in there with me, during my long hiatus.
The basis for this recipe is a biscuit recipe I've been working on. I can no longer use the stick margarine I've relied on for baking. I realized that it contains pea protein, which my body does not appreciate. I had tried various things to replace it, but was not getting the results I wanted. Then I had a small epiphany. Lard. My Granny Grace, who was renowned for her wonderful pies, preferred to use lard in her pie crusts. I wondered whether lard would make a positive difference in my biscuits, and it did!
**for those who are vegetarian/vegan, this recipe can still work
well, just by substituting a stick-margarine that works for you (such as
Earth Balance soy-free buttery sticks, my old favorite).
I felt good about the idea of using lard, since people from many different places read this little blog. I believe that lard will be far more accessible to people in other countries than the specific margarine that I use. At first, I used lard from the grocery store, which worked well but had a long list of preservatives. After doing some research online (my sister laughed when I told her I was searching for "healthy lard." Healthy is not an idea we usually associate with lard!) ...I found some good sources of lard that is from organically-fed, humanely-raised animals, and that has no mysterious chemicals added. It is much more expensive, of course, but I feel better about using it.
When we started trying to use foods and ingredients that are more healthful, we faced the dilemma of the high cost of better things. We decided to use those good things (like grass-fed beef) but to use less of them and eat them less often. We use the good beef, but we greatly reduced how often we eat it. I'll use the fancy, clean lard the same way. I'll buy the good stuff, but I'll be frugal in how often I bake with it.
The biscuit recipe has still needed tinkering, so I have not shared it yet.This morning, though, I used that recipe as my starting point and turned out some delicious scones.
Cinnamon Walnut Scones
(gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nightshade-free, low lectin)
Makes about eight 2 1/2" scones
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, so it is ready when you need it.
Dry ingredients:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut "brown sugar"
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1/2 cup lard (or vegan margarine)
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2 teaspoons buttery coconut oil, melted
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2/3 cup coconut milk beverage
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1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together well. Cut in the lard (or margarine) with a pastry blender, or mix it in with your hands. With a fork, stir in the melted coconut oil. Add the coconut milk, and stir. When partway mixed, add the walnuts. Sir with the fork until just combined.
Dust a clean surface with a little millet flour. Scoop the dough onto the floured surface and gently gather into a ball. Pat the dough into a circle, about one inch thick. Using a 2 1/2" biscuit cutter, cut scones from the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about two inches space between them. Gather up the scraps, gently combine, pat out, and cut more scones. Continue until all dough is used.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
**Waiting until now to preheat the oven allows the cut scones to rest before baking.
When oven is preheated, bake scones for 18-20 minutes, until just cooked through.
Remove to a cooling rack.
(If left on the pan, the bottoms will keep baking and get too dark).
Enjoy!
Notes:
-I use Azure Standard unifine millet flour. If you are in the U.S. you may have access to an Azure drop location. It is a nationwide natural foods co-op. Their millet flour is more finely ground, and less gritty, than that in stores. If you can't get Azure flour, then something like Bob's Red Mill will work.
-That little bit of coconut flour is important for the texture. It really does make a difference.
-The same is true for the xanthan gum.
-Coconut "brown sugar." I found this in a store on a recent trip. The brand is Big Tree farms, and it is called "Organic Brown Coconut Sugar." Coconut Sugar is supposed to be "low-glycemic," having less impact on blood sugar than regular sugar does.
-The lard I found, through Amazon.com, is from a company called Fatworks.
-The buttery flavored coconut oil makes a difference in the flavor. If I did not have food issues, I would use butter as the fat in these. Using too much of the buttery coconut oil would give it an artificial flavor, like movie theater popcorn. This little bit makes a subtle, but important, difference.
-The coconut milk I used is SoDelicious brand, unsweetened original flavor. At some point, I will probably try the recipe using the thicker canned coconut milk. That would be more of a "cream scone."
-These scones should have a reduced impact on blood sugar (as opposed to regular scones, made with refined wheat flour and refined sugar). The flours are both resistant starches, and the sugar is low on the glycemic index.
-Someday, when life settles down, I will learn how to calculate the nutritional content of my baked goods, and will add that information to my posts. I will also learn how to include a print function for my recipes. I know how much I appreciate it when others make their recipes easy to print!
-I stick with fairly small batches in my baking, generally only using a total of about two cups of flour, for a couple of reasons. 1) alternative ingredients are generally expensive. It is more cost-effective to bake smaller batches 2) even with these better, more healthful substitutions, large amounts of baked goods are not ideal for any of us. :)
-It feels so good to be back in the kitchen, and back to sharing recipes! :)
- If you are interested in the rough journey my family and I have been on these past few months, I've shared it through my other blog: https://thenourheartsbroke.blogspot.com/ If you just want to stop by and explore the recipes, then I am delighted that you are here. I hope you find things that work for you, that bring enjoyment to your life. :)
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