Wednesday, April 11, 2012

It's Time For a Healthy Breakfast!

At about 2pm today, I got it in my head that I wanted to make some scones. I couldn't tell you why. The idea just popped in my head: "Scones! I should make scones!"

And it wouldn't go away.

I've never made scones before. Eaten a lot of them. But never made them.

I still have a bunch of lemons at home from Anna's bountiful Meyer lemon tree. I knew I wanted my scones to have lemon in them.


I also wanted them to have oats. Quaker Oats, to be specific.

While I considered my options, I made some oat flour.
Oat flour is pretty easy to make. I don't know why I've never made it before.

Here's how. Get some oats. Quaker, natch.


Put them in a food processor, pulse it a few times, then push the "on" button and let it run for a couple of minutes. 


Possibly the most boring "action" shot ever.


Here's the oat flour, up close and personal.

Let's review.
Lemon...oats...and...um...blueberry. Yes! Blueberry! Of course!

Kate's Blueberry-Lemon Oat Scones
makes 24 mini (2") scones

Ingredients
1 cup whole spelt flour
1/2 cup oat flour plus extra for forming the scones

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

zest of one or two lemons, Meyer if you have them
5 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into small (1/2") pieces

1/4 cup (Quaker!) oats
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup yogurt (I used 0% Greek yogurt)


Egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk



Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
 
2. Put the spelt flour, oat flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and lemon zest into the food processor bowl and pulse it a few times until blended. 



3. Add the butter to the bowl and process about ten pulses or until incorporated but not clumpy. Think slightly damp sand texture.

4. Dump into a large bowl and add the oats. 

5. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and yogurt in a measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently with a wooden spoon to combine. 


6. When nearly incorporated, add the blueberries.  





7. Put the bowl in the freezer for 3-4 minutes to firm up the dough a bit.


8. Scatter oat flour on your work surface and turn the dough out. Form the dough into a rectangle.


Cut lengthwise into thirds, then crosswise into squares, then cut each square diagonally to form 24 small triangles.

9. Place the triangles on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Whisk together the egg and milk and brush the scones with this egg wash.


10. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until the tops of the scones begin to brown.



I've already eaten three of them. 
Ok, four. I'm eating the fourth one right now.

These are good. They taste like they might even be good for you. They're surprisingly tender and not dense at all. Barely scone-like, actually. It must be the oats. Oats are powerful.

The rest are coming to work with me tomorrow. I've got to get them out of here before I eat them all!


2 comments:

Catherine said...

I heart scones and cannot wait to get home to try this!

chocolatechips said...

Looks good. I'm sure it tastes delicious as well. The thing is, yogurt is not Greek, it's Turkish. The name itself is from Turkish, too. Turks produced yogurt long before the Greeks did. Just like baklava, lokum (Turkish delight), coffee (Turkish style), doner (meal made from meat) or evil eye beads & so on...