Oatmeal-Craisin Scones

We love to go to the library.  I have been taking my kids to the library for their whole entire lives. Story time, programs, just going and looking through books... Libraries are wonderful places, wonderful resources and just a fun place to go.

One weekend recently, we stopped by the library so little miss could pick out some new books. She's an avid reader and plows through books at an absolutely unbelievable rate.  She plopped herself down in front of the junior fiction section and I set to chasing little man around the stacks, trying to make sure he didn't pull down too many books on his way.  Daddy was also looking for something new to read, so he headed off to the grown-up section of the library.

When he came back, in addition to a couple of interesting looking novels, he had a cookbook for me. It's called CakeLove in the Morning, and is chock-full of amazing looking breakfast/brunch-type recipes. Flipping through the pages, every single one of  us wanted to try... well... darn near every single one of the recipes.

The first recipe I tried was for these delicious scones. It's actually a recipe for oatmeal-raising scones, but my kids prefer craisins, so I made that switch. 

Planning ahead, I prepared the dry ingredients the night before. This recipe was interesting because it called for a tablespoon of cornmeal for added texture, and, rather than using baking powder as the leavening agent (like most scones I've made), it called for a mix of baking soda and cream of tartar. Now, I knew that you could substitute that combination for baking powder in a pinch, but this was a different ratio, so I was curious as to how it would work.

In the morning, I simply had to cut in (or rub in, as I prefer) some cut, cold butter...

...and then mix in my wet ingredients to bring the dough together.

Then it's a simple matter of shaping and cutting the scones.

The recipe called for the scones to be brushed with an egg-wash, but, due to little man's egg allergy, I don't like to do that, so I brushed the tops with a bit of coconut milk mixed with a touch of vanilla extract. Add a tiny sprinkling of sugar and pink Himalayan sea salt (because... if you have it, why the heck not??) and these babies were ready to go into the oven.

Just over 15 minutes later, we were ready for breakfast.

These scones were absolutely delicious. The outside had a thin, crisp crust and the inside was perfectly soft and delicious.

And, see? Never would have had these if not for the local library.



Oatmeal-Craisin Scones
(only very slightly adapted from CakeLove in the Morning)

1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon maple syrup
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, cold
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk and maple syrup; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, raisins, oats, sugar, cornmeal, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Whisk these together briefly to incorporate.
Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until everything is clumpy.
Slowly add the coconut milk/maple syrup mixture, continually turning the dough. Stir until the dough easily forms a ball (I needed a couple of tablespoons extra coconut milk to do this).
Divide the dough into three portions. On a lightly floured work surface, place one of the sections and shape it approximately into a four-inch square, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the square diagonally across in each direction, making four triangles. Place each triangle on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and vanilla extract. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each scone with this mixture.
If you want, you can sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar and/or sea salt.
Bake scones in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on the sides and golden across the tops. (Mine needed an extra minute or two.)
Remove scones to cooling rack and cool for five minutes before serving.

Enjoy!