Friday, January 28, 2011

Heart-Healthy Dried Fruit Scones

It’s the start of a new year and time to eat a little lighter, but we do like our scones. I’m a little surprised that this is only the fifth time I’ve posted about scones because Kurt and I both enjoy them in all flavors, shapes, and sizes. They can be decadent though. So, I was happy to try this slimmed down recipe from Flour since I’m becoming convinced this book can do no wrong. Joanne Chang set out to make less indulgent scones that didn’t rely on extra sugar for flavor. Instead, these are packed with dried fruit and frozen cranberries, and the not-too-sweet dough is made with a little canola oil instead of a lot of butter. They’re also topped with a vanilla glaze which gives them instant visual appeal. I even went one step further and used some whole wheat flour in place of some of the all-purpose. The result was a scone that’s good enough to look forward to each morning without a trace of guilt.

These scones were also very easy to make. There was no butter to cut into the flour, and the dough wasn’t even rolled out or cut to form the scones. To start, I mixed whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a big bowl. Then the fruit was added, and that included dark raisins, golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, I used chopped dried pineapple instead of dried apples, dried cranberries, chopped candied ginger, and I used frozen cranberries since fresh ones are no longer available. In a small bowl, eggs, yogurt, and buttermilk were whisked together, and then that was stirred into the flour mixture. The dough was scooped one-half cup at a time onto a baking sheet, and the scones were ready to bake. There was a note in the recipe stating that once the scones are scooped onto a baking sheet, they can be frozen and then baked directly from the freezer. So, I made them in advance and baked them from the freezer so we could have freshly baked scones for breakfast. They just require about five extra minutes in the oven if frozen. After baking and cooling, a confectioners’ sugar and vanilla glaze was spooned over each one.

The mix of fruit was delightful with the cranberries’ tartness and the ginger’s zing. The crumb of the scone was lighter, less dense, and a little like a cross between a scone and a muffin. Obviously, they’re not as rich as an ordinary scone, but when we’re feeling like being less decadent, I now have a trusted alternative to enjoy.



32 comments:

  1. Very healthy indeed, but also terribly yummy!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Lisa, these look so delicious! We're snowed in today and I'm going to make these. Thanks for the recipe!

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  3. These sound easy and so tasty! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Yummy! And I am so happy you made them round (I have a little peeve with triangular ones-- you never see them in England).
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. How could anything that looks so delicious really be healthy? Glad to know I'm wrong. I'll have to take a look at this recipe in Flour. I'm a big scone fan as well.

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  6. Those look wonderful, Lisa. Healthy and delicious at the same time! I adore scones and this recipe will allow me to eat them without feeling guilty!

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  7. As I was reading this I remembered thinking a few months ago that there were not enough sweet breads that included the amount of dried fruits and nuts that I like. This looks like a hearty toothsome scone, perfect for breakfast.

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  8. These sound wonderful Lisa, I love round scones & am pretty partial to dried fruits, so I'd love these :)

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  9. Flour bakery is one of my most favorites on this earth! And I am so happy that this is slimmed down so that I can have my scone and eat it too!

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  10. My friend ordered Flour for me for Christmas and she said it finally shipped, so I'm really excited to check it out! The scones sound so lovely.

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  11. I love scones! My mom and I once took a cooking class on scones, just so we could come home with a dozen of the varieties we made in the class :)

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  12. i've been brainwashed into thinking that all scones must be triangular! i like these though, especially since there's no cold butter to fiddle with. :)

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  13. You wouldn't be able to that they're not decadent from the pictures...wow! I love all the goodies in here and think I may have to try a batch :D

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  14. Oh I really love such baked things with dried fruit :) Lovely scones, Lisa :)

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  15. Those look and sound healthy and delicious! I love all the fruits in them.

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  16. My kids love to get at scone at Starbucks and I hate buying them because I know they are filled with sugar. I'm all for sugar but it should be in a cookie, not a breakfast thing. I love the idea of making it sweet with fruit and also using less butter.

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  17. Looks so healthy and delicious! I rarely eat scones cause I love them with clotted cream and jam, very bad for my waistline =P

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  18. Lisa, not sure you subscribe to Fine Cooking, but lots of people are raving about their banana scones.

    If you don't subscribe and would like to have the recipe, drop me an email and I'll send it to you.

    I am a scone-virgin... never made one

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  19. Sally: Thanks! I'll check to see if the recipe is on their web site.

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  20. I'm obsessed with scones. I can't wait to have a working oven again.

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  21. I love that they're not only healthier than a traditional scone but so much easier to make. And they look delicious too - I would love to pull a few of these out of the freezer on the weekend!

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  22. they look absolutely DELICIOUS, I'm a huge fan of dried fruit, so I'm definetly going to try them ;)

    http://lizardcookieshoe.blogspot.com/

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  23. the healthy version still looks very delicious. love the vanilla glaze.

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  24. Sounds like a fantastic recipe, and your pictures are just stunning!

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  25. Never made scones before but this is the kind I really love. Lots of fruit, healthy and less calories.

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  26. Wonderful combination of flavors and I love the fact that they can be frozen!!! The lower fat factor doesn't hurt either!!

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  27. Looks so good! Yum! We'd love for you to share your work at dishfolio.com.

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  28. I have got to get Flour stat, if you say its that good, that's enough for me. Incredibly delicious sounding recipe,

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  29. MMMMMMM,..your tasty scones look fabulous!! Waw!!

    Recently, I also made scones, but gluten free & egg free ones. Here is the link: http://sophiesfoodiefiles.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/sophies-healthy-tasty-gluten-free-egg-free-scones-with-chocolate-pecans/

    I just moved my blog to wordpress.com/ Come over @ my blog & check it out! Yoy must update your RSS!

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  30. These are gorgeous! almost like a version of fruit cake that i love so much. What a delightful way to start ur day.

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  31. I would love some of these with my coffee. Thanks for the post!

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