Kumquat Scones
After a couple of weeks of seeing kumquats all over my favorite blogs, I finally made the trip to Whole Foods to pick up a couple of cartons. I probably should have limited my purchase to just one considering the steep price tag ($4 for a small carton? seems kind of high) and the fact that I didn’t have a clear idea of what to do with the sweet/sour/slightly bitter little fruits.
I started out eating a handful for dessert, paired with some dark chocolate, of course. I am rarely one of those people who can eat a piece of fruit for dessert and feel satisfied, unless we’re talking perfectly ripe watermelon and cherries in summer. And even then, chocolate is probably somewhere in the picture.
I considered using the kumquats in muffins, more citrusy donuts, and then realized that it’s been forever since I made scones, and I have a great scone recipe that’s easily adaptable. The only slight glitch was that I was nearly out of Earth Balance. I’m all for replacing butter with applesauce or even pumpkin (depending on the recipe), but scones need that fat to create their delicious, crumbly texture.
Keeping in mind how well the chocolate-glazed orange donuts had turned out last week when I replaced half of the Earth Balance with applesauce, I decided to just go for it. Worst case scenario, I would crumble the scones over smoothies and oatmeal.
I am happy to report that these kumquat scones turned out awesome! They’re fairly sweet, in part because I drizzled a powdered sugar glaze over top (1/3 C. powdered sugar, 1 Tbs. almond milk), but it’s the perfect contrast to the tangy kumquats. The scones are crispy around the edges, but crumbly and a little doughy on the inside.
I highly recommend kicking off your weekend with a batch of these.
| Vegan Kumquat Scones |
- 1 1/2 C. All-Purpose Flour
- 1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
- 3/4 C. Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp. Salt
- 1/4 C. Earth Balance
- 1/4 C. Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1 C. Fresh Kumquats, thinly sliced and seeds removed
- 3 Tbs. Non-Dairy Milk (I used unsweetened, plain almond milk)
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the Earth Balance to your dry ingredients, and using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut in the Earth Balance until it forms course crumbles. The Earth Balance should be about the size of peas.
- Stir in the applesauce and sliced kumquats until just combined.
- Add the non-dairy milk, 1 Tbs. at a time, until the dough comes together. You may need a little more or a little less than 3 Tbs. depending on how much juice gets incorporated with the kumquats.
- Divide dough into two equal parts, form into balls, and flatten onto your greased baking sheet. Cut each round into 4 parts.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool and drizzle with a little powdered sugar glaze if you like!
Slicing the kumquats is a little labor intensive, but oddly relaxing. I recommend cutting the larger ones in half lengthwise, before thinly slicing. The smaller kumquats can simply be sliced to form pretty little rounds. Just make sure to remove any large seeds – these are not the texture you want when you bite into a scone.
