Blueberry-Lemon Spelt Scones

   



We've started a new tradition in our house. Saturday mornings are now spent in the kitchen baking, just my three year old and I. He has so much fun helping with the measuring and stirring, plus it gets him special one-on-one time with me. And I really enjoy sharing with Beckett this hobby I've only recently come to love myself. It's crazy to me that I used to not even like to bake only a couple years ago, and now I keep five different types of flour on hand.

Currently my favorite flour to bake with is spelt. I wanted to give making scones a try, and set out to find a spelt scone recipe. The one I found was originally for raspberry scones, but I altered it slightly to include blueberries and lemon juice and zest. These were so wonderful and fluffy, and I thought the accent of lemon flavor really made these. Sweetened by agave, they are just lightly sweet.

This recipe called for scooping the batter in individual mounds, as opposed to shaping it into a large round and cutting into triangles. Since this was my first time making scones, I just went ahead with the method they instructed. The directions said to scoop 12 mounds of 1/3 cup each. Mine were slightly less than 1/3 cup and I only got 8. Since my alterations shouldn't have affected the amount of dough in any way, I'm not sure why I got less, but having less scones at my disposal is probably a good thing. Especially ones as fantastic as these were. 

   

Blueberry-Lemon Spelt Scones

adapted from Food & Wine, Erin McKenna

yields 8 scones

2 cups spelt flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup canola oil, plus extra for brushing (I use a canola and olive oil blend)

1/3 cup agave

2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup hot water

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the spelt with baking powder and salt. Next stir in the oil, agave, lemon juice and zest and vanilla. Stir in the hot water and then the blueberries.

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the batter into 8 mounds, placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops with oil.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Let the baking sheet cool completely on a cooling rack before removing scones.  

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

With my soup (below) on the stove, simmering, and my child taking a very late nap, I needed something else to be doing other than the mopping I was avoiding. I had zucchini in the crisper, and suddenly I thought making bread. I found a fairly healthy recipe on allrecipes.com. I wanted to make it even healthier, so I used mostly applesauce instead all of the oil it called for (a cup!), reduced the amount of brown sugar, and used more wheat flour and less all-purpose.

While I was in the middle of making it, I spotted a pint of blueberries when reaching for the applesauce. Somehow it seemed a shame to not include blueberries while baking at this time of year. So, after a moment of consideration, I threw caution to the wind and subbed the raisins I was going to use for blueberries. Then as it was in the oven, I was positive I'd ruined it. Luckily, this wasn't the case. It's a great combination! This yummy bread is moist and lightly sweet, perfect for breakfast, a snack or dessert.

I'd like to note: I personally thought 3 tablespoons of cinnamon seemed extremely excessive, yet I went for it. As it was baking all I smelled was cinnamon, and I feared it would be overpowering. It isn't. In fact, it doesn't stand out at all, so I wouldn't reduce it.

makes 1 loaf, adapted from Zucchini Bread III, allrecipes.com

3 eggs

3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup blueberries, partially mashed (or raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, applesauce, oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add flours, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon and oats to bowl. Combine. Stir in blueberries and walnuts. Pour into loaf pan.

4. Bake for about an hour or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean.