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2018 is the year of finally sharing some ancient recipes from my catalog that never made it to the blog somehow. I’ve been happily making my vegan scones recipe for at least three years. It took a reader request to finally stop procrastinating and take some step-by-step photos and get this recipe to you! The power of requests. Always reach out to me if there’s something you want veganized – I may already have a recipe!
Sorry also for the delay in new recipes (I hope these vegan scones were worth the wait, though!). I took a much needed vacation last week. Now, thanks to jet lag, I’m awake at 3:30am writing about scones. I suppose I’ll probably have horrendous sugar cravings all day :D.
I put a little bit of fuss into my dairy-free scones. Some recipes may tell you to mix up the dough, shape it into a blob, and cut it into triangles. I have nothing against those recipes! However, I’m really needy and I want my scones to have distinct layers. I love the variegated appearance and the extra crevices for adding jam or filling. Consequently, we are doing this fancy and folding and rolling the dough to create extra layers. Not to worry, I have photos of every step!
I also want to set some expectations about coconut oil and vegan butter as it comes to biscuits and scones. Vegan butter is somewhere around 10% water. Little pockets of fat form in the vegan scone dough and when a butter substitute is used, the water content evaporates which leaves airy little pockets in the dough. When coconut oil, which is 0% water, is used, there’s nothing to evaporate. Flaky texture is still achieved, but it’s not as light and delicate.
When it comes to vegan chocolate chip cookies and vegan snickerdoodles, you can get around this by mixing liquid and oils together directly, but for more delicate vegan scones, it’s not quite so simple.
The pictured scones are made using coconut oil. For those who have a reliable vegan buttery product that they like, I would welcome to substitute that for the coconut oil if you prefer. Both versions of my vegan scones are delicious, omnivore approved. So don’t stress! I just wouldn’t feel right keeping this information from you.
To be slightly more healthy, you can also use whole wheat pastry flour in these vegan scones, as evidenced by this super old picture I took in 2015. Obviously you won’t get that tantalizing pale color, but texture and taste-wise they’re still a success.
If you want to go a more savory route or simply reduce the sugar content, I tested these with 1/3 cup of sugar instead of the allotted amount. The texture still gets nice and fluffy, the flavor is perhaps a little more bready. Totally still delicious.
Because the dairy-free milk in these scones is of a small quantity and doesn’t have a crucial role, I won’t be pedantic as usual about it: feel free to use coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, or whatever you’ve got. Gluten-free flour also does work well in these.
Eat these vegan scones with “butter” and jam, drizzle them with glaze, or simply enjoy them plain!
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5 from 10 votes
Raspberry Vanilla Bean Vegan Scones
Classic vegan scones made with coconut oil, and flavored with raspberries and vanilla beans (or whatever fillings you prefer!)
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan
Keyword dairy-free scones, vegan scones
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 12 scones
Calories 178kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp refined coconut oil (1/4 cup + 3 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (see notes)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (optional)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1/2 cup cane sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (optional)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
- 1 tsp plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
Dollop the coconut oil onto a plate and place it in your freezer to harden. (Alternately, fill a mini ice cube tray with it). After 5-10 minutes, it should be frozen enough to grate into a bowl. Return the bowl of grated coconut oil to the freezer.
Keeping everything cold is the name of the game here. In another small bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, yogurt, and vanilla if using, and place in the fridge.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the grated coconut oil and gently stir together. Slowly stir in the milk mixture, until just combined.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead a few times to bring the dough together, adding more flour if necessary. (Don't knead more than is... kneaded).
Roll the dough out into a square, approximately 12 by 12 inches. Fold it in thirds like a business letter: Bring the bottom third up to the middle, then fold the top third over that. Then, bring the left side into the middle, and fold the right side over the left side.
The result should be a square approximately 4 by 4 inches. Place on a plate and set in the freezer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together the 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1 tsp of non-dairy milk and set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the freezer. Once again, gently roll it out into a 12 by 12 inch square, using flour if needed. Now, if using a filling such as the raspberries, evenly scatter them across the surface of the dough (in the photos I am making half raspberry, half plain scones). Press them into the dough gently.
Tightly roll the dough away from you into a log. Gently flatten the top with a rolling pin.
Cut the dough into rectangles, and then cut each rectangle in half diagonally to form triangles. In the photos, I am making 8 (rather large) scones with my dough by cutting it into 4 rectangles first. If you want to make 12 scones, you would cut it into 6 even rectangles... etc.
Transfer the vegan scone triangles to your baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with your oil-milk mixture. Then, sprinkle them with sugar.
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Transfer them to a cooling rack once cool enough to handle, and cool for another 10 minutes there before enjoying. Leftovers, once cooled completely, can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature,
Notes
YOGURT SUBSTITUTE: Sweetened yogurt works fine if that's what you've got. Other viable substitutes include softened vegan sour cream or cream cheese; or pureed silken tofu.
SUGAR: You can use coconut sugar, or reduce the sugar quantity to 1/3 cup, both with slightly more bready but still-tasty results.
COCONUT OIL OR BUTTER: Feel free to substitute your favorite vegan butter for the coconut oil, increasing the quantity to 8 tbsp. You can also use the butter for brushing the scones instead of vegetable oil.
Nutrition
Serving: 1scone | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen and Produce on Parade.
