January 6, 2010

Humpastry Day!

Banana Date Scones

There's just something about winter that makes me want to bake.  Maybe it has something to do with the warmth that is created from baking.  Warmth from the oven.  Warmth from the baked goods themselves fresh out of the oven.  Warmth that comes from the soul from eating something yummy! :)  Whether it's muffins, bread, scones, or cookies, I love to bake! So, I thought I'd start a weekly post called "Humpastry Day."  Get it...Wed. is usually considered "Hump Day"...so since I'm baking pastries...Humpastry was created!  Cheesy..I know!

Anyways, here is the first pastry post.  I have been meaning to bake some of the scone and muffin recipes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Veganomicon, but haven't gotten around to it.  Until now! 



Ingredients:
Makes 8 large scones.  Seriously..they're big.  I think next time I'll use a 1/3C instead of a 1/2C to make the scones.
* 8 oz. dates (~13 pitted dates)
* 1 Tbl. all-purpose flour
* 1C mashed, very ripe bananas (~3 bananas)
* 2Tbl. ground flaxseeds
* 1/3C rice or soymilk
* 1/3C canola oil
* 1/4C brown rice syrup
* 1C all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4C whole wheat pastry flour
* 2Tsp. baking powder
* 1tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1/4tsp. ground nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2C chopped walnuts (optional)

The Steps:
1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet (I used a round baking stone, which fit the 8 scones perfectly so I didn't need to grease it)
2.  Finely chop the dates, place in a small bowl, and sprinkle with 1Tbl. flour.  Set aside.  You're supposed to toss the dates with flour so there are no clumps, but my dates were very very sticky and still clumped.  Honestly, I don't think it's a big deal if they're not clumped b/c you mix it all together at the end!
3.  In a large bowl whisk together the flaxseed and milk.  Add the mashed bananas, oil, and brown rice syrup.
4.  In another bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir into banana mixture until just moistened.
5.  Fold in the dates and walnuts (if using).
6.  Lightly oil (I used spray oil) a 1/2C measuring cup and scoop half cupfuls of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving ~3" of space between the scones.
7.  Bake for 32-34 minutes, until browned and firm.  Transfer from baking sheet to a cooling rack to complete cooling.

These turned out pretty good!   I split one with my 2yr. old for a snack and he scarfed it down, which is a definite sign of approval! :)  They have a very  nice earthy, naturally sweetened flavor and I can't wait to eat these for breakfast tomorrow with a nice cup of coffee!

 

3 comments:

ShutUpandRun said...

Hey! Thanks for your commetn on my blog. I live in Longmont. Let me know if you plan on doing the tri in June. it would be fun to meet up. I've done it before, but that was 9 years ago and the distances have changed.

ShutUpandRun said...

PS: GREAT and yummy looking scones. Healthy too.

joyRuN said...

Hmmm... I'll have to give that recipe a try.

Your homemade Lara Bars look good too. A lot better then the homemade protein bars I made eons ago (& never tried to make again since).

Let me know if you sign up for the month-long tri!