Fall is in the air and I thought a little sweet treat might be just what my tired soul needed. Still trying to eat JERF (Just East Real Food) I made some yummy little scones from the Instant Loss Cookbook by Brittany Willams. Since the recipe is copyrighted I won't be posting it here. However there are some similar recipes on her blog Instant Loss. So feel free to go there and browse.
Please, note that everything said on this post I my own opinion and I am not affiliated or receive any compensation from Brittany, the cookbook sales or from her Blog. What is said here is just for my own personal benefit.
Cranberry Orange Scones - page 52
This is the photo from the book. Don't those look yummy!!!!
The basic ingredients needed for these little biscuits are: almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, eggs, agave nectar, avocado oil, orange zest, and dried cranberries.
Looking at the ingredients list I didn't see anything too surprising except for the agave nectar. Luckily, I have been dieting most of my life and happened to have some in my pantry. I think you could probably use honey if you needed to or maybe even maple syrup as I think it has a similar consistency and sweetness.
I measured out the ingredients according to the directions except the orange zest and cranberries. I will admit since I had an orange I just zested the whole thing. It probably came out to more than a tablespoon, but orange is such a refreshing flavor I though who cares.
I also just grabbed a handful of the dried cranberries (or rather Crasins). I think it was probably about 1/2 a cup but a little more or a little less never hurt anyone.
The dough was pretty stiff and the texture looked gritty. It was probably due to the flour being a nut flour and I will admit I was a bit nervous as to whether these would be dry or moist.
I lined my baking sheet with a silicone mat, instead of spraying it with oil and portioned out the dough using a # 20 scoop from pampered chef. I was only able to get twelve scones, so I'm pretty sure my scoop was probably double the size it should have been. Next time I will have to use a smaller scoop.
Note: The recipe indicates I should have been able to make 20 to 24 scones.
I slid the pan in the preheated oven and baked them for probably 15 to 20 minutes until they were golden brown. When they were finished I think they looked just as good as the stock photo in the book.
Since I wasn't expecting to do a recipe review I failed to take pictures along the way. Luckily though, I had four scones left over in my fridge (see picture below). They are 4 days old but they still taste delicious (yeah there's only three pictured because one is in my tummy).
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| My scones |
Family Review
Husband - Hasn't tried them. He isn't much for sweets.
Me - I thought they were lovely. The orange is pronounced, but not in a bad way. It was more like an iced orange roll flavor . . . if that makes any sense. They are sweet with the orange and tart with the cranberries. Can't say it enough these little babies are good.
The only thing that is off putting with these scones is the texture. Initially it was grainy, kind of like a cornbread texture. It definitely was not the smooth biscuit texture I am used to with scones. The one I had after it sat for 4 days was a lot smoother. I didn't get the grainy texture at all. I wonder if I had let the batter sit for 30 or 40 minutes if it wouldn't have been as grainy. . . . Something to think about for next time.
These treats are dense and I could only eat one, maybe two in a sitting. This could be because I made them rather large or maybe because they are pretty sweet even though no processed sugar was used. Whatever the reason I wouldn't expect the whole batch to be gone in a day. I also wouldn't double the recipe unless I was planning to freeze some for later.
My fifteen year old daughter - She found the texture off putting and really didn't like them. She didn't complain of the taste only that they were grainy and "They had a weird texture."
My three year old daughter - I told her these were orange cookies and if it has "cookie" in it she loves it. Out of my children she has eaten the most of them. Oh and she is typically my very very picky child.
My nineteen month old son - He didn't seem to care for them. When I first made them I gave him one right after it cooled and he mostly played with it. I will admit it is a new food for him so it might take him time to get used to it. I did try over the course of 3 days add one to his lunch plate, but he completely ignored the scone each time.
Conclusion
Although the scones were on the dense side they were absolutely lovely for a little treat. I can imagine eating these during tea time (yeah my husband took me on a cruise that had tea time and now I'm kind of obsessed) or as a snack with coffee.
One last thought . . . while this recipe was placed in a section of the book that listed them as a breakfast option I, however, think they are too sweet for breakfast. I think the cookie assessment or maybe a small cake is a more accurate. One of these scones warmed and topped with some vanilla ice cream. Yum! Now that would make a very lovely dessert.
In conclusion I would most definitely, hands down make these scones again. They were delicious and required no special equipment. The directions were easy to understand and quite frankly they were easier to make than pancakes or waffles.
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