home.: grain-free scones

Crazy how some things just become routine. Back-scratches before bed, gum before church, after-dinner summer walks. In our house, Saturday mornings are some of the most predictable hours of our week…kids wake up and fend for themselves until parents appear downstairs. Then we start a whole house clean-up, followed by scones and tea.

The next part is not quite Saturday morning cartoons, but is already ingrained as what should happen on a Saturday morning. Somehow this has become completely normal.

Blog, meet our pet python. The boys named her Sweetie-Pie. You can call her Sweetie, for short.

{I know...crazy!!!}

No, I don’t like snakes. I sang for years: I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. Yet, somehow they convinced me. It certainly wasn't their reasoning: Mom, pythons aren't poisonous. It's *just* a constrictor. But, I love my boys. So, we have a snake...for now :) She eats on Saturdays. After we finish our scones, the boys pick up a mouse. Sometimes neighbor kids come to watch Sweetie strike and snack. We call it our DIY nature channel.

One Saturday morning I was out of my gluten-free flour mix and stumbled on this recipe using almond flour. I hesitated, until I remembered how much we like these muffins that are simply almond meal. So, I gave it a whirl. They were gone so fast that I made them the next day. And the next day. Etc. After
making them 3 times in a week (and many more times since then), it’s time to share.

In case you haven't completely lost your appetite,
here is my new go-to recipe for Saturday morning scones.

Grain-Free Scones
2 cups almond meal/flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup mini dark chocolate chips
½ cup unsweetened toasted coconut
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
Optional (but optimal): 1/2 cup powdered sugar, tiny bit of milk

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cranberries, chips and zest. In a smaller bowl, combine egg and agave. Mix wet ingredients into dry.

Knead dough with hands if necessary to ensure proper distribution of ingredients. Form dough into a circle that is about ½-inch in thick. Cut circle like a pizza, into 8 slices.

Using a metal baking spatula transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Optional (but optimal): Make a glaze from powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over scones.
Recipe adapted from Elana's Pantry.

There are endless possible variations.

1. White Chocolate-Cranberry: Omit coconut. Add ½ cup cranberries. Substitute ½ cup Ghiradelli white chocolate chips for mini chocolate chips. Add a few drops of almond extract to the glaze.
2. Blueberry Crumble: Omit chocolate chips, coconut, and orange zest (although lemon or orange zest would be delish in this too). Add 1 cup fresh blueberries after mixing wet into dry ingredients. Top with mixture of: ¼ cup coarsely chopped nuts, 2 T. almond meal, 1 T. maple syrup, 1 T. melted butter, pinch of salt.
3. Vanilla Chai: Omit chocolate chips, coconut, and orange zest. Add contents from 1 bag of chai tea and ½ cup Ghiradelli white chocolate chips. Add ½ t. vanilla extract to the glaze.