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Sometimes you just get tired of eating the same old things for breakfast. Don’t get me wrong, I love tofu scrambles, hash browns, oatmeal with fruit, pancakes, etc, but sometimes I am just not in the mood for any of it. That’s how I was feeling this morning as I laid in bed and started thinking what I could bake that wasn’t too sweet and could be legitimately be called a breakfast. Scones. I made them once with nectarines and they were so. damn. good. I remembered we had a ton of fresh blueberries, and a plan was set in motion.
Are Scones a Breakfast?
Are scones a dessert? Are they a breakfast? Well they are definitely less sweet than a lot of “breakfasts” I have had that’s for sure—you pancake/waffle/french toast lovers know wtf I am talking about with all that whipped cream, syrup, powdered sugar, mountains of fruit, etc.
Scones are the perfect merging of a breakfast and dessert because they are only mildly sweet and the combination of the fruit with the soft, crispy biscuit texture of the scone is oh so pleasing.
The Origin of Scones
There is some debate where scones originated, but much of what I found is that they are of Scottish origin—but also very popular in England and Ireland and may have originated in one of those countries…so a big salute to all the fine folks from this region. ??????? ??????? ??
What is a Chia Egg and Why Do I Need It?
If you looked at the ingredients and wondered wtf is a chia egg, you are not alone. This was my first reaction to ever seeing this thing in a recipe.
The short of it: a chia egg is an egg substitute. It’s made by combining water and chia seeds.
The long: If you ever eaten chia seeds, they look innocent enough, but add some kind of liquid to them and they let their wild side loose. Chia seeds get all gel-like and gooey when wet (that’s what she said). They also absorb the shit out of any liquid they come into contact with. For that reason a chia egg does well in mimicking raw egg consistency and is great for binding in baking recipes where an egg is called for. And while I have eggs in my fridge from our lovely chickens, those predominantly go to back to them as well as to the cat and dog, so the chia egg was important here.
The ratio is 1 tablespoon of chia seeds to 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. The seeds soak up the water nearly immediately leaving you something like what you see below. This recipe calls for 1 chia egg, and it worked perfectly.
Flax Eggs
Alternatively, you could make a flax egg, if you have flax seeds or flax meal on hand. This option is a little more work because you need to grind the flax seeds before adding to water. Not a big deal, a coffee grinder would work perfect here if you have one. (If you are using flax meal no grinder required.) I like the chia egg because I pretty much always have chia seeds on hand for topping things like oatmeal and yogurt and for making chia pudding.
The Lemon Glaze
I almost left this part off because I get really lazy toward the end of a much anticipated treat like this, but I am so glad I didn’t. I mean seriously, what cannot be made better with more sugar? Plus, the lemon juice in this simple glaze ties together the subtle lemon flavor in the scones and really kicks things up a notch. It literally takes a minutes, so just get yourself together and do it—you won’t be sorry.
Make sure you grab vegan powdered sugar if you are going to make this.
Disclaimer, it does not create these unrealistic white swirling lines over your scones…I don’t know how others are doing this, but the glaze is more of a light tan/cream color and kind of blends really well with the color of the scone. Still delicious, just saying so you don’t have an unrealistic expectation. Here’s a look at them with the glaze (front) and without (back). Not a huge difference, taking my shitty photography skills into account.
Alright! Let’s get on to the recipe if you haven’t already skipped ahead. ?
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Shake up breakfast with these lightly sweetened vegan lemon blueberry scones. They have a perfectly crispy exterior and soft biscuit interior bursting with blueberry and lemon flavor. Drizzle with lemon glaze to tie it all together.
Ingredients
- 2 cup all purpose flour sub wheat if desired
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed, light or dark is fine or sub white/granulated sugar (organic to ensure vegan)
- 8 tbsp cold vegan butter or sub coconut oil (unmelted)
- 3/4 cup coconut milk or sub almond, soy, oat, or another plant-based milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract the real stuff, fake kind might not be vegan
- 3/4-1 cup fresh blueberries or sub frozen
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Chia Egg
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 1/2 tbsp water
Lemon Glaze (Optional)
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp coconut milk or other plant-based milk
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine your chia seeds and water in a small bowl or cup to make your chia egg. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
- Add the cold vegan butter (the colder the better). Use a pastry cutter or your hands to break up the butter and disperse throughout the dry ingredients. Be careful not to overwork.
- Add in the milk, vanilla, and chia egg, and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
- If you dough seems too sticky/soft to work with, let it rest in the fridge for at lease 30 minutes or longer if very soft.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough just enough until it comes together. Flatten by hand (lightly flour your hands if sticky) into a rough circle about 1 inch thick. If the dough is too sticky, you'll have to shape scones by hand (what I did).
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough like a pizza, forming 8 triangles. If shaping by hand, divide dough into 8-9 pieces. Shape each piece into a rough triangle (mine looked more like raindrops and that is a.o.k.).
- Place the scones onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 22-26 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. (I ended up with 9 scones and 26 minutes was perfect.)
Make the Lemon Glaze
- Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl or food storage container (to save extra for later). This step prevents the glaze from being clumpy. If you dgaf about clumps just jump on ahead to the next step.
- Add in your coconut milk and lemon juice. Mix it all up till good and combined. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powered sugar. If it's too thick, add more milk (or even lemon juice—trust me it'll still be plenty sweet).
- Let scones cool for about 15 minutes or as long as you can contain yourself before adding glaze. Allowing time for glaze to set and scones to cool makes for a prettier presentation. Don't care? Drizzle that shit on and eat up.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge (if they actually make it that long). Additionally, you can freeze them for longer storage. Again, I don’t know how tf you can possibly resist eating them, but I am sure someone out there is making double or triple batches. 😉 A perfectly crispy exterior and soft biscuit interior bursting with blueberry and lemon flavor.
