Mmm these are yummy guys. I know because I have been nibbling them all day long. No self control here.
When the sunshine-y, springy Easter-season rolls around, everyone seems to have brunch on the brain. We all want to sit around in our PJs, sipping lattes and nibbling fresh fruit, freshly baked muffins and scones and devouring brunch-worthy foods like waffles, pancakes, tofu scrambles and more. Well I am sucker for the baked goods part of brunch. Give me one amazing muffin or scone, a perfect matcha latte and some fresh fruit and I am a very happy girl.
And last week I had a craving for savory, cheesy, scallion-filled scones. So yesterday I did something about it! I was so happy when these scones came out beautifully on my first try. Scones are easy to make, but there are a few tricks to making them flaky, fluffy and dreamy. I will share my scone baking tips and this recipe for my Vegan Savory Scones with cheddar, scallions and tempeh-bacon..
Love the flaky, buttery layers!..
Lots of goodies in each bite. I like to really load in the fold-in ingredients like veggies and vegan cheese.
Flour. I used sprouted grain whole wheat flour for these scones. I love the nutty, yet smooth and buttery texture that emerged! But if you do not have sprouted wheat flour, any wheat flour is an easy sub. If you want to try with a gluten-free flour you absolutely can, but the end result mind not be as fluffy. I am going to test a gluten-free version this weekend and I will update the post!
5 Scone-Baking Tips:
1. Scone Butter. You want cold cold cold butter. So place your stick of Earth Balance in the freezer for ten minutes before using, if need be! You want it cold enough to grate or finely chop into tiny cubes. Those tiny bits of butter, much like for a pie crust, are what will give you FLAKY scones. Another tip: try not to skimp on the butter! Scones are supposed to be rich. But that is why you really only eat one and are done. They are rich and satisfying!
2. Channel Elsa. Haha, ok I got creative with this tip title. Anything to use a Disney princess reference. But really, just like tip number one, you want all the ingredients to be as cold as possible for your scones! So the vegan milk, vegan cream cheese (or yogurt) and tofu should all be ice cold. The colder the better. That keeps your dough nice and stiff and the flakiness comes from there!
3. No Eggs? No Problem! Scones are rad because they absolutely do not need eggs! In fact many traditional scone recipes do not call for eggs. "Cream Scones" - the CIA Culinary Institute of America has a great recipe - uses heavy cream as the liquid. And if you think about it, scones really do have a more pie-crust-y texture rather than a muffiny texture like eggs would give. And things like heavy cream and buttermilk are super easy to sub with vegan ingredients. You could use a high fat vegan yogurt (plain), coconut milk, high fat soy or almond milk, silken tofu and more!
4. Hot Hot Hot. You want your oven nice and toasty when the scones go in the oven. So no 350 degree stuff here. Go with 400 degrees. The cool part about scones is even though they are pretty thick and hearty, they bake in just about 18-20 minutes! If you have a convection bake setting use that and 17-18 minutes should do it.
5. On top. I always like to add a tiny bit of oil or vegan butter wash on top of the scones. You could also sprinkle some raw sugar on top if you are doing a sweet scone.
I hope these photos show the butteriness, fluffiness and flakiness of these scones! I was so pleased with the texture!
So warm up a scone and pour a latte (Or an Easter smoothie) and enjoy an easy, amazing brunch! Matcha for me.. oh ps.. episode 2 of my matcha chat is live!
Ok, enough chatter, let's get to these scones!!..
Vegan Cheddar Scallion Scones
By Published 04/11/2017
Fluffy, buttery, flaky savory scones that are super flavorful and satisfying. Perfect for brunch or alongside your favorite latte beverage. Vegan cheddar and tempeh bacon, scallions and optional chives.
Ingredients
- Dry:
- 2 ½ sprouted grain wheat flour*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon vegan sugar
- Wet (blend):
- 6 oz silken tofu
- ⅓ cup vegan cream cheese**
- 2 ½ tablespoon non-dairy milk
- Fold in:
- 1 stick of vegan butter (Earth Balance), very cold - grated or chopped into small cubes
- ¾ cup chopped scallions (about 5 scallions)
- ¾ cup tempeh bacon, finely chopped***
- 3oz shredded vegan sharp cheddar cheese (about ¾ cup)****
- optional: dried or fresh chives
- extra flour for pressing out + cutting dough
- * or sub a regular wheat flour
- ** I used Kite Hill brand, which is very rich in fat. I suggest a higher fat vegan cream cheese -- or sub with a higher fat plain vegan yogurt
- *** You could also try coconut or shiitake bacon or even veggie "ham" or "sausage" if you want!
- **** I used Daiya sharp cheddar block, and grated it myself. You can use any brand or flavor of vegan cheese - some ideas in my vegan cheese guide.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until combined.
- In a blender, blend the tofu, vegan cream cheese and non-dairy milk.
- Pour the wet blend into the dry bowl. Be sure to scrape the sides of the blender to get all the wet mixture into the bowl. Stir to combine - this mixture will be very crumbly and dry still.
- Add the vegan butter. I like to make sure my vegan butter is very cold and then grate it on a cheese grater. You could also chop into very small cubes. This small flaky texture of the butter is what gives you flaky, layered scones.
- Next, add in the vegan cheese and tempeh bacon and scallions.
- Stir well to combine everything. Then get in there with your hands and start gently kneading the dough in the bowl until the everything combines together. Your hands will help gently melt the butter into the dough. When you have a nice dough ball you can place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or some sort of solid floured surface. Press out the dough into a round disk, about 1 - 1 ½ inches thick, depending on how thick you like your scones. Slice the dough disk like a pizza. First into halves, then quarters and finally eighths. Transfer the scone triangles onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or you can grease the sheet with oil or vegan butter.) Optional: rub some melted vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil on top of the scones before baking.
- Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
- Allow the scones to cool for at least ten minutes before serving. These are best served fresh from the oven, but they also reheat and freeze very well! So good the next day. Feel free to make a big batch of these in advance, freeze them and reheat as desired. If serving the next day, you can place them, covered, in the fridge.
Yield: 8 sconesPrep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins. Cook time: 00 hrs. 20 mins. Total time: 35 mins. Tags: scones,breakfast,bakery,vegan,brunch,easter,tempeh bacon,cheese,easy,bread,side,
Vegan Cheddar Scallion Scones
Ingredients
Dry:
- 2 ½ sprouted grain wheat flour (or sub a regular wheat flour)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoon vegan sugar
Wet (blend):
- 6 oz silken tofu
- ⅓ cup vegan cream cheese (I used Kite Hill brand, which is very rich in fat. I suggest a higher fat vegan cream cheese -- or sub with a higher fat plain vegan yogurt)
- 2 ½ tablespoon non-dairy milk
Fold in:
- 1 stick of vegan butter (Earth Balance), very cold - grated or chopped into small cubes
- ¾ cup chopped scallions (about 5 scallions)
- ¾ cup tempeh bacon, finely chopped (You could also try coconut or shiitake bacon or even veggie "ham" or "sausage" if you want!)
- 3oz shredded vegan sharp cheddar cheese (about ¾ cup)
- optional: dried or fresh chives
- extra flour for pressing out + cutting dough
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until combined.
- In a blender, blend the tofu, vegan cream cheese and non-dairy milk.
- Pour the wet blend into the dry bowl. Be sure to scrape the sides of the blender to get all the wet mixture into the bowl. Stir to combine - this mixture will be very crumbly and dry still.
- Add the vegan butter. I like to make sure my vegan butter is very cold and then grate it on a cheese grater. You could also chop into very small cubes. This small flaky texture of the butter is what gives you flaky, layered scones.
- Next, add in the vegan cheese and tempeh bacon and scallions.
- Stir well to combine everything. Then get in there with your hands and start gently kneading the dough in the bowl until the everything combines together. Your hands will help gently melt the butter into the dough. When you have a nice dough ball you can place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or some sort of solid floured surface. Press out the dough into a round disk, about 1 - 1 ½ inches thick, depending on how thick you like your scones. Slice the dough disk like a pizza. First into halves, then quarters and finally eighths. Transfer the scone triangles onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or you can grease the sheet with oil or vegan butter.) Optional: rub some melted vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil on top of the scones before baking.
- Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
- Allow the scones to cool for at least ten minutes before serving. These are best served fresh from the oven, but they also reheat and freeze very well! So good the next day. Feel free to make a big batch of these in advance, freeze them and reheat as desired. If serving the next day, you can place them, covered, in the fridge.
