Vegan Apricot Pecan Drop Scones ~ Oil-Free ~ Fruit Sweetened ~ WFPB

Easy light fluffy scones with no shaping required. These whole food plant-based treats come together in minutes and bake up fast. Dried apricots and dates are the only sweeteners. Whole spelt flour creates a delicately bouncy tender crumb. Not your typical American puck-like scone!

WHY I LOVE THEM

These fruity, nutty, bouncy and satisfying scones feature the utterly winning combo of sweet juicy dried apricots and crunchy pecans. I almost love them too much! Full disclosure, I’ve actually never met a scone I didn’t at least like. When I’m out and about and I see vegan scones on offer at a local coffee shop, my tendency is to temporarily set aside my whole food plant-based lifestyle goals and get one. Hey, I rationalize, I’m supporting vegan options and that’s good for the animals, the planet and my fellow vegans. The problem is that most vegan scones are not good for my own health. These scones are different. There are no refined fats or sweeteners in this recipe and I don’t miss them. The amount of almond flour used in place of other kinds of plant-based fat is modest for a scone. I love the flavor balance and subtle layered sweetness. They’re easy to make and bake up in minutes. No shaping required, just spoon the batter onto parchment paper. For a quick no fuss breakfast, I make them ahead of time and reheat them in my air fryer before serving them in the morning.

BENEFITS OF WHOLE SPELT FLOUR

You can always substitute whole wheat flour for spelt flour in recipes. I happen to love the taste and texture of whole spelt flour in this particular recipe. Whole spelt flour makes these scones a little flakier and bouncier than they would be with whole wheat flour. The other flavors in this recipe are subtle enough that the sweetness and nutty nuance of spelt gets to shine through.

Most of the time, for me, it’s about maximizing the health benefits of what I choose to cook. Using whole spelt flour in baking is an easy and delicious way to add variety to my diet. As an ingredient in a recipe, whole spelt is interchangeable with whole wheat flour. But interchangeable doesn’t mean identical. The nutritional profile is a little bit different with whole spelt flour having a bit more protein, zinc and copper than whole wheat.

Whole grains are an essential component of a whole food plant-based practice. The greater the variety of whole grains we can get into our bodies, the greater the health benefits. Eating a wide variety of whole plant foods, at least 30 different whole plant foods per week, helps promote a healthy and diverse gut microbiome. Using as many different grains as possible in our recipes helps us achieve greater dietary diversity which in turn leads to greater diversity in our gut microbiome. I could go on and on about this, but long story short, a more diverse gut microbiome means a longer and healthier life.

ALMOND FLOUR IN WFPB BAKING

In this recipe, almond flour is an essential ingredient because it creates a rich, dense and slightly crumbly texture that’s similar to what you get when using dairy butter or its plant based equivalent. Like all types of flour, almond flour is calorie dense. But it is a minimally processed whole plant food and therefore acceptable in whole food plant-based (WFPB) adherent recipes. When compared to scone recipes that rely on dairy or plant-based butter, substituting with almond flour greatly reduces caloric density. But if you need to restrict daily fat intake for medical reasons, even a small amount of almond flour can put you over the limit. In that case, these scones may not be for you, even if you left out the pecans.

BLENDER NEEDED

This recipe requires a blender in order to incorporate dates into the liquid ingredients. Essentially you’ll be making a watery smoothie with the plant milk, vinegar, vanilla and the chopped dates. I know it’s a bit of extra work for a very small amount of dates, but this step is important because it allows the recipe to get all of its sweetness from whole plant foods. When processed with the liquid ingredients, the sweetness of the dates gets evenly distributed throughout the batter. Processed dates also act as a binder and add moisture. Electronic appliances like blenders allow us to quickly and easily harness the power of whole plant foods, eliminating the need for ingredients like sugar, oil and eggs which are calorie dense and comparatively low in nutrients. Modernity can sometimes help us be healthier.

UN-CLUMPING CHOPPED APRICOTS

Another extra little step that’s worth the effort is to use some of your spelt flower to dredge the chopped apricots. It’s easy. Simply place chopped apricots into a small bowl, take one tablespoon of whole spelt flour from the cup and a half you’ve already measured and sprinkle it on the apricots. Using a spoon, or your fingers, separate sticky apricot pieces so that each of them is coated with spelt flour. Doing this saves time in the long run and makes your scones fluffier and flakier. When it’s time to fold the apricots into the batter, you’ll be able to incorporate them with just a couple of strokes. Ease of folding keeps you from overworking the batter which can make your scones heavy and gummy.

CREATING THE BATTER

Drop scones are made of batter, not dough. When you finish blending all your ingredients together the result will resemble a thick pancake batter. My technique is unusual in that I incorporate whole dates into the liquid ingredients. The rest of my recipe proceeds in a way that’s typical of traditional baking. I combine the dry ingredients, and after that, I add the wet ingredients, which in this case have been blended together into a single smoothie. Finally, I fold in the dry chunky ingredients, dredged chopped apricots and pecan pieces.

BENEFITS OF HIGH HEAT BAKING

There aren’t many recipes out there for drop scones, and none of the ones I looked at recommend a baking temperature as high as 450 °F. But I already knew that this temperature works beautifully for traditional drop biscuits. Because the batter for these scones is similar in composition to drop biscuit batter, I thought I’d give it a try. My hunch was correct. Quick high temperature baking produced scones that were golden, almost but not quite crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside. In my oven, 10 minutes is exactly the right amount of time. But ovens vary, so you may want to check yours after 8 minutes. Or, if your oven runs less hot, you may need to leave them in for up to 11 or 12 minutes. Burning, or over-crisping, can happen fast at 450° so be extra careful not to overcook.

SERVE WARM OR HOT!

These scones are at their best when they’re warm or hot. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make them ahead of time. If you want, you can let them cool and store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Before serving them, I strongly suggest heating them up in an air fryer, toaster oven or conventional oven at about 300° for 5 to 10 minutes. Microwaving is NOT recommended.

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