Dairy-free Blueberry and Cream Scones

 I think scones are one of the funnest baked goods to make. When I first started out making scones, they were rock-hard, dry and as tough as nails.  Instead of getting discouraged, my inability to make a perfect scone challenged me to create a recipe that is essentially fail proof AND dairy-free.  Scones are one of those desserts where butter is pretty much a mandatory component for it to even be called a scone. I pretty much thought so as well until a craving for scones hit SO bad, it didn’t go away for weeks.  I’m usually one of those people with enough will-power to keep cravings that might kill my digestive system at bay since I’m lactose intolerant, but nope, this one just wouldn’t go away!

I’m not going to pretend that this recipe is healthier just because it doesn’t contain butter, but I can definitely promise you that it is extremely low-sugar (only 1 tablespoon!) and 100% dairy-free while still delicious and moist.  If dairy-free scones aren’t your thing, and you want the real deal, try out my raspberry almond and white chocolate scones, instead! Alright, if you’re still on board, here we go. 

Since coconut oil is similar to butter in terms of its consistency (solid at room-temperature), I figured that it would be a good substitute to use for scones.  However, as I quickly found out, coconut oil melts far more easily then butter and super quick at any temperatures over normal room temperature making for a gooey mess.  The key to successful scones in this case, is to keep your coconut oil cold (I ensure this by place measured out coconut oil in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before using) and keep your measuring bowl cool as well (if possible!).

I love scones because they’re super customizable.  Hate blueberries? Use raspberries! Don’t have white chocolate on hand? Use dark chocolate, chop up nuts, or just leave it out altogether! Super easy, right? As long as you don’t mess with the dry ingredient to wet ingredient ratio, the add-ins are pretty much up to you.  One thing that I will note, is that, all fruits that you want to incorporate into this recipe should be frozen fruit!  Frozen fruit maintains its shape, doesn’t make the scone too soggy when baked, and honestly helps keep the coconut oil cool when you’re mixing, ha!

While you can make your scones any shape you want, I would recommend patting the mixture into a large round circle and cutting into 8 triangles, much like you would a cake (cutting before baking the scones ensures that the scones are allowed to rise and get super fluffy!).  This is much faster than individually portioning out scone mounds, and makes sure that the scones themselves are virtually identical triangles after baking. When you bake them as a large circle, it also helps keep the scone moist inside and not dry out too quickly. If you prefer scones that are more crust than fluff, then maybe individually portioning out scones might be what you want to go with.

I don’t know about you, but I’m savoring up the last few weeks of summer like nobody’s business. These berry-licious scones are best eaten with tea and under the summer-y blue sky.  I’m getting hungry just thinking about them! Let’s get to it!

DAIRY-FREE BLUEBERRY AND CREAM SCONES | Makes 8 scones

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp more for sprinkling
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp coconut oil – chilled in the fridge before using
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup coconut cream + 2 tbsp more for brushing
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 (F).
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Add in coconut oil and using hands a fork incorporate coconut oil into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse sand.
4. Add in frozen blueberries taking care to separate any blueberries in frozen chunks.
5. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine coconut cream, vanilla extract and egg, mixing thoroughly.
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into the well.
7. Using spatula, fold wet and dry ingredients together until a wet, shaggy dough forms.  DO NOT overwork dough.
8. Place dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pat into an 8″ circle.
9. Brush top with coconut cream and sprinkle with sugar. Then cut circle into 8 pieces to help scones rise more easily in oven.
10. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden brown and the tips of the scones feel firm to the touch.

Enjoy!

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Mushroom and Spinach Quiche

 Flaky buttery crust, creamy and eggy filling, it can only be a quiche. To be honest, I really love quiche, it can basically be customized depending on your mood and the custard that forms from milk and eggs cooking is just heavenly.  I’m mostly given up on eating dairy when I can cause I’m lactose intolerant, but quiche is one of those things that I haven’t been able to let go.

This recipe has been in use since my high school days of helping my mom host brunch parties, and believe it or not, it can be customized to be completely dairy-free.  Hooray!! Yes, I’ll admit that it’s not as good without the buttery crust, but heck, the quiche filling is still as creamy and glorious when made with soy milk or almond milk…just make sure it’s unsweetened and unflavored…trust me, vanilla flavored quiche is just NOT good.
I would not try and tweak the egg to liquid ratio – I’ve tested so many ratios and found that 1 egg to 1/2 cup of liquid produces the best results. With this ratio, the egg proteins hold just the right amount of liquid and you get a really creamy and soft, but not liquid-y custard.

You can make the quiche in either a sloped pie pan or a straight-edged cake pan, really it doesn’t matter! If you want to be fancy, traditional quiches were made with straight-edged pans, but I always find that the crust tends to shrink away from the edges while the sloped-edges of the pie pan holds the crust in place better. It really is up to personal preference though!
This recipe calls for spinach and mushroom, but you can fill it with anything you want: peppers, bacon pieces, cheese, the list goes on and on. With vegetables that exude a lot of liquid, just make sure to cook most of that liquid out first. I made this quiche for my food science lab friends and if it means anything, it was gone in less than 10 minutes. The most important thing is to make sure you chill the crust so that the gluten proteins have time to relax and you don’t end up with a tough and doughy crust. Other than that, it really is a fool-proof recipe! Seriously, give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

SPINACH & MUSHROOM QUICHE | Makes 8-10 slices
INGREDIENTS

for filling

• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup mushrooms – sliced
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk/cream (any type works, the lower the fat content, the less creamy, soy or almond milk works too! Just make sure it’s unsweetened)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

for crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted COLD butter – in 1/2″ cubes
• 3-5 tbsp cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium skillet, cook mushrooms on high heat until golden brown.  Salt and pepper to taste then remove from pan.  Cook spinach until wilted on medium heat.  Salt and pepper to taste as well. Set mushrooms and spinach mixture aside.
2. In a separate large bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Whisk together until well combined.
3. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, baking powder and butter.  Pulse until butter is in small pea-sized pieces.  Then, with food processor running, drizzle in water a tablespoon at a time until a dough ball forms.  Pat dough into a flat circle to make rolling out the dough easier and refrigerate until firm (~1hr).***If using hands, cut cold butter into flour until mixture resembles fine sand.  Then add water a tablespoon at a time until mixture forms dough.  DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH.
4. Preheat oven to 425 (F).
5. Once dough is firm , roll out into circular crust about 1/8in thick and 12-14 inches depending on size of your pan. Place crust over pan and crimp edges to form a raised crust.
6. Spread mushroom and spinach mixture evenly on top of crust before pouring egg mixture on top (make sure to whisk again before mixing to make sure salt and pepper is evenly distributed).
7. Bake quiche at 425 (F) for 10 minutes to prevent crust from getting soggy before reducing temperature down to 350 (F) and baking an additional 15-20 minutes until quiche is set.  Quiche will be done when it wobbles ever so slightly when shaken gently.
8. Cool before slicing. Quiche will stay fresh up to 2 days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Spring pea + carrot frittata

 I don’t know about you, but even as a morning person, mornings suck. Part of the job as a baker means that I’m up before the crack of dawn and covered up to my knees in flour and sugar before most of the population has hit rush hour traffic. Did I mention I also get hangry every two seconds if I don’t eat breakfast? I try and prep food the night before so that when I roll out of bed in the morning, I can dump things into a pan, pop it into the oven and forget about it for the next 10 minutes while I get ready. This one pan wonder has easily become my go-to breakfast, and makes a spectacular lunch (no reheating required!), or dinner.

It’s not only super duper easy to make, but also extremely versatile.  If I’m feeling something light, mushrooms and spinach make a delicious combo, and if I want something more hearty, I will throw in some smoked salmon (mine is courtesy of Trader Joe’s), you really can’t go wrong! I make mine in a cast iron, but basically anything that is oven-safe and non-stick will work perfectly fine (think cake or pie pan, if you want to get creative!). Having company over for brunch? This recipe can be doubled or tripled or even quadrupled to keep everyone happy.

SPRING PEA & CARROT FRITTATA | Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup unflavored soymilk, almond milk, or regular milk (optional)
• 1 tbsp unflavored oil
• 1 large (or 2 small) carrot shaved (a vegetable peeler works really well to make shavings)
• 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• Non-stick, oven-safe pan

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350 ° F
2. Crack eggs into a large bowl and whisk thoroughly until air bubbles form on the surface
3. Add in salt, pepper, and milk (optional) and mix well
4. Once pan is heated, add oil to the pan along with the carrots and peas. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until carrots are softened and peas are cooked through.
5. Spread vegetables out on pan and pour egg mixture over.
6. Let the pan sit over medium heat for 2 minutes before transferring into the oven for an additional 6-8 minutes (if you like your eggs on the soft side, take them out closer to 4-5 minutes)

Enjoy!