Hey folks! Girlfriend did not have school today, so that means no Coffee Cake Friday. Instead, I thought I’d share a fabulous recipe I have for cream scones.
These scones come with a story about community and Twitter. If you don’t already know about Twitter, it is an online social networking tool. But, really, it’s so much more than that. If you don’t know about Twitter, check out Michael Hyatt’s description of it. I think his is a great introduction to the fun and value of Twitter.
One day this summer, I, as @fourchickens (my Twitter name), was hanging out and chatting on Twitter. My friend Alice, who is @savorysweetlife, mentioned that she had posted a new cream scone recipe on her blog, Savory Sweet Life. Now, Alice is not only a wonderful person, she is a fabulous chef and baker. I immediately checked out her recipe and thought it looked great–and came back to Twitter and told her that I was adapting it to be gluten-free as we spoke. She was enthusiastic. Then another friend, Nancy, who is @sensitivepantry, chimed in to say that she was working on a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free version for her blog, The Sensitive Pantry. Nancy is also a terrific chef and baker and shares my desire to bring good food to our lives, regardless of the fact that we are dealing with food allergies and intolerances.
It was very fun, because we all could bake and chat with friends and other like-minded folks regarding something about which we care deeply–food. It was a wonderful and convivial day–at the end of which we each had a scone recipe that we loved and that worked for our needs. Perfect!
This recipe has become my new go-to scone recipe. The scones are different from those in my other recipe–because these have cream and eggs instead of buttermilk. They are delicious and incredibly easy to make. I love them because they always come out wonderfully light and fluffy. I’ve taken to adding lime zest to them–which adds a nice little kick. Play with flavorings, if you’d like, to come up with variations.
Gluten-Free Cream Scones
-adapted from Savory Sweet Life
Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flower mix:
Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum
(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice–just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4-1/2 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the scones)
Special equipment needed:
-food processor (or pastry cutter)
-Silpat mat for shaping the scones (if you have one, otherwise use tapioca flour on your working board to prevent scones from sticking as you shape them)
Ingredients
2 C Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
2 TBL baking powder
4 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBL cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 C heavy cream
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBL additional sugar for sprinkling on top
2 tsp finely grated lime zest (optional)
additional tapioca flour for shaping the scones (if you don’t use a Silpat mat)
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-If you’re using lime zest, place sugar and lime zest in food processor and pulse several times to mix, then follow next step (skip this step if you don’t have a food processor–add the lime zest in following step)
-Add flour, baking powder, salt, butter (and sugar if not using lime zest) and pulse several times until mixture resembles coarse meal
-if not using a food processor, cut all of these ingredients together in a bowl with a pastry cutter (or two knives)
-Transfer everything to a large bowl. Stir in heavy cream, egg, and vanilla and mix the dough with spoon until dough comes together.
-Finalize mixing dough with hands
-Divide dough into four softball-sized lumps
-Take first lump of dough and shape into a ball
-Then shape into a rounded disk that is approximately 3/4″-1″ in height
-Cut each disk into four triangles
-Place each triangle on baking sheet (doesn’t really need to be covered with parchment paper, but I often use it anyway)
-Repeat process with each lump of dough. You should have enough for 4 disks, 16 scones
-Sprinkle each scone with a bit of granulated sugar
-Bake for about 15 minutes–until bottoms of scones are golden brown
-Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack
Enjoy!
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I have spent much time looking for a GF biscuit that is light and fluffy. Your Cream Scone will be my next attempt. However, your blend uses TAPIOCA to which I am allergic. Can I use arrowroot or coconut and almond flour or a mix of all 3? I don’t want to compromise the light fluffy texture. Thank you for your help.
Beverly: Yes, you can use arrowroot starch or potato starch in the place of the tapioca. Happy baking!
Thank you for this recipe!
It´s so fluffy and delicious
This looked like a sweet version of a savory biscuit recipe I used often before I went GF (just two weeks ago) and I was craving something sweet. This was perfect.
I´m amazed how good the texture is, it´s actually lighter and fluffier than the all purpose wheat biscuits were.
Tera: Yay! I’m so glad you like them!
Excellent recipe!!! These are so delicious. I really couldn’t tell the difference from a non-GF recipe. Thanks!
Kristyn: Yay! I’m so glad–thanks for letting me know!
I don’t have a food processor, so I used low speed on my stand mixer to cut in the cold butter. I know that’s not quite right, but it worked well enough and made the recipe easy for me.
To make ginger scones I added two cubes of Dorot frozen crushed ginger and used butter extract instead of vanilla extract. They were delicious!
Sherry: I think if that method works well for you, then that’s the way to do it!! Also, your flavoring ideas sound delicious–yay!
I live in New Zealand. They don’t seem to have heavy cream here. That’s what I would have called Double Cream when I lived in the UK. In NZ, they just seem to have “cream” and that’s it. Anyway, could I use sour cream or something like that instead. I am thinking that single cream will make the mixture too sloppy???
Lindsey: I think cream is just fine.
Happy baking!
I was in dire need of a gluten-free scone recipe since my Mom’s friend gave me some homemade lemon curd. I made these today and they were easy, the house smelled great while they were baking, and they are the perfect cushion for some homemade lemon curd. I had some hazelnuts floating around the pantry so I food processed them first and then threw them in the batter when the egg and cream were added. They’re fabulous! Thank you so much!
Brittany: Yay! I’m so glad!
I just found your site and I think I’ve fallen in love! Your recipe for the all purpose mix alone is fabulous!
I was wondering if you’ve done any variations with this scone recipe… added any items to it, nuts, chocolate chips… maybe pumpkin? I’ve only been gluten free (and soy free) for a few months now and I’m pining away for a Starbucks pumpkin scone
Thanks!
Brooke: I am so glad you are finding my site helpful–yay! I have added nuts and chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup) and they are awesome additions. I haven’t tried pumpkin–but that sounds terrific. I have had requests for a pumpking scone and I really need to work on that. In the meantime–I would experiement with adding pumpkin and see what happens. You will probably want to reduce the other liquid–the cream–a bito accommodate the addition of the wet pumpkin. If you do it, let me know how it goes! Happy baking!
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