I like strawberries a whole lot. During the summer months, I could easily eat a pound of strawberries a day. I don't. I'm just saying that I could.
There are a couple of reasons I practice restraint. 1.) I'm sometimes too busy enjoying my other favorite summer fruits, like blueberries and nectarines, and 2.) I only buy organic strawberries and organic strawberries can get pretty pricy. So I try to pace myself and limit myself to about two pounds of strawberries per week. That's reasonable, right?
Now picture, if you will, my response upon learning via instagram that Whole Foods was having a sale on organic strawberries- $1.99 per pound for one day only. It involved me stopping whatever I was doing (I don't remember what it was but I'm assuming it had something to do with being sidetracked by instagram), grabbing my purse and keys and running to my car. Ten minutes later, I was at Whole Foods and had 5 pounds of strawberries in my cart.
The following week was the best. There were strawberries at every meal. I could've bathed in them if that were my thing. I probably could've cooked something or done something creative with them if I wasn't eating them so fast. Then, by the end of the week, they were all gone and I was sad. I had to do another Whole Foods run so I crossed my fingers that they would have another sale.
Crossing my fingers generally doesn't work for me but it did this time. Organic strawberries were on sale- Two pounds for $4! Of course I bought four pounds. And proceeded to take pictures like any proud vegan strawberry eater would. This round took me a little longer to get through and towards the end of the week, they were beginning to head downhill. I needed to act fast to make sure they didn't go to waste.
So these scones were born. Actually, I lie. It wasn't these scones that you see pictured here that were born. There was actually a batch prior to this that got consumed so fast that a prettier second batch needed to be made the following weekend for pictures. And darn if these scones aren't photogenic! Now take how good they look in these pictures, multiply that by 37 and you'll know how delicious these strawberry lemon scones tasted. If you aren't good at math, just take my word for it- these scones are ridiculous. There's just the perfect amount of sweetness, the perfect amount of crumbliness, and the the lemon glaze highlights the bright juiciness of the strawberries within. For a strawberry lover like me, it doesn't get much better than these scones.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons chilled vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1 1/4 cups oat flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or unrefined sugar)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
- 1/2 cup powdered xylitol (or powdered sugar)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
- In a cup, mix together the almond milk and lemon juice and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk until throughly combined. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter and continue to cut until only small pieces (like the size of a pea) of the butter remain.
- Add the vanilla extract and the lemon zest to the almond milk/lemon juice mixture. Stir and add to the dough. Stir until just combined. Do not over-mix. The dough will be slightly sticky. Gently fold the strawberries into the dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Add a little flour to your hands and to the top of the dough and form the dough into a 12 inch disc. You may need to sprinkle the top with a little more flour if it is too sticky. Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, slice the disc into 12 triangles. Gently lift each triangle and place on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake the scones in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until they are golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Mix your glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Once the scones have cooled, drizzle the glaze over the scones. Serve and enjoy!
What is your favorite summer fruit?
Photography by Chris Miller
Beth
Oh, those look so good! I LOVE strawberries, too. I could easily just eat strawberries, blueberries and canteloupe all summer and be perfectly content. I also eat 2 lbs. of strawberries a week, so, no, there's nothing wrong with that!
I'm getting organic strawberries in my organic produce delivery tomorrow, and I might have to make these with them -- if I can bear to give them up from my breakfast!
Emily - It Comes Naturally
We seem to have by-passed strawberry season in the UK 🙁 I keep looking out for Pick Your Owns, but they were delayed by the weather earlier in the year. I'm already picking blackberries.
Maria Tadic
This look super yummy! I love the flavors of lemon and strawberry together - perfect for summer!! Can't wait to try these - they'd be perfect to bring into my office!
Kelly @ Vegan Iowan
These look delicious! I started trying to grow my own strawberries this year, but haven't had a ton of success yet. I love how few ingredients this contains!
Amanda
I'm so with you on the summer fruit. When Whole Foods was having that one day sale, I bought six pounds! I would have considered buying more if Aaron hadn't hinted that six was plenty. 🙂 I can't wait to try your scone recipe!
Kristen
Looks good!! I might try these out with blueberries. Do you think that would work the same??
Tami @Nutmeg Notebook
Those are beautiful and so photogenic. I love all kinds of berries but you know right now I am really into the locally grown peaches!
The Vegan Cookie Fairy
Funny, whenever I see American scones all I can think is: "That is most certainly not a scone." But I have to admit these look tasty. 🙂
rika@veganmiam.com
I love strawberries! I hope I can find some when I'm in Spain! Your scones look so pretty! What a great deal at Whole Foods!
Hannah
These look spectacular, but I must admit I'm imagining a batch with the lemon left out and a peanut butter icing on top 😉
Kelli
Those look amazing! They must be tried immediately 🙂
I read somewhere not so long ago that quick, sharp cuts make the dough rise better for scones - like literally taking a cleaver and making triangles in a few quick whacks.... Of course, if I did that, they most certainly wouldn't look this beautiful. But I'll have to make these just to give it a try.....
Angela @ Canned Time
These are just gorgeous and I know delicious!
I'm going to try them as muffins and see how they do. So fresh and delicate. LOVE!
Caitlin
they really do look amazing. strawberries and lemon are such a winning combination, i can almost taste the sweet and tart flavor right now. sounds so perfect.
slywlf
My fingers and tongue would be permanently stained red if fresh strawberries were available year round, so I don't fault you at all 😉 Now I have to trek back to my farm stand and hope they still have some - the season was a bit rough this year - July was more like August, then too much rain and cool in early August - but the berries were good, if harder to come by. This sounds so yummy - and I can foresee making the lemon glaze for other uses as well... 😉
Heather
Those are some crazy beautiful scones Kristy! I would have totally been all over those organic strawberries at $1.99 a pound- what an amazing deal! Typically I go strawberry picking every year, this was the first year that I missed out, it has been a busy summer season!
Alex
It's so amazing to me how much of a comeback scones are making this spring! These look absolutely delicious and I can't wait to try them. At Veganosity we made some lemon blackberry scones and they were absolutely delicious! Give them a try:
http://www.veganosity.com/food/lemon-blackberry-scones/
Kathleen
What would be the next best flour if I don't have quite enough spelt? Regular white? Whole wheat? pastry? more oat?
Alix
Hey, thanks for this recipe. I can't seem to understand when you're supposed to use the butter and strawberries, though... Did I miss something ?
keepinitkind
You cut the butter into the recipe in Step 3 and fold the strawberries in in Step 4. 🙂