singing tastebuds

candied orange scones

...interested?

this was a late night experiment that passed the test with flying colors!  of course, i'm sure it helped that we were devouring these while watching the young victoria, so my taste buds weren't the only thing in bliss.

for the scones:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

1/4 cup applesauce

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 1/2 tbsp rice milk (or soy, whichever you prefer)

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp orange extract

1/4 cup agave syrup

first, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  combine the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well.  with a fork (or your fingers!), mix in the applesauce and oil until crumbly and stir in the chopped pecans.

in a separate bowl, whisk everything else together, then combine the wet and dry ingredients in the bigger bowl until well mixed (i feel like captain obvious writing these directions tonight for some reason...).  shape into little flat circles (about the size of your palm) and place on a greased baking sheet.  bake for 18-19 minutes or until golden brown.

*i didn't have any on hand, but after tasting these, they really would be incredible with about a teaspoon of orange zest included, and if you're feeling super ambitious, you could replace the rice or soy milk with orange juice.

i served these with homemade candied pecans and coconut (at the insistence and courtesy of natalie) and orange chocolate sauce for drizzling.

the candied pecans were a combination of whole pecans, agave syrup, coconut oil, cinnamon and shredded coconut all simmered in a pan until toasty!

for the orange chocolate sauce, i whisked together cocoa, agave syrup, vanilla (extra, extra) and orange extract.  once again, this would have been even more decadent with orange zest instead or in addition to the extract.

believe me, these were a mighty success!  i loved every last bite.  to make it even better, my tummy loved every bite just as much - they weren't too sweet even for a late-night snack!

sorry, though. no pictures this time!  it was a little too late and i was a little too hungry for orange scones to be playing around with my camera.  next time, for sure i'll snag some.  they were beautiful: orangy with all the candied yum and drizzled with chocolate - it looked like christmas to me!

enjoy life!