Healthy blueberry scones made with 3 times less butter and sugar than traditional recipe. White flour makes only 1/3 of the dough, substituted by steel cut oats and whole wheat flour. To make the scones moist I used Greek yogurt. Perfect Back to School snack.
Confession: I have never made scones before but I’ve been buying Northern Gold steel cut oats from Costco for over a year. On a box, there is a blueberry scone recipe with 2/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar. But I was intrigued with steel cut oats in the ingredients list.
Steel cut oats are the healthiest oats – whole grain oats cut into pieces, outer husk removed. Take longer to cook but have the nuttiest taste ever and are crunchy. The best oats!
So I made the original box recipe. It was good, very buttery though. I had to make it to know what I’m facing.:) And then I totally made my own, 3 times in a 6 hour period. So, trust me, it’s a no-fail recipe. Alex fed his co-workers, we ate some while camping and I froze another dozen. We had enough of blueberry scones but they were incredible!
Greek yogurt made the scones moist, different than butter moist. So, do not expect buttery flaky scones, these are soft and moist. And so healthy! There are different kind of scones, trust me, I googled.
I loved steel cut oats addition – gave the scones an extremely nutty taste and crunchy texture. Sweet enough with bursts of fresh blueberries here and there. And healthy, only 195 calories and 4.9 g of fat per scone!
I went with almost all organic and local ingredients this time. I try to any time, especially with dairy, meat and eggs. I don’t use flour a lot, so it’s cheap to buy organic. Do the same, you will taste the difference.
My blueberries were perfect, from a farm 15 kms away from my house. Be gentle with them when folding into the dough. Don’t crush.
The dough will be sticky, that’s what makes the scones moist. As long as you can form the circle, you are good. Cut with a sharp knife twice each slice. Bake as a circle, do not separate the scones! They will be dry.
And don’t skip the brown sugar sprinkle. I tried to make the scones without the sugar and they were missing something. And 1 tbsp of good organic brown sugar is nothing. Trust me, it won’t make you fat.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Read recipe instructions carefully. If I can make tasty healthy scones, so can you!
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/4 cup steel cut oats
- 1/2 cup skim milk, cold
- 1/4 cup or 1/2 stick salted butter, chilled
- 1/4 cup egg whites, cold
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, non-fat, cold
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all purpose white flour
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- More flour for work surface & dough if necessary
- 1 egg white, for an egg wash
- 1 tbsp brown sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
- Rinse oats under cold running water (about 4 times), until the water runs clear and drain. Add to a small bowl along with milk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes while you are getting other ingredients ready. Transfer butter from fridge to the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 F degrees and get baking sheet ready. Place a piece of parchment paper fitting the baking sheet on the cutting wooden board and lightly sprinkle with flour to coat the middle, in a shape of a 8-10" circle.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites for 30 seconds until a bit foamy. Add greek yogurt, agave nectar and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine. Refrigerate.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl add white flour, whole wheat flour and baking powder, and mix to combine. Grate butter into the same bowl and mix pressing the butter pieces into flour with spatula. Add the liquids mixture from step 3 and mix until the dough forms. Add blueberries and gently fold them into the dough. Do not press hard not to crush the blueberries. The dough will be sticky.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured parchment paper sheet, lightly flour and roll or pat into a circle about 3/4" - 1 " thick. If the dough is too sticky add a bit more flour. As long as you can form it into a circle it's fine. Sticky dough means moist scones.
- Using lightly floured sharp fillet or long knife, cut the circle into 12 triangles. Make sure to cut through and I suggest cut twice each line. Do not separate into individual scones!
- In a small bowl, beat 1 egg white until foamy. Brush the scones with egg wash and sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Pick the parchment paper with scones by the sides and transfer onto the baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes or as soon as scones become lightly brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes before separating. If necessary, use the knife to separate the scones. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 12 scones
Amount Per Serving = 1 scone:
Calories: 195.6
Total Fat: 4.9 g
Cholesterol: 11.6 mg
Sodium: 168.6 mg
Total Carbs: 32.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6 g
Sugars: 6.8 g
Protein: 6.8 g
WW Points+: 5