Gluten-free Scones

So, I have this recipe for gluten-free scones that is my go-to recipe when scones are needed. Most of my gluten-free friends seem to like them. Scones in general tend to be on the dry side, and these were that. Some people just like a nice dry, crumbly scone.

However **this** scone recipe is my NEW go-to scone recipe. It's way less dry, not crumbly, with nice texture and crumb. And it fairly low in sugar - always a Plus!

I came across it online, and made some ingredient changes that made sense to me. I'm very happy with them, and will experiment with different flavorings in the future (that's one of the beautiful things about scones).

I added dried fruit and orange zest to these, and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips because I had a bunch I needed to use. Next time, I will add dark chocolate chips. Dried cranberries or raisins are always great in scones as well. And maybe some of the blueberries I froze! Ok...ok... I need to calm down.

Before we get to the pics, I should apologize for the quality of my photos. I am not a photographer, and while I can usually get a pretty focused picture, and can manage to use the Macro just fine, I never quite can get the lighting right (at least, that's what they always tell me at Foodgawker. I know I can learn how to do it, but to tell you the truth, I don't care to learn how. LOL. I'll just muddle along with my little Canon camera set to Automatic, and keep apologizing for poor quality photos (with apologies to my brothers, the family Paparazzi).

Here's my dry ingredients blended with the butter, zest, fruit and chocolate, to which I just added the eggs and yogurt. No need for an electric mixer for this recipe - just mix with a spatula or wooden spoon.



I forgot to take a picture of the next step, which is working the dough into a ball, and then pressing it into a circle that is about 1" in height. What you see here is the 8 sections (it can easily cut into 10-12 sections, for a slightly small scone).



I like to brush my scones with an egg wash, and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of sugar before baking, but that is totally optional.

And if you're still not sure this is your cup of tea.....



Yeah - looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? You can add a little butter, or honey, but I like them just the way they are. And happily, they freeze great. Just be sure to get as much air out of the freezer bag as possible. I find a straw very helpful for sucking out the air. That's right..... a straw. LOL.

These will be perfect for after my Jazzercise Class Walk at the reservoir on Labor Day.

Gluten-free Scones

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Brown Rice flour (plus extra as needed)
• 1/2 cup White Rice flour
• 3 1/2 Tbs Tapioca starch/flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Salt
• 4 Tbs. Sugar
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold
• 1/2 cup Dried Fruit, Blueberries, etc. (optional)
• Handful of Chocolate Chips (optional)
• Zest of 1 Orange or Lemon (optional)
• 1 Egg, beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

1. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Cut up the butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Work butter and flours together with your hands until the flour is well combined. The result will be like moist flour. (Tip: I often freeze the butter and then quickly grate it into the dry ingredients. I find it easier to work into the flour with my hands that way.)
3. Add your dried fruit, zest, or other flavorful ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and yogurt and blend together well with a whisk.
5. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and blend together into a soft dough. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too soft or sticky.
6. Turn the dough onto a (rice) floured surface, and knead a few times to shape into a ball. If the dough is too soft to form a ball, add more flour as needed.
7. Press the ball into a circle that is about 1" high.
8. Cut into sections (a pizza cutter works well), and brush with egg wash, if desired.
9. Bake approximately 15-17 minutes until lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Very satisfying!

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