Destined to become an unexpected favorite, this recipe yields scones with the perfect balance of sweet and savory notes. Enjoy them with traditional condiments, such as clotted cream and a marmalade or jam, and a nice pot of tea, as pictured here, or serve them with butter alongside soup or salad.
Vegan Gluten-free Caramelized Onion–Herb Scones
Makes approximately 10
Ingredients
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, divided
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (approximately ¼-inch)
- 1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut cream*, divided
- 2¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour**
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Garnish: flaked sea salt and fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- In a medium sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and deeply golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk 1¼ cups coconut cream. Refrigerate until cold.
- In another medium bowl, place remaining ½ cup coconut oil. Using a fork, score coconut oil. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 20 minutes. Break coconut oil into small pieces.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut cold coconut oil into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. (If coconut oil is too hard or too soft, it will be difficult to work with. If too hard, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. If too soft, refrigerate for a few minutes.) Stir in cooled onions, chives, dill, and thyme. Stir in 1¼ cups cold coconut milk until dough just comes together.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth dough forms by patting dough and folding it in half 3 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a ¾-inch-thick rectangle. Using a 2½-inch round cutter dipped in flour*, cut as many scones as possible from dough without twisting cutter, rerolling scraps once. Place scones 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, approximately 15 minutes.
- Brush tops of cold scones with remaining 1 tablespoon coconut cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of flaked sea salt and gently press thyme leaves onto the top of each scone, if desired.
- Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
*We used Let’s Do Organic Unsweetened Heavy Coconut Cream. Whisk coconut cream in can before measuring.
**We used King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour.
RECOMMENDED CONDIMENTS:
Clotted cream
Orange marmalade
USING CONVENTIONAL FLOUR INSTEAD OF GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR:
Replace gluten-free flour with an equal amount of all-purpose flour, and follow the recipe, but only add enough coconut cream for a dough to begin to form. (If dough is too wet, scones will spread out instead of rising properly.) Since conventional flour has gluten, be sure to handle the dough gently, or the scones will be tough. Bake as indicated in the recipe.
**We used King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour.
RECOMMENDED CONDIMENTS:
Clotted cream
Orange marmalade
USING CONVENTIONAL FLOUR INSTEAD OF GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR:
Replace gluten-free flour with an equal amount of all-purpose flour, and follow the recipe, but only add enough coconut cream for a dough to begin to form. (If dough is too wet, scones will spread out instead of rising properly.) Since conventional flour has gluten, be sure to handle the dough gently, or the scones will be tough. Bake as indicated in the recipe.
