Saturday, February 26, 2011

Dairy Egg & Nut Free Cinnamon Oat Chocolate Chip Scones




Before being dairy, egg and nut free I was not a big fan of scones.  When ever I ate them when I was at a coffee shop or cafe, they were dry and hard.  But since there are not many coffee shops and cafes where I live or go to with my children, I thought that I would try them out at home.  We have had many muffins, breads, and pancakes and I was in the mood for something different.  I researched scones recipes on-line a bit and came up with this after a few tries.  It was a big hit with the family that is for sure and they barely lasted until the next morning's breakfast!   

Ingredients
1 1/2 c flour
½ c oats
4 tbs sugar
1 tbs wheat germ
2 tsp b powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp b soda
¼ tsp salt
½ c cold soy butter cut into pieces
½  c plus 1 tbs vanilla soy milk plus 1 tbs vinegar
¼ c soy vanilla yogurt (I like Stonyfield Farms from my neighboring NH)
1 tsp vanilla
¾ c dairy and nut free miniature chocolate chips (You can use more or less depending on your taste or mood.)

1/2 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon stirred together for the topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Measure the dry ingredients and pour into a medium sized bowl.  Stir to combine.  Add the cold soy butter and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 butter knives until the mixture forms fine crumbs.  I would definitely invest in a pastry cutter to make blending the butter easier.  Until I had one I shied away from recipes that called for one since I think that it is a pain to use 2 knives.  Next, add the remaining ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just blended.  

Kneed on a floured board 10 – 12 times.  The dough will be slightly sticky.  Place the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and shape the dough into a circle 8 inches in diameter.  Cut the dough into 8 equal slices with a greased knife.  Brush with canola oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes.  Store in an airtight container when the scones have cooled completely.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Dairy, Egg, and Nut Free Lemon Poppy-seed Muffins

My daughter love, love, love, loves these muffins and asks for them all of the time.  My son thinks the poppy-seeds are yucky, so I scoop out some batter and make him a plain muffin before I add the poppy-seeds when baking these.  It is so worth buying the $6.49 jar of poppy-seeds to make these muffins.  I cringe when looking at the price, but I figure that they will last a year or so.  Store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 6 months or in the freezer for up to one year.

I can't help thinking about that Seinfeld episode where Elaine ate too many poppy-seed bagels and failed the drug test for George's exam... That was when I had time to watch tv! Ha ha!      

Ingredients

2 c flour
½ c sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tbs lemon zest (2 lemons)
½ c lemon flavored soy yogurt
½ c canola oil
½ c soy milk
2 tsp poppy-seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Measure the dry ingredients and put them in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Next, grate the lemons over a board.  Pack the gratings into the measuring spoons to measure accurately.  Slice the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a separate bowl.  Strain out the seeds and measure the juice before pouring it into the mixing bowl.  If you have extra store it in a container in the refrigerator to use later.  Add the soy yogurt, canola oil, and soy milk.  Stir to combine until just blended.  Measure the poppy-seeds and stir gently.

Spoon batter by the tablespoonful into greased muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 22 minutes.  Let them cool for 10 minutes fore serving and store any leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days.  Makes 12 muffins.