Ahhh! Comfort!

I've never been much for scones. They weren't something that got my yah-yahs going. That is, until I got Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Joy of Vegan Baking. Then I tried these scones. They are definitely comfort food, and not too much sugar to boot. I use blackstrap molasses just because I like the richer, stronger flavour it has, but these would be just fine with any molasses, even treacle (which is pretty much like blackstrap molasses). I also used whole wheat flour because I don't like to buy white flour if I can help myself (sourdough is another matter entirely). They're heavenly for brekkie, dessert or any time you feel munchie -- even with nothing on them. The original recipe calls for a glaze on top, but they're just fine without it. I like them so much that I've even eaten two of them in one day!

Gingerbread Scones
(modified from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup whole oats
1/3 cup lightly packed Demerara sugar
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (don't use rice milk -- it won't thicken into a "buttermilk")
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with a little margarine and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, a fork or your hands and combine until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency (if using your hands, be careful not to make a paste!). Stir in the raisins.

In a large measuring cup, combine the non-dairy milk and vinegar. Let the mixture sit for several minutes until thickened, then add the molasses and vanilla. Mix until just combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and combine until just mixed. This is important -- don't over mix or you'll end up with a soupy dough. Add a little more flour a bit at a time if you find the dough is too wet (my experience each time I've made this recipe is that the dough is always too wet, but wait to see if the same thing happens to you, then add more flour if necessary).

Lightly flour a work surface. Gather together the dough and place on the work surface, patting out the dough into a disk until about an inch (1") thick. Cut the disk into 8 pieces and place the scones on the baking sheet a little bit apart from each other.

Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes, or until the bottoms have lightly browned. Remove the scones from the oven when an inserted toothpick comes out of center of the scones clean. Let cool on a wire rack until they are cool enough to handle -- then eat them up!

Makes 8 scones (or more, depending on how you cut them)