Iced Lime Scones

(vegan, gluten-free)

Back in my young adult life, I purchased a small scone cookbook, and I proceeded to make scones on a weekly basis: cream scones, dried fruit scones, savory scones, ginger scones, etc. The question I asked over and over again was “Will it scone?” and the answer was almost always a resounding “Yes!”

Many years later, my household went gluten free, and I stopped making scones. Sure, I might experiment here and there, but scones simply fell out of my culinary repertoire. Those were the dark years.

Enough is enough. Finally, the scones are back. This vegan gluten-free recipe makes an amazing sweet scone that bursts with lime flavor. I am not sure whether they are a breakfast, a dessert, or a mid-afternoon snack with a steaming cup of black coffee while I shut down my computer and tell the world to go stick it for a while. Either way, my family agrees that scones should once again enter my baking schedule.

INGREDIENTS

• Scone
  • 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1½teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled (moo-based or plant-based)
  • ½ cup plant-based milk
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1 tablespoon ground golden flax seed, mixed in 2 tablespoons hot water
• Icing
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 2-2½tablespoons lime juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2-3 drops green food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together plant milk, lime juice, vanilla extract, and lime zest. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle slightly.
3. In separate bowl, mix together ground flaxseed in hot water and let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken into a slurry.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Cut butter into half-inch pieces and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
6. Add the curdled plant milk and the flaxseed mixtures into the flour and stir to mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
7. Scoop dough into quarter-cup balls and place onto a parchment-covered baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between scone. Press each slightly until they are ¾-inch thick.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the scone comes out clean. Let cool on cooling rack completely before icing.
9. To make icing, whisk together powdered sugar, light corn syrup, lime juice, salt, and food coloring. Icing should be thick but spreadable. Add more liquid or powdered sugar as necessary to get it to the proper consistency.
10. Drizzle a tablespoon of icing over each scone. Icing will firm up upon sitting at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.