An Oatmeal Scone Trio Rocks My Morning

Before I got my gestational diabetes diagnosis we used to have doughnuts every Sunday morning.  That, of course, has gone by the wayside for me.  My nutritionist explained to me that I could have whatever I liked in small portions, but "moderation" and "cruller" have never been words I've cared to use in the same sentence.  So no deep-fried dough coated in candy glaze.

All the true vegans readers are now saying "Big deal.  I haven't had a bakery doughnut in years!"  And believe me, now I feel your pain.  Because as much as I adore soysage and scrambles, sometimes you just want a little something sweet in the mornings.

I wouldn't call these oatmeal scones sweet, per say.  Not the original plain ones anyway.  The recipe, another winner by Bryanna Clark Grogan, originally appeared in Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes.  It's a great book, and it's been an invaluable resource for me, so I suggest you read it if you or yours have blood sugar issues.  However, if you're healthy or strapped for cash, you can find the recipe here.

As the old song goes, these guys are easy like Sunday (okay, Friday) morning. You just mix ground oats, a little whole wheat pastry flour, a smidge of salt, sugar, and leavening, and moisten with vinegar-spiked plant milk.  Then they are dropped onto a cookie sheet, baked for fifteen minutes, and ready to be devoured with a little butter of your choice or jam.

I did add a little flax meal to the batter (I have an unhealthy dependence on flax meal.  And because junkies hate to use alone, I also try to make everyone I know eat it).  And as you can see, I did a blueberry variation and a kind of jam thumprint/strawberry danish dealie too.  The blueberry ones had one quarter cup of frozen berries and about an eight teaspoon of almond extract folded into the batter.  The others have an eighth teaspoon of vanilla extract in the batter, and each is topped with a half a tablespoon of reduced sugar strawberry jam.

I had a half of each flavored scone so that I could make a proper comparison of the results.  My favorite of the three was probably the original recipe.  They were tender and fluffy and just right, even if they weren't the sweet fix I thought I wanted.  You can see the craggy interior of the scones in the photo; doesn't that just make you think "English muffin?"  I'm already thinking of investing in a set of rings so that I can try the batter that way.  The strawberry ones were pretty nice, too, even thought they were a bit of a mess.  Reduced sugar jam doesn't jell the way the original stuff does (but it does run sweetness all over your tasty little scone).  The blueberry ones were just okay - they needed some tweaking.  Or maybe some almond butter.

One more thing - I know that this is supposed to be a continuation of my breakfast week, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention how fine these were in the afternoon.  All they need is a brief trip through the toaster oven and a date with a cup of Lemon Zinger tea.


Nutrition Information:  [Full information for plain scones is with the recipe, but here are the basics]  Calories 81; Fat 1 g; Cholesterol 0 mg;  Protein 3.6 g;  Carbohydrates 15.5 g;  Fiber 2.4 g