Whole grain strawberry scones recipe (gluten-free version, too!) - Pamela Salzman Skip to content

Whole grain strawberry scones recipe (gluten-free version, too!)

whole grain strawberry scones | pamela salzman

One of my guilty pleasures is a traditional English tea.  We used to live within walking distance of the Penninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills which (in my opinion) had the best tea in the city.  I used to take my girls on their birthdays for a special treat and I also remember celebrating my one of my birthdays there with some friends.  When we were in London with the kids two years ago, I could have cared less about any meal other than tea.  I really indulged that week and I enjoyed every glutinous (and gluttonous) crumb.  I love every aspect of a proper tea, from the tea itself to the sandwiches to the scones and clotted cream.  Lucky for me, by the time the small desserts are served, I am usually too stuffed to bother.

mix dry ingredients with diced strawberries and dark chocolate

My girls always lit up when the scones were served.  And so did I.  I would take a scone over a muffin any day.  Scones are a low-sugar (but high-flour) biscuit, basically.  They are are supposed to be light and tender and not too sweet since they are served with fruit preserves.  What’s funny is that even though scones feel light, they are anything but.  Most scone recipes call for lots of butter and heavy cream to keep them from being a dry hockey puck!

grate butter to keep it in pieces

I like plain scones just as much as ones with currants.  And a warm scone with a cup of tea makes me instantly relax for some reason.  Ironically, even though I love classic scones, I don’t make them that way at home.  I think we have spent enough time together to know that I don’t use white flour unless it’s absolutely necessary.  Same goes for sugar.  So naturally my scones will use whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour instead.  I have a taste for the nuttiness of whole grain flours as well as a preference for lower glycemic and more nutritious foods.  But if you don’t, or you want these to taste more like “regular” scones, feel free to sub an equal amount of white flour.  Or use half whole wheat pastry and half white flour.

toss in the grated butter

To further deviate from traditional scones, this recipe includes fresh strawberries and on occasion dark chocolate chunks.  Gasp!  I started testing this recipe with freeze-dried and regular dried strawberries and the scones were amazing.  And then I realized how much money I was spending on bags of dried strawberries and I thought it was a little silly to make such expensive scones.  So I turned to fresh strawberries which are actually a little tricky to work with because they’re a tad wet.  So the scone recipe can actually support 1 1/2 cups of stuff, but not 1 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries.  You can do 1 cup of fresh strawberries + 1/2 cup dried.  Or 1 cup fresh strawberries + 1/2 cup fresh blueberries.  Or you can take this recipe and turn it into blueberries scones, using 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries.

forming the scones

whole grain strawberry scones | pamela salzman

Well, it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday and I’m just saying that moms like a little attention.  They like to feel appreciated.  To wake up on Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed is a very nice way to start the day, especially if the breakfast-makers clean up after themselves in the kitchen, too.  (This is very important!)  These scones would be a good idea.  If you don’t have time to make scones on Sunday morning, why not make them today and freeze them today?  Pull them out of the freezer the night before and warm them in the oven the next morning.  One of these scones with a hot cup of tea and a little love from my kiddos, who would also abstain from bickering the whole day, is my dream morning.  Hint, hint.

whole grain strawberry scones | pamela salzman

whole grain strawberry scones | pamela salzman

whole grain strawberry scones | pamela salzman

Whole Grain Strawberry Scones
Author: 
Serves: makes 10-12 scones
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour (GF version on reverse)
  • 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 ½ sticks (12 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup diced fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup buttermilk, plus more as needed and for brushing tops
  • ⅓ cup grade A maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • optional add-ins: ½ cup fresh blueberries or ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Grate the butter into the bowl with a hand grater.  Use the paper wrapping to hold the butter.  Or cut the butter into pieces and working with a few pieces at a time, scoop some flour and butter mixture into your hands.  Squeeze butter with your fingertips pressing your thumbs across your fingers to flatten the butter into petal shapes.  Repeat until all butter is flattened and coated with flour mixture.
  2. Add strawberries (plus blueberries and/or chocolate if using) to flour/butter mixture and combine.
  3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Slowly add buttermilk mixture to flour/butter mixture, whisking constantly to combine, just until mixture begins to form clumps.  Add more buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, until no dry flour remains in the bowl.
  4. Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Lightly dust your hands with flour and gather mixture into a ball, squeezing to form a dough (it may still crumble slightly).
  5. Flatten dough to a 1” thickness and fold in half.  Flatten and fold once more.  Gently shape into a 1” thick, 7” diameter round.  Cut into 10-12 wedges (or you can do a rectanglar and cut into squares), then separate them ½” apart.
  6. Brush tops with buttermilk.  Bake scones until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottoms, 15-18 minutes.  Let cool slightly on a wire cooling rack.

GLUTEN-FREE STRAWBERRY SCONES

adapted from King Arthur

makes 8 scones

 

1 ¾ cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or 2 1/4 cups brown rice flour blend

¼ cup maple sugar or cane sugar

2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter or cold coconut oil

¾ cup diced fresh strawberries

2 large eggs

1/3 cup cold milk or almond milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

optional add-ins: ¼ cup fresh blueberries or dark chocolate chunks

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
  3. Grate the butter into the bowl with a hand grater.  Use the paper wrapping to hold the butter.  Or cut the butter into pieces and working with a few pieces at a time.  Scoop some flour and butter mixture into your hands.  Squeeze butter with your fingertips pressing your thumbs across your fingers to flatten the butter into petal shapes.  Repeat until all butter is flattened and coated with flour mixture.
  4. Add strawberries (plus blueberries and/or chocolate if using) to flour/butter mixture and combine.
  5. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Slowly add milk mixture to flour/butter mixture, stirring to combine, just until mixture begins to form clumps.  The dough should be cohesive, but very sticky.
  6. Drop the dough by the 1/3-cupful onto the prepared pan.  Let rest for 15 minutes.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes,  until golden brown.

Related Recipes

Comments

19 Comments

  1. How much dried strawberries would you use in this recipe. Fresh strawberries are pretty much out of season right now and I would love to try these. Also wondering if frozen strawberries would work?

    • I would try using about 1/2 cup of dried strawberries in place of the fresh strawberries. Let me know how it turns out!

  2. Hi Pamela,
    I’m new to your blog. I bought your cookbook in Galveston. I have tried a couple of your recipes – roasted smashed potatoes and lemon thyme chicken. Love.
    I bought strawberries today and want to make the scones…can I use regular white whole wheat flour instead of pastry flour? Do I need to increase the baking powder? Thanks.

    • Hi! So glad you’ve been trying the recipes! Yes, feel free to use white whole wheat and no other adjustments are needed. Be sure not to pack the flour into the cup though. Spoon it in so you get the correct measurement. 🙂

  3. These have become an instant family favorite! I was wondering how I can make pumpkin scones using this recipe. Would I need to adjust the other ingredients when adding the pumpkin purée? And how much pumpkin purée – 1/2 cup?

    • So great to hear! I haven’t done a pumpkin version yet, but I plan to. Yes, you would have to adjust for the extra moisture. When I test it out I will reduce the butter by at least 4 Tbs. and take away a little buttermilk too. I might also increase the baking soda. If you try it let, me know. I’ll have something for the fall!

  4. I’m gonna give these a shot tomorrow morning for Naz and the girls. Wish me luck!
    Signed,
    The Husband

    • You’re “the husband!” So delighted you are here. And Naz will be so touched by the effort. Good luck and please report back!!

      • Roaring success!! They came out perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft and bready on the inside. Kids each ate a full wedge and were stuffed. And Naz was over the moon, starting with the delicious smells wafting up to the bedroom. Thank you for this recipe, and thanks of course to Naz for requesting I make it. There’s nothing quite like that proud and satisfied feeling of making something from scratch, and having your family devour it happily.

        • Thank you so much for the full report! I love your note about feeling proud and making your family happy. That’s what it’s all about!

  5. I love a relaxing cup of tea, too, and these look like a phenomenal pairing! Thanks for sharing!! Happy early Mother’s Day to you!

    • Thanks, doll!

  6. I made these scones tonight after attending the class last week, and they came out absolutely amazing! My entire family just devoured them! Great recipe! I will be doing it again…and again…and again! Its definitely a must try!

    • I’m so happy you made them! And that they turned out great! xoxo

  7. Can’t wait to try this! Would sprouted spelt flour work?

    • Sure! Sprouted spelt is a little more absorbent, so it’s possible you’ll need to add a drop more buttermilk. 🙂

  8. I literally just took these out of the oven! The kids are so excited and the house smells amazing.

    • Yay! You made them!


Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Signup to receive updates about new recipes and more

I come from a large Italian-American family with 28 first cousins (on one side of the family!) where sit-down holiday dinners for 85 people are the norm (how, you might ask – organization! But more on that later …).

Some of my fondest memories are of simple family gatherings, both large and small, with long tables of bowls and platters piled high, the laughter of my cousins echoing and the comfort of tradition warming my soul.

kitchen-matters-buy-book
Buy on Amazon
quicker-than-quick
Buy on Amazon