I hosted a craft night at my house this week. It’s a weekly get together where a different person hosts each week and makes a big pot of soup. Most of the participants are either vegan or vegetarian, so we keep the food vegan. I made my favorite curried butternut soup recipe, and wanted to make some scones to go with it.

I’d never tried vegan scones before, but these turned out so beautifully, you’d never guess they were vegan. I didn’t want to just make a buttery scone with earth balance substituted, so I found a cream scone recipe to base it off of. I knew I couldn’t substitute almond or rice milk for cream, because they are thin and low in fat, so I used the thick top of coconut milk to replace heavy cream. It is wonderfully creamy and luscious. I was a little concerned that the finished scones would taste a lot like coconut, but I couldn’t taste it at all once they were baked (though they smelled a bit coconutty in the oven).

The finished scones were so light and fluffy and delicious! They definitely tend more to the british style of biscuity softness, rather than the dense and crumbly sort you often get in the states (which I also like, by the way). The only change I might try in the future is that they could use some sort of wash before they go in the oven, maybe a light brushing of oil? I might also try substituting in some whole wheat pastry flour to make them healthier. Or adding walnuts. But in any case, they are a perfect accompaniment to soup.

Recipe:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
5 tablespoons cold earth balance (stick form), cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped dried pears
1 cup solid coconut milk

(note on the coconut milk: I opened up a can of coconut milk, and measured out the thick cream layer on top. This came to just about 1 cup. Depending on your can though, you might need more than one, I’m not sure.)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl. Cut in the earth balance with a pastry blender or two knives until the dough forms a coarse meal. Add the dried pears. Stir in the coconut milk, a little at atime, until a dough forms (don’t overwork the dough, you want to handle it as little as possible for a tender crumb).

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, form it into a ball. Pat it down into a rectangle, then fold the rectangle into thirds, from side to side. Pat it down again and fold the rectangle into thirds again, this time from top to bottom.

Press the dough down into a circle, and cut the circle into wedges (I cut 16 wedges for smallish scones). Separate the wedges and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they become slightly golden. Enjoy!