Goji Berry Almond Butter Scones

These scones are so delicious that thinking about them as I fall asleep at night helps me fall asleep faster and set the stage for some tasty dreaming. I’m pretty happy that they don’t have to be a dream though and I can enjoy them in reality too. When I made them for my family, they were gone in an hour. I think that’s a good sign.

You will notice that I use almond flour and oat flour in a lot of my baked goods as they are healthier alternatives to conventional flours. You can prepare your own almond flour or oat flour by grinding up whole almonds or oats in a blender or coffee grinder. You can also buy these flours in most grocery stores. I haven’t price checked the cost difference of making your own almond and oat flour {yet!}, but purchasing almond and oat flour in bulk online is another option to keep costs down. Especially if you go through a lot of these flours {cough cough me cough cough}. I buy mine in bulk on Amazon.com, which makes my baking life as easy {yet perhaps not as delicious} as soaking up slow, luxuriously almondy bites of the final product.

Dates rolled in coconut are also available online and in most grocery stores (often in the bulk bins). They are the perfect sweetener for baking and due to their guaranteed creamy and smooth texture, I’ve been using them over whole dates lately. Medjool dates work as well, just follow the recipe directions accordingly.

Ingredients:

½ cup almond butter ½ cup nondairy milk 6 dates rolled in coconut or 8 soft medjool dates, pitted 1 cup almond flour ½ cup oat flour ¼ cup ground flaxseeds ¾ cup goji berries ½ cup cacao nibs 1 large ripe banana 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions: 

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: almond flour, oat flour, ground flaxseeds and baking powder. Set the bowl aside. In the microwave, heat the dates rolled or pitted medjool dates in coconut in one cup of distilled water for 30 seconds so they become even softer. Once heated, remove them from the water and place them in a blender. Mix the dates with almond butter, non-dairy milk, banana, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour the blended liquid mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until an even batter forms. Stir in goji berries and cacao nibs. Continue to mix until they are evenly distributed in the batter.

Add tin foil on a cookie sheet and lightly oil the foil. Using a spoon and your hands, mold the batter into cookie sized scones. The batter will be moist and gooey, but the final product hardens more, just like the texture of a conventionally prepared scone. You should get about 10 medium sized scones. Place them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes of baking, eat one and share the rest or store in the fridge. They will last for up to three days of healthy scone yumminess.

Mmm and there you have the final product. Delish!