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Monday, October 15, 2012

Spiced Butternut Squash Scones


Substitutes for Pureed Pumpkin
  
Gluten Free Spiced Butternut Squash Scones

 Gluten Free, Egg Free, Nut Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free option

It seems like everywhere I turn right now, pumpkin posts abound.  Pumpkin pies, pumpkin breads, muffins, pancakes, doughnuts, cookies, bars.  You name it, if you can stick pumpkin in it someone’s probably thought of it.  I understand.  I really do.  After all, I like pumpkin, too.  

But why should pumpkins have all the fun?


There is a plethora of funky looking squash at the farmers markets right now, and I think they deserve a chance to show how diverse they can be.  Think of those super-fun green and orange stripe-y carnival squash, bright orange amber cup, autumn cup, sweet dumpling, kabocha, butternut… and so on and so forth.  Honestly, I’ve seen way more mixed squash at the market than pumpkin lately, so why not play around with squash?

Substituting for Pureed Pumpkin 

Personally, I don’t see any reason why other pureed squash can’t be used in place of pumpkin.  Yes, they’re not all quite as creamy as pumpkin, but with some minor adjustments (i.e. I add honey instead of sugar to increase the moisture) they work just fine.  I've made festival squash cake, sweet dumpling squash muffins, and now these butternut squash scones!

Just think, if you were to start using different varieties of squash, you could make your favorite pumpkin recipes year round!  (Unless you buy canned pumpkin, of course, but I try to go as local as possible with produce and use what’s in season).


Update February 25, 2014: 

 Since creating this recipe I have made these numerous times using things like steamed and mashed parsnips, carrots, and sweet potato. All turned out awesome. 

My new rule of thumb: If you can mash it, you can probably use it in this recipe. 


Miniature Mixed Pumpkins


So I was inspired by this pumpkin scone recipe on the Conscious Eatery’s page, which looked so great!  I made some changes, though. 

I’ve done away with the sugar (I’m trying to eliminate it as much as possible from my diet, for ethical and health reasons), and used honey instead.  I also ended up using millet flour, and some red lentils I ground in my coffee grinder, because I was low on other flours!  You don’t taste the lentils at all in such a small amount, and they add to the lovely orange hue of the scones.  

I made a sugar free Spiced Butternut Squash spread instead of the maple glaze, giving the scones an extra boost of spiced squash flavour.  Ridiculously good.  So good that I’ve given it its own separate post so that it can be used for other things, like smearing on bread, dipping crackers and veggies in, and other good things. 

So good, in fact, that my husband, who never, ever eats squash, has eaten one of these scones for breakfast every morning since I made them last weekend and now they’re all gone!  They freeze pretty well, although they’re a bit more crumbly when reheated.  That hasn’t stopped us from eating them…

Ingredients:

Dry Stuff for Scones

2 c gluten free flour mix (I used ½ c millet flour, ½ c tapioca starch, ½ c ground red lentils, ½ c white rice flour, because this is what I had on hand!)* + extra for dusting
½ Tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
8 Tbsp butter (or vegan alternative like Earth Balance), chilled and sliced in chunks

Wet Stuff for Scones

½ cup butternut squash puree (I used leftover steamed squash from my Tropical Butternut Squash Salad that I pureed in the food processor, check here for steaming directions)* 
- If making the Spiced Butternut Squash Spread, reserve another 5 Tbsp squash puree
3 Tbsp water (the original recipe called for yogurt, which I may try next time if I have it)
1/3 c honey

1 Tbsp ground flax or chia + 2 Tbsp water (or 1 egg)


Directions:

Preheat the oven 400F.  Spray a cookie sheet with oil and line with parchment paper.

Sift the flours, baking powder, soda, gum and spices together.  Then, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse with the sliced butter until the butter is in pea sized chunks. Alternatively, without a food processor, cut the butter into the dry stuff using a pastry knife or two knives until crumbly. 

In a separate bowl, mix the Wet Stuff until blended.  Add to the dry ingredients and pulse or mix until just combined. 

Turn the mixture onto a surface lightly dusted with flour (I used tapioca starch).  Mold into a circle about 7” wide and ¾” high.  


Slice into triangles.  

Arrange triangles on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving room for the scones to rise and spread. 



Bake 15-17 until firm and browned slightly.  

Serve with Spiced Butternut Squash Spread, honey, butter, jam, or whatever else your imagination desires!

How do you like YOUR scones? 

OAS Info: Lentils are on the OAS list, although the baking process can denature the allergen proteins, making them safer to eat.  If in doubt, use more rice flour or other GF flour.  Squash is related to zucchini, which is also on the OAS list, although the process of steaming, then baking the squash *should* denature the proteins and make this safer to eat. It's always a good idea to check with your doctor before trying things you are allergic to.

14 comments:

  1. These look absolutely yummy! However, I am allergic to all winter squashes. Could I substitute sweet potato?

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  2. gidge,

    i think sweet potato would be wonderful, and a great idea!! I suspect that anything with a similar texture and moisture content to squash would work just as well. I'd love to hear about it if you try it, and in fact I might even try it myself in the next few weeks when sweet potatoes are one of the few options left at the farmers market ;)

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  3. I can't wait to try these Scones, they look delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great weekend and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

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  4. Thank you. Now I FINALLY know what to do with all that squash from my CSA!

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  5. We love scones too, and I love your creative use of flours! I love the orange hue!

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  6. These are so great - we've been making (and devouring) them a lot lately around here! I featured these in a recent blog post of my top 3 (gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free) breakfast dishes. Thank you!

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  7. Recently found your blog searching for scone recipes and am excited to look at more of your recipes. I'm sharing my modified version of your recipe on my blog. They've been a big hit with my son and me!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kristy, thanks for letting me know! I'm so glad you both like them :)

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  8. Thanks for this recipe - I came across it on Pinterest and made it last weekend. They turned out great!! I had them with cheese, beside a curried butternut soup. Awesome!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you liked them! They're still one of my favorite breakfasts, especially this time of year when I have tons of squash kicking around in the fridge :)

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  9. OMG just made these and they where divine. Thank you. The egg substitute of flax seed and water can that be used in any recipe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marie,

      So glad you liked the scones! As for the flax mix, if it's only one egg that's being sub'd, it can work well in many baked goods as a binder. Otherwise it can be tricky sometimes. If it's more than one egg, I find that the mix of the flax egg with xanthan gum in a recipe can create a gummy texture = not appealing. It can also be a problem if the egg's purpose in the recipe is to create "lift" and help the recipe rise. Flax won't do that. As far as using it as a sub in other types of things, I don't think they'll make a great quiche or anything!

      If you have a specific recipe in mind I can try to suggest a sub.

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