Fresh Peach and Blackberry Scones - Dairy Free or Full Dairy
Bake together. Eat scones together – wow, it’s been a minute since we’ve done this!
Sconedays: fresh peaches and blackberries with a hint of nutmeg
We took advantage of the end-of-summer fruit season and used the peaches and blackberries we love so much to create delicious scones. Quick and easy to make, if you use firm-ripe peaches and not too ripe berries, you’ll have more success incorporating the fresh fruit. Just a smidge of nutmeg with the peaches adds a subtle spice flavor reminiscent of peach pie.
Use any nondairy milk – coconut, almond, oat, or the coconut-almond blend we did for this recipe. Often we bake with vegan margarine but used lactose free butter this time. It had been off the market for over a year and we’re glad to see it back!
Be sure to allow 15-30 minutes of freezer time to let the unbaked scones set. It’ll give you taller scones – so worth the extra waiting.
Speaking of waiting, it’s been an age since we made scones, and we sure enjoyed trying this recipe out. I think I could eat scones every day, forever. Rebel says, “Same.”
Eat these right out of the oven and enjoy!
~ Lee
Fresh Peach and Blackberry Scones - Dairy Free or Full Dairy
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more if using butter)
- 3/4 vegan margarine or butter, chilled
- 1 cup dairy free or plant milk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (preferably white balsamic)
- 2 small peaches, firm-ripe
- 1/2 pint blackberries
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons dairy free milk for brushing
Instructions
- Combine the 1 cup dairy free milk and vinegar. Stir and set aside.
- Rinse and thoroughly dry the fruit. Peel the peaches. (If they’re too juicy to peel, the peaches are too ripe for this recipe.) Chop enough peaches into 1/2” pieces to fill about 2/3 cup. Cut the blackberries in half to get about 1/3 cup. Gently stir the nutmeg in with the peaches. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the margarine or butter into 1/2” cubes and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until course and the size of small peas.
- Pour the milk over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together. It should be sticky. Add the cut up peaches and stir 2-3 times. Add the blackberries and stir just enough to distribute. Don’t over mix or the dough will be chewy once it’s baked.
- Scoop dough onto a floured surface. Press with floured hands into a circle 1 1/2” deep. Use a 2” to 3” round biscuit cutter. Dip in flour and cut dough into rounds. Transfer to a cookie sheet – can be lined with parchment or a silpat mat for easy cleanup. Reshape the dough without working it too much and continue to cut out the remainder.
- Cover the scones with plastic wrap or a tea towel and freeze for 30 minutes (15 minutes is enough if using butter).
- Preheat the oven to 400° with rack in middle of the oven.
- Brush scones with milk. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. If pressed lightly, the tops should spring back. Baking time depends on the size of the scones and how juicy the fruit is. Remove from oven and serve warm.
- Scones can be stored loosely covered for several days. Unbaked scones will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer, and make a quick treat ready to bake any time.
Notes:
Don’t add more than the 1 cup of fresh fruit or the scones will be too juicy to set up correctly.
Before measuring the flour: stir flour lightly in its container to take out clumps and add in some air. If you skip this step, you may end up compacting the flour, which means it will too much flour. The scones will be dry.
Scones can be reheated in a 350° oven for 5 minutes until warm. Or freeze them unbaked for up to 2-3 months. Pop frozen scones right from the freezer into a 400° oven. They'll take a little longer to bake than noted in the recipe.
For the nondairy milk, we like to use coconut-almond blend, coconut milk, almond milk or oat milk.
Make it dairy full: use real butter and milk, one for one in the recipe.
