Cranberry Orange Sourdough Scones (gluten free, dairy free)
These are so, so, so good! Whether you eat them for breakfast or an afternoon snack with coffee or as dessert, they are a decadent treat, full of all those good microorganisms that come from the sourdough. And they don't taste sour at all!!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fed, active, sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 cup liquid - juice of one orange plus almond milk (see notes)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 cup arrowroot
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup maple sugar
- 1 cup dried cranberries try to find unsweetened ones, see notes for a source
- 1 Tbsp. heavy cream or coconut milk optional
- 2 tsp. coarse sugar optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients: starter, oil, orange juice, almond milk and vanilla.
- In a smaller bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, maple sugar and dried cranberries.
- Now combine the dry and wet together and mix thoroughly.
- Line a rimmed baking tray (a half sheet pan) with parchment paper. Divide the dough in half. Pat each half into a circle shape.
- I like to keep my scones about 3/4 inch thick, but you make yours as thick or thin as you like. With 3/4 inch thickness, both circles of dough will fit on one baking sheet. If you want them much thinner, you will want to use two baking sheets.
- Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut each circle into fourths, then in fourths again so you end up with 8 triangles.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or another piece of parchment paper and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour and up to four hours.
- When ready to bake, remove the baking sheet from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- If you want your scones to have that traditional shiny top, brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream or full fat coconut milk. For just a little extra pizzazz, sprinkle on a little coarse sugar.
- Once oven has come up to temperature, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, using your sharp knife or bench scraper, carefully separate the scones and distribute them evenly around the baking tray so that they are not touching.
- Return to the oven and bake 7-8 minutes more, or until golden brown all over.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before you dig in.
- These keep well in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. I think they're best reheated in a toaster oven or microwave.
Video
Notes
For more details on sourdough and its benefits, see this post.
Regarding the liquid in the recipe, you should juice your orange and if that orange yields 1/2 cup juice, you're all set, but most of the time, my oranges only yield about 1/3 cup so I just top it off with almond milk so I have 1/2 cup liquid total. You could also add some OJ out of the carton, but we don't keep that on hand around here and I think a little almond milk makes for a nice flavor and texture. Basically, you need 1/2 cup liquid. Juice your orange and if that's not enough, add some other liquid. There really aren't hard and fast rules here.
You can find unsweetened dried fruit from Thrive Market, but otherwise it can be very hard to find. You could also try dehydrating your own from fresh cranberries if you have a dehydrator or an air fryer or oven with that feature.
https://thrivemarket.com/p/patience-organic-dried-cranberries-no-added-sugar
If you are not already a member of Thrive Market, I can't recommend it highly enough. I buy almost all of my pantry staples from them. I've done many Thrive Market unboxings on my YouTube channel so just search for Our Paleo Family and Thrive Market.
If you sign up with the link below, you will receive 25% off your first order. That is on top of their already very discounted prices. That offer may change.
http://thrv.me/Qg98fF