Mini Orange Walnut Scones

I am sure I am not the only one that eats/sleeps/dreams of food pretty much all day.  If I am not meal planning, I am grocery shopping, meal prepping – the list goes on and I basically love it.  Except there are only so many hours in the day that I can actually spend in my kitchen during the week.   So my Pinterest page of “recipes I want to make” keeps growing.   When I was on the train on Monday, I saw that my friend Liz from Floating Kitchen made blood orange scones with hazelnuts and white chocolate drizzle. 

Hope you don’t mind me stealing your photo, but they look so amazing!  Only a couple tiny problems.  I wanted to make them.  Like that night.  But I didn’t have white chocolate.  Or blood oranges. And her original recipe calls for heavy cream and a whole stick of butter for 8 scones – which would make each scone 14 smart points.  Damn.  While I normally wouldn’t flinch on making an exception to these, I am a #goaldigger and I wrote out a recipe on the train home on how I could make this a bit more Weight Watcher friendly. 

• For the Scones
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup Splenda baking
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2/3 cups unsweetened cashew milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup orange segments
• 1 ounce chopped walnuts
• For the Chocolate Drizzle
• 2 ounces chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. coconut oil

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. In the bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until you have a coarse crumb.
3. In a small bowl, beat together 2/3 cups of the heavy cream with the vanilla extract and egg. Add this liquid mixture to your food processor along with the thyme and blood orange zest. Pulse until the dough has just come together. (While Liz folded in her oranges and nuts, I just threw them into the food processor before putting the dough on the counter).  Be sure to just pulse to combine – don’t let your food processor run otherwise it will warm the butter too much.
4. Turn the dough out onto a well floured counter top and use your hands (flouring them will make the dough easier to handle)  being careful not to over work the dough. The dough will be slightly wet.
5. Continue using your hands to shape the dough into two round disks. Then cut the disk it into eight wedges. Transfer the wedges to your prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between them. Transfer the baking sheet to your pre-heated oven and bake the scones for 9-11 minutes. They should be golden brown around the edges. Remove the scones from the oven and allow them to cool on their baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
6. Once the scones have cooled, make the chocolate drizzle. In a small heavy bottom saucepan (or in a double boiler) set over medium heat, melt the chocolate with the coconut oil, stirring frequently. Once smooth, drizzle the melted white chocolate over the scones.
7. These scones are best when eaten the day they are made, but they will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Allow the white chocolate to set before transferring them to a storage container.  They also freeze really well!

These are delicious!  And while not as decadent as Liz’s, these are still really light, just slightly sweet and made the best addition to my picky breakfast plate:  My scones come in at 4 smart points.  With the egg (2), the turkey bacon (2) breakfast came in at 8 points.

I wasn’t actually sure that I would be able to take a lunch.  I missed walking with my sister and her co-worker, but finally came to a good stopping point around 2 and walked for 45 minutes before coming back and heating up my lunch and continued where I left off.  I will share this recipe with you another time, because it looks like ass in this container, but I made laughing cow cheese stuffed zucchini with homemade marinara and  Parmesan cheese.   Because the zucchini didn’t have a lot of protein, I threw in 3 ounces of leftover grilled pork.  Hot mess, but this was delicious and 8 points.  That apple is a Pinata apple – if you can find it, buy them because they are the perfect apple – nice sweet/tart flavor, firm flesh and thin skin.

And normally I can’t wait to get home and start cooking, last night I just wasn’t feeling it.  I haven’t made a panini since I left my old job nearly a year ago!  I used one of my homemade naan breads, added 3 ounces of grilled chicken, 1/2 ounce of cheese and giardiniera, made some homemade potato chips on the side with fruit for dessert.  11 smart points, quick, delish and easy!

Look at all that glorious cheese!   I swear there is only 1/2 ounce slice on there.  Hannah bought checkerboard cheese, so I am not sure what the cheese actually is, but pretty sure there isn’t a cheese I don’t like.

Hoping my work schedule will let me leave to meet my sister for a walk tomorrow – our high is going to be 70 degrees!  Just in time to have a possible snow storm Friday into Saturday.  Gah.  At least at this point in the year if we get any snow, it doesn’t last that long.  I’ll continue to enjoy this weather as long as possible.  I’ve already had our heat off for a few days and have slept with the window open.  Love.

Make it a great day!