Guiltless Cranberry Raisin Scones

I'm way overdue in this post! But the powers that be have kept me away! But here it is, finally...

Let me begin by saying how much I love scones... Love them. Their texture, their flavor, their crunch. They go great alone, with cream, with jam along side a nice cup of coffee. If I could have one every day I would except they're terrible for you... Butter, butter, butter.. One of the key ingredients that make the scone's texture so different from let's say a cupcake or muffin. And in scone recipes, butter is called for in large quantities. I borrowed bits and pieces of this recipe from various sites, changing some quantities and adding ingredients as I felt would work - yes, I was experimenting.. I primarily substitued half of the butter (half a cup) with yogurt, and instead of brown sugar I used maple syrup. For a light, citrusy twist, I added zest of lemon and orange, along with their juices. The result wasn't bad at all! The texture wasn't as flakey as a full butter scone would be, but it was crumbly- almost biscuit like and quite delicious! didn't feel half as guilty as I would have eating a full butter scone! Or rather.. I felt guiltless.... Hope you try them, and enjoy! They've been my breakfast for two days in a row now! Recipe to Follow:

INGREDIENTS:

.5 cup oat bran

.5 cup wheat flour

.75 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons wheat germ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons low fat plain yogurt

.25 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons baking powder

.5 teaspoon baking soda

.25 teaspoon salt

.25 cup raisins

.25 cup cranberries

1 whole egg zest and juice of one lemon zest and juice of half an orange

.25 cup low fat 1% buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees In a large bowl, mix the flours, oat bran, wheat germ baking powder, baking soda and salt Cut in the butter first, make sure to cut butter into small pieces and combine. Many recipes call for using a food processor to cut up the butter until it's in small pebbly bits, but I use old-fashioned elbow grease. Using your hands, mix the butter in the flour, crumbling up the butter into smaller pieces. Add the cranberries and raisins. Add the yogurt, mix into flour. The dough should still be very dry and crumbly. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk. Add the maple syrup as well as lemon and orange zest and juices. Beat well. Add the milk mixture to the flour slowly. The dough will now begin to get soft and sticky. Mix with your hands, kneading the dough only enough to combine the ingredients. The dough will be very rough, you should still be able to see pieces of butter. Drop dough into floured surface and cut up into triangles, place pieces on a sprayed tray. OR, since the dough is pretty soft, you can take a large ice cream scoop and scoop the dough onto the tray for more of a "drop biscuit" look. For presentation, you can sprinkle the tops of the scones with turbinado sugar.

Pop in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden. Cool for 10 minutes.

Serve warm with fruit, cream cheese, preserves - whatever is your fancy!

Oat Bran Banana Loaf

It's Temptation Thursday and I was craving something simple, satisfying, with a touch of sweet. Not to mention good for you. So I scoured the internet for a recipe that would call out to me, and here it is, my version of Whole Food's Oat Bran Banana Bread. This recipe has nothing but good for you ingredients, and the result is a soft, super moist loaf, with a hint of sweetness.

I made some slight changes from the original recipe, substituting low fat yogurt for the milk for added moisture and texture, as well as adding a bit of honey and unrefined sugar. I wanted a touch more sweetness than what the recipe called for. Plus I think the honey adds a certain complexity to the flavor of the loaf. With the oat bran I added wheat germ for a bit of an additional fiber boost. Recipe Follows:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole wheat flour

.5 cup all -purpose flour

.5 cup oat bran

2 tablespoons wheat germ

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

.5 teaspoon baking soda

.5 teaspoon salt

1 large banana, mashed (makes about .5 cup)

.25 cup canola oil

.75 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

.3 cup (1/3 cup) low-fat yogurt

.25 cup honey

.25 cup unrefined sugar

Pre-heat oven 375 degrees

Whisk flours, oat bran, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a separate, large bowl, combine mashed banana, applesauce, oil, low-fat yogurt, honey, sugar and vanilla.

Slowly add flour to the banana mixture and stir until fully integrated.

Pour batter into a prepared pan (spray with PAM or other vegetable spray). I took about a tablespoon of oat bran, wheat germ and about a half tablespoon of unrefined sugar and sprinkled over the top of the batter.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Enjoy with your morning coffee or tea, with a dab of fruit preserves or all on its own!