Almond Maple Mini-Scones

Shameless plug for the blog Donatella Says, which is written by my college friend Doni. We haven't kept in touch since our undergrad days but her blog is 100% her. I don't know if "lifestyle blog" is the correct term, but at any rate her posts are hilarious and you read every one thinking "Thank GOODNESS there is someone out there who also thinks those things!" A couple months ago she posted an almond milk tutorial, which I read and thought "Wow, she is so much cooler than me because I just buy almond milk." Flash forward to last night, when Aaron and I faced the stark realization that we were almost out of almond milk and *gasp* we are too lazy to go to the store in sub-zero temperatures and how will we have breakfast without almond milk?! As I was falling asleep I remembered Doni's post (true story, Doni) and mumbled something to Aaron about googling it, which he did. So this morning before we left for work we fired up the Vitamix and made ourselves the freshest almond milk you've ever had.

If you read her almond milk post you will note that she says "Some people use the remaining almond pulp for baking, but I am not that brave." Challenge accepted, Doni. I intended for these to be cookies but Aaron said they tasted more like scones, so scones they are. Thanks, Doni, for the inspiration!

Almond Maple Mini-Scones (makes ~20)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbls. maple syrup* (use the real stuff, none of this corn syrup garbage)
2 Tbls. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup almond pulp from making almond milk
1/2 cup almond milk* (you just made it!)
1 Tbls. frozen butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds

*These scones have just a hint of sweetness. If you want them sweeter, trade some of the almond milk for more maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a large baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves using a fork until it looks fine and there are no clumps.

Just as an fyi, this is what almond pulp looks like.

In a small bowl combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, almond extract, and almond pulp.

Add the maple syrup mixture into the flour mixture using a fork until it looks like large crumbs.

(This is my favorite part). Using a zester or micro-plane grater, grate the frozen butter into the mix (how cool does it look?!). If you don't have a fine grater, chop it as small as you can. Mix using a fork until it looks like more large crumbs.

Finally, add in the almond milk, mixing with a fork until it is almost fully mixed.

Using your hands, press the mixture onto the pan about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and press lightly.

Slice the dough into whatever shape you want your scones to be. I did rhombuses that are small enough to fit int the palm of your hand but do what you like.

Bake for 20 minutes. Immediately after the scones come out of the oven re-slice on the original lines you cut. Enjoy!