Oh, how I love it when baking experiments work out. The quinoa drop cookies I attempted were a bust, but these quinoa flour drop scones, bursting with Cheddar cheese and accessorized with glints of green onions, were pretty darn sensational.
In addition to experimenting with quinoa flour these days, I've been trying to cook from the pantry and freezer as much as possible to use what's on hand. Since it continues to be marginally cooler (high 80s as opposed to 100+), I was ready to take the plunge into soup.
I'll post about the soup tomorrow, but for now, the accompaniment. I'm definitely a dunker, from a biscotto in my tea to a doughnut in my coffee, and soup is no exception: I can scarcely eat it without plunging bread, crackers or biscuits into the depths of my bowl. So when the aforementioned cookies flopped, I decided to try my hand at some quinoa flour scones.
The earthy flavor of the flour works in harmony with the smoky undertones of cumin and the subtle bite of the green onions. And oh how I love some exploding cheese in my muffins, biscuits, bread, and scones. The trick is to forgo grating: the cheese melts into the dough to the point where it is hardly discernable. Who wants that? Instead, cut the cheese into cubes. The cheese melts into irresistible blobs, and if you're lucky, explodes out the sides, creating crispy bits of frico.
By the way: you can make your own quinoa flour if you have some quinoa on hand: whizz the uncooked quinoa in a clean coffee grinder (this works best) or food processor until it has the consistency of all-purpose flour. Easy!
I like to press the mounds flat--slightly--with my fingertips...
Quinoa Flour Cheddar Drop Scones (Gluten Free)
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Makes 6 scones
Baking sheet, lined with parchment or a silpat
1 cup plus 2 tbsp quinoa flour (e.g., Bob's Red Mill, Ancient Harvest, or Nuts Online)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 oz Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 3/4 cup)
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the quinoa flour, baking powder, sugar, cumin, baking soda and salt until blended. Stir in cheese and green onions. Add the buttermilk and melted butter, stirring until just combined.
2. Drop dough in 6 equal mounds about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheet.
3. Bake 17 to 20 minutes in middle of oven until golden. Cool slightly and serve warm.
8 comments:
I've made cookies with quinoa flakes with success, but haven't tried anything savory, and not with quinoa flour. Love all the savory flavors in these scones.
Thanks, Jeanette--I am sucker for baked goods with cheese :)
Hey,
Can I make a batter at night and bake in the morning?
Hi Dina,
Great question! Alas, the answer is no. Here is why: baking powder is activated twice, first when it comes into contact with moisture, then a second time when it comes into contact with heat. So once the batter is mixed, the baking powder is already starting to puff up the batter (you can often see this happening in the bowl, especially with buttermilk batters). If you were to wait until the morning, the bubbles that are making the batter puff would pop and the batter would deflate. Even though it would get a second activation in the oven, the scones would be much flatter and denser.
On the bright side, I can attest that these scones rewarm very well. I would store in the refrigerator and pop into the toaster oven (or regular oven) for a few minutes (350ish), or into the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. :)
thanks
This recipe looks awesome-a much healthier sub for white flour!! And I LOVE cheese scones(well, any scone, really). One question, would it work if you cut solid butter into the flour, as with ordinary scones?
Hey Camilla!
First time to your blog-it's awesome, and I love the concept! These scones sound scrumptious-I love cheese scones(well, any scone really!). Quinoa is such a great sub for white flour! One question-can you cut solid butter into the dough, as with ordinary scones, rather than melting it before hand? Apparently, that's the only way to make them flaky.
These are baking in my oven right now using chives & hot pepper Colby cheese. You've saved breakfast, thanks!
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