Pumpkin Scones

PUMPKIN QUINOA SCONES

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c quinoa

2 c flour (I like 1c whole wheat, 1 c AP, but just AP is fine)

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 c flax seed

1/4 c sugar

2 T molasses

1/4 c maple syrup

1/2 c pureed pumpkin

2 eggs

1/4 c oil (grapeseed or canola)

9 dates

1/3 c apricots

1/4 t ground cardamom

1/4 t ground all-spice

1/4 t ground clove

1 t cinnamon

2 t freshly grated ginger

yield: 16 scones

preheat oven to 365

There's a lot to these little breakfast pastries. They're packed full of nutrients. I love them because they hold well and they make great snacks later on in the day. Whenever I go on a hike with my little girl I like to have a couple of these treats to curb hunger.

Start by cooking the quinoa. Boil it the same way that you would pasta, add a pinch of salt to the water. Set the timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, drain. Quinoa will be tender, but not mushy.

Spread the seeds out onto a sheet pan to cool. I used a tri-color quinoa because the darker seeds add a little bit of crunch to the scones. They kind of remind me of poppy seeds. You can use just plain white quinoa though, you don't need to use the tri-color.

In a measuring cup add your liquids, flax seed, dates (pitted), pumpkin, sugars and spices. Grate the ginger right on top of everything. If you peel and freeze the ginger prior to grating, it will be a lot easier to grate.

Also, to make the dates a little softer for pureeing you can blanch them in boiling water, but if you have a sturdy blender you don't need to. When everything has been added, blend with a hand blender.

Fresh ginger just has a flavor that you can't get from ground powdered ginger.

The mixture will be smooth when you've finished blending it.

Gather together all of the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Pour wet mixture into the dries.

Mix together with a rubber spatula.

Be sure not to overmix, you should still have some dry flour.

Add pumpkin seeds, quinoa, and apricots.

Mix until everything is incorporated.

Divide dough into 2 piles, on a floured surface press dough into a circle and cut into 8 pieces.

Bake at 365 for 15 minutes, only bake off what you want, you can freeze the rest and bake them later.