This vegan scones recipe has been with me for close to 20 years
They’ve always been egg free and sugar free and so easy to make!
The sweetness comes from the added dates and walnuts and cranberry lends a nice zing!
However if you don’t particularity like those add in’s just sub in something else that you do like!
Keep in mind scones are not meant to be too sweet nor very moist.
Maple glaze is optional but it is the added “extra” that makes these scones really pop!
Traditional English scones are much more dry than my recipe here
And scones can certainly be a bit shocking to us Americans if you have never tried one before, but my recipe for vegan scones are just perfect for any of you who may be new to the scone scene!
Slather on some vegan butter (or not) and enjoy!
CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE!
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Notes for Success:
Cream of tartar and baking soda are the leaveners in this recipe which act in tandem with the acid in the plant milk otherwise known as “mock buttermilk”
Essentially this combination is homemade baking powder, so if you cannot get cream of tartar use 3 teaspoons of baking powder in place of both the baking soda & cream of tartar listed in the recipe below
Speaking of mock buttermilk soy milk is the only plant milk that will thicken like buttermilk from our past lives
But of course if you want to stay away form soy you can use any plant milk of your choice just know that it will not thicken up
Cold butter is the key to a successful biscuit or scone recipe as well as my pro trick for using a box grater for the butter to cut into the dry ingredients rather than spend time tediously chopping the butter into small pea sized pieces
Vegan Scones Recipe
Ingredients
For the Scones
- All Purpose Flour 2 cups (250g)
- Cream of Tartar 1 teaspoon
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Cold Vegan Butter 5 Tablespoons (70g)
- Plant milk ¾ cup (177ml) *see notes
- Apple Cider Vinegar 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Dates ½ cup (80g)
- Walnuts very lightly toasted ½ cup (60g)
- Fresh Cranberries ½ cup (50g)
For the Maple Glaze
- Confectioner Sugar ¾ cup (90g)
- Maple Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- OR 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (30ml)
- Plant Milk 1 Tablespoon (15ml)
- Aquafaba for brushing the scones before baking as needed
- OR additional plant milk is also fine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- First combine the plant milk with the apple cider vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken *see notes
- Combine the dates, walnuts and cranberries in a food processor and process to fine bits~ Reserve
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt and mix well.
- Add the grated vegan butter (or small diced if you do not have a grater) and then mix by hand incorporating the butter throughout the flour until it resembles course meal. *see video
- Add the finely chopped date-nut-cranberry mixture and distribute evenly throughout
- Add the plant milk and mix gently by hand just until it is all absorbed and forms a sticky dough
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just about 5-6 times folding the dough over into itself Press it out to a disc approximately 8" in diameter and cut it into 6 equal pieces like a pizza (or 12 smaller 3" diameter cookie cutter sized).
- Place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan spaced 1" apart and brush with aquafaba or plant milk
- Bake immediately in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 35 minutes or until golden brown and baked through.
- Cool while you prepare the maple glaze by combining the sifted confectioners sugar with the maple extract
- (Or maple syrup) and add plant milk to desired consistency, whisk smooth.
- Drizzle over the semi cooled scones and then top with additional chopped cranberries *optional
Notes
Scones will go stale before they go bad so it is best to keep them wrapped airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freeze for longer storage wrapped well for 1 month
Hello ma’am!
These look divine!! I was curious about the glaze. Does it soak into the scones and make them soggy? I would love to give these as gifts, but I would never want to serve soggy scones.
Your recipes are amazing and so user friendly. Thank you for all you do. My next cookbook will be yours.
Much Love,
Thanks you so much and you are welcome too! No this is a sugar glaze that gets sort of dried on top, like a glazed donut.
Just made these scones and I want to eat them all. They are the perfect bite of not too dry with perfect flavor. Long story short they are delicious and I wouldn’t change a thing.
thanks Jessica for the comment!
I tried your lemon cheeze cake with lemon curd both of these were marvouless how i send you a pic of tis cake you are amazing
Great thanks! You can post pics to my facebook page click here
Can we sub the maple walnut and cranberry and put just olives instead what ingredients do we sub in this case
YES!! For savory biscuits this is an awesome idea! I would also add some vegan cheese or even a pesto!! This scone base is very versatile so get creative! I love it!
Hi can you make this recipe with spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flower? And do the dates make them sweet enough? Thanks!
yes you can use whole wheat pastry flour, I have not tried spelt though. Scones are not meant to be “sweet” pastries. They are more like breakfast biscuits. There is no sugar in the recipe and this is intentional. In my opinion the sweetness from the dates is perfect!
Thanks for this recipe! Can we make it into a Banana Scone? Appreciate it!
Hello, it looks delicious. Have few questions as I am knew to scones.
Can we use dried cranberries instead of fresh. And can it be eaten without glaze with just butter? And can we leave out maple extract from glaze? . Thank you for the recipe.
Hi yes definitely! This recipe for scones is considered a “base recipe” meaning the dry ingredients with the butter cut in, then the plant milk added is the actual scone recipe.
Those other things are just additional. You can change the nuts, berries & dates to really ANYTHING! In my bakery we used chocolate chips some days, raisins other days, and blueberries on yet other days! The glaze is not something I normally use on daily scones, but for holidays I think it is a nice addition, so typically scones will NOT have a glaze on them
Thank you so much for your reply . Will definitely try recipe and let you know.