Cheesy Sausage Scones

 
Shortly before I left for college, my mom switched jobs. Her new office space offered a full-sized fridge and freezer for the employees, instead of the tiny dorm-style mini fridges at her old place, so she began buying extra groceries to store in there for healthy breakfasts and lunches.  
 

 
Although she always chose double-fiber English muffins for her morning meal (usually toasted and topped with jam or Nutella), her lunches often varied, especially because half of them were catered by the company. To ensure she had a nutritious option that wouldn’t spoil from sitting too long in the fridge, she started stocking up on frozen MorningStar Farms spicy black bean veggie burgers, which she could microwave in less than 2 minutes for a hearty and filling meal.

When I visited home during my winter break, we nearly ran out of protein options one evening (a girl can only eat yogurt for dinner so many nights in a row!), so Mom suggested that I try one of her black bean burgers. A bit hesitant at first—Mom’s microwave meals weren’t always the greatest—I reluctantly agreed, and after I swallowed my first bite, I was immediately hooked!
 

 
When I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment the next year, I always maintained an emergency stash of those in our freezer for the nights where I ran out of time to cook. Sometimes I ate them like a regular burger with all of the fixings; sometimes I sandwiched a patty between slices of whole wheat bread with a little mozzarella for a grown-up grilled cheese sandwich.

But because of our grocery store’s limited space, I only just realized last month that MorningStar Farms offered more products and flavors than just those black bean burgers!
 

 
After the supermarket rearranged their freezer aisles, I noticed some different options on the shelves, including buffalo chik’n patties and Parmesan garlic wings, two of their newest entrées! But out of their 30+ products, I opted to try one of their traditional classics: the original sausage patties.

Although not normally a sausage-for-breakfast kind of girl, these totally changed my mind! Hearty, meaty, and with a slightly sweet undertone reminiscent of maple syrup, I loved the lack of grease and went through half of the box in two days… All by myself!
 

 
Before I polished off every last morsel, I decided to bake with them and created these Cheesy Sausage Scones. Moist and tender, each savory pastry practically bursts with sausage crumbles, while the little ribbons of tangy cheddar accentuate their comforting feel. As a nutritious vegetarian option, these scones are full of fiber and packed with protein, and their realistic meaty flavor basically fooled my meat-loving guy!
 

 
Despite whole wheat scones earning a bad reputation for being notoriously dry or saturated with fat and calories from heavy cream, these healthy ones are anything but! They only contain 2 tablespoons of butter, and the rest of the tenderness comes from Greek yogurt. It’s my secret ingredient in healthier baking because it provides all of the moisture with a lot less fat and calories. Plus it sneaks in a little extra protein too!
 

 
I included two MorningStar Farms original sausage patties in these scones, which I cooked, cooled, and crumbled first. It’s really important to cool them before folding into the dough. Otherwise, they’ll rapidly warm up the cold butter, and the scones won’t turn out as moist.

It looks like we’re cramming a lot of vegetarian meaty goodness into these scones, but we want to make sure they’re packed with that sausage flavor. Plus the patties add a lot of protein, which helps keep us full all morning long!
 

 
Just before popping them in the oven, brush the tops of the scones with a little milk to give them that irresistible crisp crust. It contrasts beautifully with their light and fluffy interiors! We’ll bake them at 425°F for just 11-14 minutes, so don’t walk away from the oven. They finish really quickly, so don’t let them burn!
 

 
Lightly herbed and full of savory flavors, these skinny Cheesy Sausage Scones are a fun and satisfying start to your day, and they’re a really healthy way to go meatless and still eat smart. Because they take barely 45 minutes from start to finish, they’re perfect for on-the-go weekday breakfasts—and lazy weekend brunches too!
 

 
MorningStar Farms is also holding a sweepstakes to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! Sweepstakes ended August 31, 2014. Thank you for participating!
To enter, simply leave a comment below answering the following question:

What MorningStar Farms product are you most excited to try, and who would you share it with?
 

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Note: Special thanks to BlogHer and MorningStar Farms for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions, text, images, and recipe are my own.

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