Healthy Peach Scones

 

 
A while ago, my mom, brother, and his best friend stopped by to visit on the way up to their cabin for a night of relaxation in the mountains. Since they arrived shortly before lunchtime, we chatted for a little bit before heading out to grab something to eat.  

Because the rest of my family really enjoys burgers, I brought them to a tiny family-owned place about a mile up the road. A rather unassuming building about the size of an RV, the burger stand almost always has a line that snakes around the tables and into the parking lot, and after ordering, customers wait at least 30 minutes to receive their meals during the lunch and dinner rushes.

Yup, it’s that popular!
 

 
Although the burgers look fairly typical and come with all of the traditional toppings, my friends swear that the stand’s sides and sweets make it worth the wait. And since they chow down on burgers multiple times each week, they would know! Fat crispy onion rings, crunchy deep-friend zucchini, and thick creamy milkshakes made with real fresh fruit…

So when treating my family, I easily convinced them to try the milkshakes. While my brother immediately knew what he wanted — a mix of strawberry and pineapple (two of his favorite flavors ever since we were tiny kids!) — my mom hemmed and hawed over what to choose. She carefully read the menu board, scanning the flavors, until she finally settled on the seasonal peach, although still slightly hesitant and second guessing herself while we snagged a table.

After we picked up our big brown bags of food, I watched Mom take her first sip. And second. And third. And fourth. And… Her eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning as she drank through the straw. When I asked what she thought, she exclaimed, “It tastes like peach ice cream!” and proceeded to polish off the entire thing.
 

 
I must have inherited my love of peaches from my mom. Despite posting new recipes for peach oatmeal cookies, peach muffins, and a peach streusel breakfast cake last week, I still have more to share… Including these healthy peach scones!

Supremely tender and stuffed full of juicy peaches, these quickly became my family’s new favorite breakfast treat. They’re quick and easy to make too. You only need 30 minutes!
 

 

KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY PEACH SCONES

Let’s talk about the key ingredients you’ll need to make these healthy peach scones! Since you probably have pantry staples like baking powder and salt, we’ll mainly cover the more interesting ones.

Flour. To make these healthy peach scones clean-eating friendly, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour. I know it sounds confusing… But it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! White whole wheat flour comes from a special variety of white wheat. It’s a 100% whole grain flour with the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour — just lighter in flavor and texture! — so it’s great for baked goods that require a tender texture, like these peach scones.

I know that some stores don’t stock white whole wheat flour… But whole wheat pastry flour has the same characteristics of a lighter taste and texture, so it’s a great substitute!

Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy peach scones gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve shared how to do that there!

Cinnamon. Because of my grandma’s peach pie, and how she added it to the filling of every one of them, basically every peach recipe I make now includes cinnamon too. There’s just something about its warm, cozy flavor mixed with the sweet, juicy peaches… Simply irresistible!

Almond extract. My grandma always added almond extract to her peach pies as her special secret ingredient, so I mixed it into these scones too. (It’s my all-time favorite baking extract!) Almond extract adds an elegant “bakery-style” flavor along with an extra hint of sweetness in the background. Yum!

Tip: If you don’t have any, vanilla extract will work just fine too!
 

 
Butter. Just a small amount! Compared to the full stick or two found in many traditional scone recipes, you only need 2 tablespoons to make these. That helps keep your healthy peach scones low calorie and low fat!

Tip: I do not recommend substituting coconut oil. It has a much lower melting point, which changes the texture of your scones. (We’ll cover why this is important in more detail soon!)

Greek yogurt. With so little butter in these scones, the rest of their tender texture comes from one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking: Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it packs in a protein boost too. Be sure to stock up — I’ve shared 380+ recipes that use it!

Sweetener. You’ll sweeten these scones with pure maple syrup. It’s the kind that comes directly from maple trees! It only includes one ingredient (maple syrup!), and it’s often sold in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs.

To make these healthy peach scones on the more traditional side, they’re only lightly sweetened. I wanted them to qualify as a breakfast item — not dessert!

Peaches. We can’t forget these! Lots and lots and lots of peaches. Because when you’re as obsessed as my mom and me, you just can’t get enough!

Tip: I highly recommend using fresh peaches to make these scones! However, if they’re not currently in season, peaches canned in 100% juice and thoroughly drained will work just fine too.
 

 

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST PEACH SCONES

Let’s briefly cover how to make the best healthy peach scones! Like I mentioned earlier, these are simple to whip up, and I also have some tips to ensure your batch turns out perfectly.

Hint: If you’re a visual learner, I’ve posted step-by-step photos here and a video here walking you through how to make the perfect scones. (← Those recipes are slightly different, but the method is the same!)

Use cold butter. Yup, it must be cold! Straight from the refrigerator is fine. No need to freeze your butter to make these healthy peach scones! Here’s the nerdy scientific reason why…

You’ll work the butter into the mixture using a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until it’s evenly dispersed and forms small crumbs. When you put the dough in the oven, those bits of butter start to melt. As they do, they create tender pockets in the dough, which yields a beautifully soft and moist texture in your scones.

So if your butter starts to soften or melt ahead of time, like while you’re preparing the dough, you miss out on that perfectly tender texture!

Hint: This is why I strongly urge you to avoid substituting coconut oil. It has a much lower melting point that’s right around room temperature, so it’s virtually guaranteed to start melting while you mix together the dough!
 

 
Dice the peaches. That’s right… Dice! Not cut, not slice, not chop. Dice. They should be about the same size as chocolate chips — or at least no larger than blueberries. This size ensures that they’re evenly distributed and that your scones bake evenly too.

Shape, brush + slice. Once you’ve made the dough, transfer it to your baking sheet and shape it into a disc using a spatula. (These are the adorable mini ones that I use. They’re so handy!)

Next, you’ll brush the tops and sides of that disc with milk. This seals moisture into the dough, yielding that beautifully soft texture inside, and it also creates a hint of a crust on the outside.

Finally, you’ll slice the disc into 8 triangular wedges — but do not separate them! Leave their sides touching. This also ensures their insides stay moist and tender!

Bake. Time to pop them into the oven! You’ll bake these scones at a higher temperature to create that lovely texture inside and out, but that also means these healthy peach scones finish baking relatively soon. So don’t stray too far from the kitchen!
 

 
Now who’s ready for breakfast?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy peach scones!

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Peach Pie Oatmeal Cookies
♡  Healthy One-Bowl Peach Muffins
♡  Healthy Peach Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡  Healthy Peach Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Peach Protein Overnight Oats
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy peach-flavored recipes and healthy scone recipes!