Last week, my close food blogging friend Sarah and I met to hang out and catch up in a funky college town on the coast not far from either of our homes. Sarah walked us over to an organic, fair-trade tea café, one of her favorite downtown places, and helped me navigate the trendy gourmet menu. (Have I mentioned that I’m the most indecisive person on the face of the planet??)
Despite being August, the overcast skies and cool breezes outside guided me towards a cozy Moroccan mint hot tea, made by seeping fresh mint leaves and cardamom. Those mint leaves… Oh my goodness, they were so fresh and full and sweet and pure! I swear I’ll never go back to dried mint tea bags after that.
Teas in hand, we settled into a table in the back of the small café and pulled out our laptops for work date, similar to all of the other patrons. Nearly everyone in the restaurant sat behind a computer screen, but most of them were quietly studying for undergrad summer school midterms and finals or working on grad school dissertations. That’s what happens in a college town!
But of course, our lofty work intentions were quickly sidetracked by chatting about various topics: recipe testing, my new cookbook (update coming soon!), family and friends, moving, her big news… As we sat and sipped and typed, three hours passed in the blink of an eye. How does that always happen when hanging out with such sweet friends?
These Clean Zucchini Bread Scones reminded me of my tea date with Sarah because they’re also one part cozy, one part sweet, and one part summer… And they disappeared just as quickly as the time flew by!
Let’s start with the dry ingredients. While most of them are predictable (whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt), I always mix two spices into my zucchini bread: cinnamon and nutmeg. They add a warm, cozy background and a lovely richness to the loaves. Plus they smell absolutely irresistible while the scones bake in the oven!
Unlike traditional scone recipes loaded with sticks of butter and lots of heavy cream, these clean-eating ones only use 2 tablespoons of butter. Yes, that’s it! The rest of their tender texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking: Greek yogurt. It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it provides a little protein boost too. Greek yogurt also prevents these scones from turning out dry and crumbly—definitely a win-win!
It seems like half of the people I know have zucchini plants in their gardens producing more gigantic green vegetables than they know what to do with. Lucky! The deer in our neighborhood help themselves to anything we plant… So I had to buy mine at the store.
But I have a special trick for zucchini bread (and these scones!). Zucchini contains a lot of moisture, which it releases while baking, and that can ruin the structure of your goodies by making them sink while cooling. To get around this, I pat the shredded zucchini with paper towels to absorb the excess moisture before mixing it into the dough. This little trick allows us to add more zucchini than normal!
Then bake, cool, grab, and… Ahhhhhh. The sweet tastes of summer!
| Clean Zucchini Bread Scones | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (110g) shredded zucchini, patted dry*
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla extract. Fold in the zucchini.
- Shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. Bake at 425°F for 17-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. This is the only blend that I’ve tried, so I can’t guarantee that any others will work.
Coconut oil may be substituted for the butter; however, it will not produce the same texture since it melts at a lower temperature.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
See here for step-by-step photos and here for my video on how to make the perfect scones.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Great recipe, yum! I might have to add frosting for the teenagers ????
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Stephanie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 And even as an adult, I probably wouldn’t turn down one topped with frosting! 😉
I’ve made these several times and they’re so good. I love that they have so little fat and sugar in them. I’ve also made them with grated carrot in place of zucchini and they are equally good. Thanks!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these scones, Donna! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot! 🙂