Around the time I was born, my grandparents began traveling to Kauai nearly every year for a vacation. Shortly before I turned six, they invited our family to join them, so my parents bravely purchased plane tickets and packed suitcases for themselves, my two-year-old brother, and me.
My grandparents met us at the Lihue airport, draping delicate plumeria leis around our necks, and helped us snag our luggage from the carousel just outside of the air-conditioned gates. After picking up a rental car, we drove south to Poipu, where Mom had booked a condo, complete with a kitchen and washer and dryer, for our weeklong stay.
As soon as we pulled open the condo door, my brother and I slipped into swimsuits and begged to head down to the pool. We easily spent half of our time slathered in sunscreen splashing in the blue-tiled pool and the ocean at Poipu beach, located just a short walk from the condo complex.
One morning towards the end of our vacation, Grandma and Grandpa treated us to breakfast at one of the nicer restaurants on the island. We wore our new Hawaiian clothes, a pink and green dress for me and a blue shirt and shorts set for my brother, and once the waiter seated us at a large table covered in a white linen tablecloth, I eagerly listened as Mom read us the menu options.
As a kid with a slightly picky palate, I chose the classic dish of Belgian waffles (and covered it with plenty of maple syrup!), but the adults took more time to consider their options. Macadamia nut pancakes topped with fresh pineapple, toasted coconut French toast, made-to-order omelets with toast and guava jelly… So many fun and creative treats!
When I came across that pink and green dress last week while pawing through my childhood closet at my parents’ house, I started to miss our Kauai vacations… We ended up going at least every other year for 15 years! So I baked these Healthy Pineapple Coconut Scones to tide me over until our next Hawaii trip. They’re supremely tender and full of sweet tropical flavors—just like many of my favorite Hawaiian treats!
And with my first bite, they instantly transported me back to paradise and those warm sandy beaches! ☀️
In addition to their flavors, the thing I love about these scones is how easy they are to make! You just need one bowl and about 30 minutes. That’s it!
You’ll start by adding white whole wheat flour into the bowl. Yes, it sounds like an oxymoron, but white whole wheat flour does exist! It comes from a softer variety of white wheat, and it has all of the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour. However, it has a lighter, less “wheat-y” flavor, making it perfect for baking breakfast pastries like these scones!
Next, you’ll mix in a small amount of very cold butter. Just 2 tablespoons—which is so much better than the full stick or two that traditional scone recipes use! It’s really important that the butter is very cold, straight from the fridge (freezing isn’t necessary!), because it creates tender pockets in the dough when it melts in the oven. And we don’t want the butter to soften or melt early while in the mixing bowl—we want our scones to be as tender as possible!
You’ll skip the heavy cream of traditional recipes and mix in Greek yogurt for the rest of these scones’ tender texture. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I use it! Muffins, pound cakes, brownies, even frosting! Then you’ll sweeten your scones with pure maple syrup (like this!).
To bring a taste of paradise straight to your kitchen, you’ll mix in finely diced pineapple, shredded unsweetened coconut (like this!), and coconut extract (like this!). Ohhh my goodness… Such a happy, sunshiny, oh-so-summery flavor combination! I had forgotten just how much I love the taste of Hawaii… Should I post more tropical-inspired recipes? What do you think?
Just before popping your scones in the oven, you’ll brush the tops with a bit of milk to seal in moisture and keep the insides supremely tender, while also creating a hint of a crust on the outsides. Then slice the dough into triangles with a sharp knife, slide your baking sheet into the oven, set a timer…
And enjoy your Hawaiian-flavored breakfast treat! 😉 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 pineapple coconut scones!
Healthy Pineapple Coconut Scones
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp + 2 tsp (55mL) nonfat milk, divided
- ½ tsp coconut extract
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (70g) diced pineapple
- 2 ½ tbsp (12g) shredded unsweetened coconut
Instructions
- 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, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter (highly recommended!) or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of milk, coconut extract, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the pineapple and shredded coconut.
- Using a spatula, 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. (Don't separate them!) Bake at 425°F for 18-21 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Pineapple Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Hawaiian Muffins
♡ Healthy Slow Cooker Pineapple Upside Down Cake
♡ Healthy Coconut Coffee Scones
♡ Healthy Raspberry Almond Scones
♡ Healthy Peach Scones
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Scones
Hi!,
can I use any other type of flour? Not sure if I can find this flour at my regular store. :O(
I’ve already included quite a few other options in the Notes section directly underneath the instructions! It can be easy to miss that section. 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these scones Joy!
Hi, I’m vegan. I think I can make this recipe in a vegan version, but the yogurt is a bit of a problem. Normally though, you can substitute buttermilk for plain yogurt and vice versa, so I was going to make some soy “buttermilk” by souring a cup of soymilk with some vinegar. Anyone ever tried this?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Kris! The best substitute would be non-dairy yogurt alternatives (i.e. soy- or almond-based yogurt). I love Silk’s non-dairy yogurts, and I’ve used them with great success in my scone recipes! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these!
OMG!! These are so yummy! I did make a couple tweeks, I used whole wheat flour and a little more shredded coconut and almond milk. I also cut them into triangles and then baked for 14 minutes. They were FABULOUS!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Linda! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi Amy!
These sound AMAZING! I’m a little hesitant to add imitation coconut. Is there any way to sub this with anything else or maybe leave it out completely? I just don’t like the idea of adding something with artificial flavoring. Thanks for your help and the heavenly sounding recipe! Can’t wait to try it.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Melly! I’ve actually covered the best alternatives for the coconut extract in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these scones if you try making them!
Thank you SO much for including gluten free options in you recipes. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate that!
It’s my pleasure, Dee! I have many family members and friends who are gluten-intolerant, so I’m always happy to do whatever I can to modify recipes so anyone and everyone can enjoy them. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these scones if you try making them!
I love scones and was so excited to try this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, but they came out dense and bland. I know this is a healthy alternative, but I think it needed more butter since they key to a scone’s texture is the cold butter melting as they bake.
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Susan! That sounds disappointing and not like how these scones are supposed to turn out, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you! 🙂
Can you describe their flavor a bit more? By “bland,” do you mean not sweet enough? Or could you not taste the pineapple and coconut flavors either?
Can you describe their interior texture a bit more too? Were they dense but soft, tender, tough, gummy, or something else?
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients — especially the flour, yogurt, and maple syrup?
Did you use white whole wheat flour or the homemade gluten-free blend I included in the Notes section?
Did you use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut in the butter?
How large (or small) were the bits of butter before you stirred in the Greek yogurt and other ingredients in Step 2? Were they the size of peas, mini chocolate chips, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc?
How long did you bake your scones?
What color were they when you removed them from the oven?
Did they collapse while cooling at all?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Thanks for your inquiries.
The scones tasted like bland dough. The extract did not come through and the syrup barely added sweetness. If you bit into a piece of pineapple, you could taste it.
The texture was dense, dry and almost tough. I was very careful not to over mix.
I cut the butter in with a pastry blender into lentil size bits.
I used King Arthur whole wheat flour.
I used measuring cups and spoons. I understand weighing is more exact, but I make scones every week like this and have not had this issue.
I baked them for 18 minutes. They were lightly browned and did not collapse after baking. They looked like they should taste good.
I am going to try again with a few modifications. I normally use Greek yogurt and 4-5 Tbls. of butter. Thanks
Thank you for sharing your answers, Susan! I’m happy to help. 🙂
If the texture was dry and almost tough, and if the scones were that bland, then it sounds like there was too much flour in the dough. Too much flour would throw off the flavor ratio and mask both the sweetness from the maple syrup and the taste of the coconut extract. As I’m sure you’d guess, it would obviously cause the dry texture too! 😉
I understand your preference to use measuring cups since that’s what you’re comfortable with! When filling the measuring cups, did you dip them into the container of flour, by any chance? If not, and if you used the spoon-and-level method (or the “fork-and-level” method that I recommend — just click on the pink “like this” text on the “white whole wheat flour” line in the Ingredients list for details about that!), then did you shake the measuring cup back and forth at any point while adding flour to it?