Sweet Red Fife Cinnamon Scones

Lately I've been spending a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect red fife scone recipe. I've had a couple of request's for them and have since been trying a few test recipes out. With Mother's Day just around the corner I also thought it would be nice to make them special for my mom. Scones have always been a special treat on my mom's side of the family. There also one of her favourite things, so I figured they would be perfect.

Being British and all you wouldn't expect anything less would you? hehehe.

These would be perfect for brunch, breakfast, or even with a cup of evening tea.

You might already have noticed how I like to do a lot of baking with red fife flour. It's a whole grain Canadian heritage flour that's healthy, high in protein and tastes great.

The red fife gives these scones a nice light texture with the perfect crispy outer crust that could rival any coffee shop bought scone. If you're one of those people that don't like the dry scone variety, then these are for you.

Red Fife Cinnamon Scones (makes 6 individual scones)

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups red fife flour
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 large egg

For the topping:

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or sucanat
• 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Scatter butter over the flour mixture and continue to blend (or cut in with a pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg. Add to the flour/butter mix and stir gently to combine just until there is no more dry flour visible.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press and form into 6 individual scones or a 6 inch circle. 
5. Mix together topping ingredients, stirring with a fork. Then sprinkle over the dough. 
6. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve with butter. 

{Notes} 

• Depending on the heat of your oven you may want to cook the scones closer to the 20 minute mark, which is what I did having a rather hot oven.

If you like scones, here is my grandmother's classic english recipe Grandma's Currant Scones.

Happy Mother's Day!

Gluten-Free Paleo Bread

For the last week I've been following Tosca Reno's cooler 1 meal plan. It's pretty hard core and very similar to what someone may eat for pre-contest preparation. Think body building when I say contest prep. My main reason for following it? Increased muscle definition, but it's also for anyone who is looking to lose those last stubborn five to ten pounds and feel better. 

It is an intense plan with very little lenience based around 5-6 mini meals a day. A combination of lean protein, water based veggies and low glycemic complex carbohydrates. Don't forget tons of water. It isn't for the faint of heart, but hard core healthy eating will get you hard core results.  Its just a matter of how determined you are. There's no bread, excess salt, sugar, processed junk food, or salad dressings. I won't go into too much detail but if anyone is interested in hearing more about it just let me know and I'll gladly do a post.

So this week I've started adding back a few different foods that would be geared more towards maintaing weight. I decided to spice things up with this amazing paleo bread which I discovered from Elana's Pantry. It's full of nutritious ingredients like flax seed, ground almonds, honey (I used my favourite local Dickey Bee honey) and apple cider vinegar. It doesn't have a a single bit of flour. It's also a cinch to make and tastes amazing. The texture is so light and airy it's almost like the real thing. 

Peanut butter and banana sandwiches anyone? 

This was delicious spread with a bit of almond butter. I haven't tried it yet but I'm going see what it's like when lightly toasted. 

Gluten Free Paleo Bread (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian) makes 1 loaf

slightly adapted from elana's pantry

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F. Grease and line a 7.5" x 3.5" loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, nutmeg, baking soda and sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix ingredients together.
3. Mix in the eggs, coconut oil, honey and cider vinegar.
4. Pour the batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350*F for 35 minutes until a toothpick or tester comes out clean.
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before lifting out onto a cooling rack.
7. Cool completely before slicing.

{Notes}

• You could also use an 8x4 baking pan but your loaf will be slightly flatter.
• This recipe also works great baked in muffin tins.
• Store in refrigerator wrapped in saran/cling wrap. It should keep for about 1 week.

Breakfast is served. A slice toasted with a poached egg on top for me please.