Scones -- A little healthier

Whether you care anything about the royal wedding, or not, you must admit that this is at least a day to honor our British forefathers. In my case, that is my heritage. So -- in honor of the day, I made scones for my family. I did try a healthier version.

This recipe is from Veginomicon, a vegan cookbook I purchased recently because they contained things like this scone recipe.

Banana-Date Scones
Makes 8 large scones

1 cup chopped dates
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup mashed, very ripe banana (about 3-4 bananas)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/3 cup rice milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 brown rice syrup
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease two medium-sized baking sheets. Finely chop the dates, place in a small bowl, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. Toss the dates to thoroughly coat with the flour, breaking apart any clumps, Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flax seeds and rice milk. Whisk in the mashed banana, canola oil and brown rice syrup. In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into the banana mixture until the ingredients are just moistened; the dough will be thick yet sticky. Fold in the chopped dates and walnuts.

Lightly oil a 1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop generous half-cupfuls of dough onto a baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between the scones. Gently pat down the tops of the scones and dab with a little rice milk, if desired. Bake for 32 to 34 minutes until browned and firm. Transfer from the baking sheets to a cooling rack to complete cooling.

I like the recipe. My husband was not very impressed but he did eat one. (I do gauge a recipe by his likes. I really have to.)

My favorite part of the recipe? Oiling the 1/2 cup and then dropping the scones onto the baking sheet. That was a great method that I will use for scones from now on, especially whole grain ones.

Have a happy day and drink plenty of tea. It is good for you. I suggest the green variety. Might not be quite at British, but it is good for you.