White Bean Pumpkin Chai Scones

One of my goals when I started therapy was to “stop junking”. I tend to get stuck on my phone around 9pm, after my girls have gone to bed for the night. I really only want to check on things, but it almost always turns into what I call “junking”. Junking is when I spend too much time on my phone when I should be doing something else.

My therapist wanted to know what I do when I “junk”. I told her that I usually have a question about something and then I research it to death. After I’m done checking Facebook, Instagram, and then back to Facebook for the trending news. The junking part is when I start Googling topics and reading Wikipedia articles instead of saying, “the internet is not that interesting tonight”, and putting my phone down for the evening.

I was a little annoyed when my therapist called my junking “research”. Research!?

I was looking for someone to beat me up with the cold, hard truth — that I was squandering my life away in the footnotes of Wikipedia articles. I did not expect it to have any kind of positive spin. That’s how disillusioned I can get towards myself when I think should be burning through my to-do list 24-7. My therapist pointed out that my “junking” was indeed productive, it just wasn’t what I had considered as productive.

My therapist did give me the truth, it just wasn’t the truth I expected.

Here’s a little peak into how this “research” happens…

One Friday night, I came across a news article about one of Charles Manson’s followers. That’s when I realized I knew nothing about Charles Manson. I couldn’t have even told you what he did. I just knew he was a bad guy from a long time ago. I dove deep into the internet, educating myself. I read a gazillion news articles and his entire Wikipedia entry. Then I saw that there were several movies about him. The night ended at two in the morning, after finishing the drama-documentary on Amazon called, “Manson: 40 Years Later”. I rarely stay up until 2am, and on this night, the Wendy’s Eating Husband had joined me for the film.

Of course, I spent another “research” session on scones (but not until 2am). I’m not the only one researching the internet to solve world problems. Someone asked on Quora, “What is the correct shape for a scone?“, and it wasn’t me! Here it is people. In the UK, scones are round. In the US, scones are triangular. Mine are round though and I live in the US. Does that make me incorrect? I felt extra cool when I saw that a local food based cooperative in the Seattle area (PCC) sells ROUND scones. Every time I go there, I stop and stare at them with googly eyes.

I use this stainless steel scoop to shape my scones. The scoop has a spring in it that slides a stainless steel band across the inside of the scoop to release the food. It makes the whole process super easy and it also keeps the scones consistent in size.

I call these pumpkin chai scones, but I use butternut squash, not pumpkin. I’ve talked about this discrepancy on the blog before. I grew up in the Pennyslvania Dutch area, where everyone uses butternut squash in place of pumpkin. I think it tastes wayyy better that way. I haven’t ever tried making these with pumpkin, as I do not use real pumpkin when I make pumpkin-y food. It’s just like the scone shape dilemma.

Pleeaase, remember that these scones are sugar-free! The only sweetener I used was stevia. I used to make them with only 1/4 teaspoon powdered stevia, but now I make them with 1/2 teaspoon because I’m a total stevia addict. They aren’t super sweet, but that’s how I roll. I like them that way.

While they are egg-free and dairy-free, they are not vegan because of the gelatin. I use 2.5 Tablespoons of Great Lakes unflavored beef gelatin. This adds 27.5 grams of protein to the whole recipe, which is significant! I try to put as much protein in my baked goods as possible.

My girls, who are getting pickier with age, still enjoy these scones. We eat them for breakfast!

White Bean Pumpkin Chai Scones

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup cooked white beans, slightly packed
• 2 cups pureed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup short grain brown rice flour*
• 1/2 cup coconut flour**
• 2.5 Tablespoons Great Lakes beef gelatin***
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon powdered stevia*****
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• contents of 1 organic black tea bag
• pinch salt

^{* I grind my own brown rice flour with organic short grain brown rice from Costco.
** I used Nutiva coconut flour.
*** Sometimes I substitute Knox gelatin.
**** Use 1/4 teaspoon if you are not a stevia addict like I am. I use Trader Joe’s powdered stevia.}

makes 23-24 scones

Special Equipment

• Norpro Stainless Steel Scoop, 56MM (4 Tablespoon)
• two 3 quart glass oblong Pyrex baking dishes

Directions

1. Line glass baking dishes with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 375° F.
3. Thoroughly combine dry ingredients together.
4. In a Vitamix or food processor (I prefer the Vitamix for pureeing the white beans), blend the white beans, butternut squash, coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
5. Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together.
6. With a spring scoop, scoop out the batter and place on the baking dish. The colder the batter, the more they will hold shape. If the batter is really warm, you will need more space between the scones.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 375° F or until done. The longer you leave them in, the harder the outside will be.
8. The scones will be fragile and soft when you pull them out of the oven, but a toothpick inserted into them should come out clean. They will firm up as they cool. They should stay on the glass baking dish until they are mostly cooled.
9. It’s OK to leave the scones out overnight, but after that they should be stored in the fridge. Serve cold or room temperature.

OTHER NOTES:

1. I usually make a big batch of white beans, and then freeze them in 2 1/4 cup portions so that I don’t have to cook white beans the next time I make scones. I make other versions of these scones!
2. I prefer these scones cold.

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