My favorite pastry is the scone.  Their crisp, crumbly exterior and tender, flaky interior greatly appeal to me.  Maybe it’s because they go so well with hot tea and a fresh piece of fruit for lunch.   I hesitate to think how many scones I have eaten over the years.  The big problem with buying scones at coffee houses or bakeries it that they are too sweet for my taste, very high in calories and not even remotely healthy.  A couple of years ago I became determined to make a healthy, lower calorie scone that I could enjoy on a regular basis and not feel guilty about eating.  After many months of “scone experiments”, adapting countless recipes to my healthy lo-cal criteria, I now have about 20 recipes that I am very happy with.  This is one of those recipes.   

Lavender Scones

2 cups whole-wheat flour
¼ cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lavender

½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
⅓ cup soy milk
¼ cup soy yogurt, vanilla flavored
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Icing
½ cup confectioners sugar
1 ½ teaspoons water
1 teaspoon lavender

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together well.

Cut the cold butter into little pieces and incorporate into the dry ingredients by using a pastry blender, two knives or your hands.  You want the mixture to resemble coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine soy milk, soy yogurt and vanilla paste.  Add to dry ingredients and use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently combine, just a few strokes and folds.  Use your hands to further combine the dough by kneading a few times, just until the dough holds together. 

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7" circle.  Cut into 8 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.  Remove from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.

Icing - Simply combine the confectioners sugar, water and lavender in a small bowl and stir to combine.  Add a little more water until you get the consistency you like.  Let scones cool before icing.

Each iced scone contains 245 calories.

NOTE: Culinary lavender is available in the spice aisle of better grocery stores and speciality stores.

If you like the idea of lavender scones,  be sure to check out my Lavender Shortbread.