Almond, Almond Flour, Buttermilk, Coffee Scones, Hazelnut, Recipes, Scone Recipes, Scones, Sweet Scones

Coffee-Almond Scones

Posted by 4theloveofscones on

Coffee-Almond Scones. Large almond chunks, subtle coffee flavor...what's not to love?
Coffee-Almond Scones. Large almond chunks, subtle coffee flavor…what’s not to love?

This past Christmas, I was thrilled to receive a scone and biscuit cookbook that a) I had never heard of, and b) had a lot of good-sounding recipes. This is one that I pulled from it and adapted to better match my tastes. The cookbook itself, called “Biscuits and Scones” by Elizabeth Alston.

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I love coffee, and almonds are the one nut that I love. And, I haven’t actually tried a coffee scone recipe before, so I was eager and excited to test out this one. Without further ado…

Prep time: about 20 minutes

Baking time: about 15 minutes

*these scones can be frozen before baking

Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, chopped coarsely
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled & chopped
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Add coffee granules and extracts to the buttermilk and mix. Set aside.

2) Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to mix well.

3) Add butter and work into the flour mixture with your fingertips or a pastry blender.

4) Add brown sugar, mix, breaking up any clumps. Add chopped almonds, mix with a wooden spoon.

5) Add the buttermilk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.

6) Scoop 1/4-cup size dollops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 350˚F.

The Process:

Measured Ingredients
Measured Ingredients (except for the brown sugar, which I forgot…) **double ingredients shown here
Coarsely chop the almonds
Coarsely chop the almonds
Combine the extracts, instant coffee granules, and buttermilk.
Combine the extracts, instant coffee granules, and buttermilk.
Stir the coffee/buttermilk mixture to mix and set aside.
Stir the coffee/buttermilk mixture to mix and set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to mix.
Combine the dry ingredients, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to mix.
Add the chopped, chilled butter to the dry mixture.
Add the chopped, chilled butter to the dry mixture.
Work in the butter with a pastry blender until uniform. Some larger chunks of butter are okay.
Work in the butter with a pastry blender until uniform. Some larger chunks of butter are okay.
Add the brown sugar and use a wooden spoon to mix, breaking up any clumps.
Add the brown sugar and use a wooden spoon to mix, breaking up any clumps.
Add the chopped almonds and toss with a wooden spoon to mix.
Add the chopped almonds and toss with a wooden spoon to mix.
Drizzle the buttermilk-coffee mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Drizzle the buttermilk-coffee mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
You should have a slightly sticky dough after you've stirred in all the buttermilk-coffee mixture.
You should have a slightly sticky dough after you’ve stirred in all the buttermilk-coffee mixture.
Use a 1/4-cup scoop or large spoon to measure out these scones.
Use a 1/4-cup scoop or large spoon to measure out these scones.
Dollop the scones onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1- to 2-inches apart. (They should not spread out much during baking.)
Dollop the scones onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1- to 2-inches apart. (They should not spread out much during baking.)
Bake at 400F for about 15-20 minutes, or until they start to brown on top.
Bake at 350˚F for about 15 minutes, or until they start to brown on top. Then remove to a towel-covered cooling rack and tuck in the scones to cool. Enjoy warm or cool, with coffee.

Results:

I was surprised to be a little disappointed with these scones. They did not have the depth of flavor I desired, and they didn’t taste like good coffee, but rather like instant coffee–if coffee at all. If I made these again, I might use a shot or two of espresso or espresso powder in place of instant coffee. I would also increase the amount of almond extract to make the almond flavor stronger, definitely doubling, perhaps tripling it. (But I like strong almond flavor.)

That said, my testers claimed to enjoy these scones, so they couldn’t have been all bad.

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