New England doesn’t do things by halves. The region as a whole seems utterly incapable of gradualism, particularly when it comes to weather. It simply goes whole hog, full tilt into whatever the season dictates. So when it’s summer, you KNOW it’s summer…hot, muggy, sticky heat. When it’s winter, you KNOW it’s winter…cold, biting and lots of snow (except for last winter, which barely registered at all). It always seems to me like fall will creep up slowly, with leaves gradually changing and temperatures gradually cooling off. But that’s just not how New England does it. Instead you are still seemingly in summer and then BAM! You are in fall, leaves are blazing orange, yellow and red, the nights and mornings are cool, and the rains come with a vengeance.
The rains came with a serious vengeance over the past few weeks. We had a good solid week and a half of miserable grey skies and near constant rain. Even a few promising bright mornings would cloud over by noon and rain by nightfall. I was really struggling there for a bit, both in spirits and in photography. I really am still such an amateur when it comes to my pictures, and I have no real concept of how to account for dark, gloomy days. So at first blush, my photos of these Gingerbread Scones were awful. Too dark, too blue (even though I adjusted my white balance), too…blah. Which matched my mood perfectly! I did manage to make the most of what I got, and I warmed them up with a bit of red, which I think helped. And very soon, I am going to have a private lesson with a blogger friend and I hope to improve my photography greatly. In particular, I hope to be able to take some of those dark, shadowy pictures that still look balanced. I’m great with the brightly lit pictures, but I want to learn more about how to manipulate my light.
Once again, though, I fall back on…well, at least the results taste good! Because these scones were rockin’ good, and a perfect morning treat with coffee. I waffled a lot on what I wanted to top them with. They were tasty just as they were, but they looked kind of boring. I considered cream cheese frosting, but I’ve done that with gingerbread before, and I didn’t have any cream cheese. I was going to do a light vanilla glaze I could drizzle over but as I was making it, the thicker icing tasted so good, I just stopped thinning it out and went with that. And I think it actually gave just the right touch of sweetness without overpowering the gingerbread flavour.
Gingerbread Scones
Ingredients
Scones:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon molasses optional, for colour and flavour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 2 tablespoon butter softened
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or powdered erythritol
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 to 2 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
For the scones:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 325F.
- Whisk together almond flour, Swerve, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves in a large bowl.
- Add egg, butter, cream, molasses, and vanilla, and stir until dough comes together.
- Turn out dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet and shape by hand into a rough circle, 7 or 8 inches in diameter. Using a very sharp knife, slice into 8 even wedges and separate carefully, then space evenly around the baking sheet.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until scones are firm and lightly browned. Keep an eye on the bottoms to make sure they don’t burn.
- Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
For the frosting:
- Beat butter, Swerve and vanilla until well combined.
- Beat in cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
- Spread over cooled scones.
Nout says
Hi Carolyn, I made these over the weekend and I just wanted to say thank you! THEY WERE FANTASTIC! they’re so good in fact, my hubby and I almost ate the ENTIRE batch in one night. I didn’t have any honeyville almond flour so I just used the slightly grittier Sensato almond meal/flour and they were still wonderful – nutty, tasty, sweet, delicious!!!
Thanks again!
Nout
Jean B. says
This recipe is top priority here. For some odd reason, I sometimes find myself craving gingerbread (and gingersnap) flavors. I also like having a baked good on hand for breakfast. I hate puttering in the early morning.
BTW, I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that the nutritional information doesn’t include the molasses. Is that correct?
Thanks so much for sharing your yummy recipes with us. They make life a lot easier and a lot more palatable.
Carolyn says
It does actually include the molasses. I always include any extra sweetener I’ve put in.
Janis says
Do you happen to use the really sweet “Grandmothers” brand molasses, or like a black strap molasses? Thanks!
Carolyn says
I think I used Grandmothers. It isn’t a lot, just enough to give a little flavour and colour.
Moira says
Just made these again. I like em better w double the ginger and no icing. Yum! A regular now, I can tell!
Katharine says
I took your suggestion, Moira, and doubled the ginger AND cinnamon (love cinnamon) and skipped the icing (but did use the molasses). I had to seriously hold my husband and son back…. they loved them so much and polished off 2 each the minute they were cooled. Next time I guess I need to try a double batch! Thanks, Carolyn!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
Rain ruins everything. I’m still new at photography, too, and the rain makes it difficult to take a photo. Yours turned out beautiful, and the scones sound amazing. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Pinned!
CJ at Food Stories says
I love almond flour and use it all the time … This is right up my alley 🙂
Jeanette says
I haven’t scones in so long – my youngest son loves them and he also likes gingerbread.
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious says
I love scones ever since I was a tiny kid! Yes I too am dreading the shorter days as I only do bright light pics safely 🙂
RavieNomNoms says
I hear ya! We don’t seem to get a break here in New England do we? Just all of a sudden it is one extreme or the other. All the rain was when I was sick, so at least I got to snuggle in my bed haha.
These scones look delicious and I can completely empathize with your photo problem with the natural light not only going away earlier but seems like all we have is non sunny days anymore. 🙁
Kate@Diethood says
Just as I was looking for a breakfast recipe with almond flour, I get this across my google reader! YES!! and YUM!
litehousepat says
Love everything with ginger. Great for this time of the year. Will be trying these soon!!
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
Wow these sound delicious! The perfect fall breakfast (or late afternoon) treat. I love the texture of scones and infusing them with gingerbread flavors is sensational. Can’t wait to try them 🙂
Cara says
Yum, I just baked up something gingerbread-ish too! ’tis the season 🙂
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
Yum these look incredible! It is hard to believe that you had issues with these photos, you did a great job bringing them back, brightening them up and balancing them out. I am with you though, this time of year is very frustrating for that. I need to pick some of my photo friends brains myself, get some tips for better photos! Good luck with your lesson, I can’t wait to read and see what you’ve learned.
Buttoni says
These look soooo good! Can’t wait to try them during the holidays!
Moira Richardson says
Yum! In the oven as I type — I already had cream cheese icing in the fridge and was coming here looking for a recipe to use it with 🙂 I love your recipes — your cinnamon scones are a regular in my house.
Karen says
Food photography is such a constant learning experience! One day, you think you’ve got it nailed, the next you’re crying after an hour of miserable shots. Not that I know from experience! 🙂
But your scones do look delicious! I’m so ready for holiday flavors!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
your gluten free creations amazing me!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
I love the gingerbread vanilla combination! It’d be wonderful to start my day with one of these!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I hope the photography lesson goes well–you’ll have to tell me what you learn! I had the same issue with the photos I took for the recipe I posted today. They looked so gray! Even after editing! Sigh. I’ll commiserate with you over some of these yummy scones. 🙂
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
Loving that frosting smeared on top!