Friday 23 March 2012

No added sugar scones for babies and toddlers (and grown ups)

On such a lovely sunny day, the clocks going forward at the weekend, spring is in the air, what could be better than a scone? If you like you can serve them with fresh fruit and cream (strawberries are traditional but not in season yet in the UK) but my son loved these as they were.





No added sugar scones - makes 6-10 depending on size

Ingredients

225g Self raising flour (or plain flour with added baking powder)
50g Unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
125g Sultanas (golden raisins)
100ml Full fat milk plus extra for brushing
a squeeze of lemon juice - my cunning tip for better scones.  The acid reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to make them rise more.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F - slightly higher if you don't have a fan.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sultanas.  Add the lemon juice to the milk and then add the milk into the dry ingredients.  You should have a soft dough; add more milk if needed.

Pat (don't roll) the dough out on a floured surface until it's about 1 inch thick (approx 2.5cm), I know this sounds thick but trust me, after years of flat scones, I now realise you have to make them far thicker than you'd imagine.

Using a fluted cutter or a simple shape, cut out the scones, don't twist the cutter as this may affect the rise.  For babies and toddlers, it might be easier to use a sharp knife and make into rectangles.  Scoop up any scraps and reform to get more but try and handle the dough as little as possible.

Brush the top with a little extra milk and bake for around 12 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Ideally serve still warm either on their own or with butter, maybe a little jam or strawberries and cream for grown ups. Delicious.

They freeze well, but are best slightly warm so give them a quick 10 seconds blast in a microwave once thawed.

8 comments:

  1. Just saw a 60/60 minute on sugar...it can be a cancer feeder, so the less the better. visiting from "week cravings."

    New GFC follower :-), hope you can swing by to say hi and join Self Sagacity.com's GFC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be honest I believe in everything in moderation. The only thing is I suspect most children's diets don't have everything in moderation right now. I don't believe in denying sugar from my son's diet completely and dried fruit has plenty of natural sugars in it but I don't think giving my son chocolate regularly as a snack is a good idea either.

      I have no idea about cancer research but I'm always a little wary on how things like that are presented in the media, if you believe the UK Daily Mail, everything can cause cancer (read this, it's hilarious: http://hellokinsella.posterous.com/the-daily-mail-list-of-things-that-give-you-c ) but that said, our diets have become far higher in refined carbohydrate and fat sources in the last 50 years, there has to be some impact from that and I think it's only recently that the effect of diet on health is really being focussed upon over and above obesity and related conditions.

      Delete
  2. Wonderful and delicious looking scones
    I'd love a few for my breakfast :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Tbh I was impressed with myself, the big secret I reckon is not making the dough too thin, always pat it thicker than you think you need to.

      Delete
  3. amazing amazing amazing everybody loved these!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've just put a batch of these in the oven. We'll see how they turn out :-)

    ReplyDelete

I would love to read your comments but please don't include links in them.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.