Almond, Zucchini and Ginger Scones

These candied ginger scones are made with almond and spelt flours.  Fresh lemon zest brightens the flavor for summer and zucchini keeps each bite soft and tender. 

I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.

I hope to see you there.

I promise I won’t spend all summer talking about the heat. But I also won’t fool myself into thinking this is going to be easy. 100 degree temps June through about October is going to take some getting used to.

Even more so because I am not a summer person. Summer has always been my least favorite season of the year. I’m all about fall. I even love the cold temps of winter, although I’m glad that I now get to drive to the snow versus having it come to me. 

Despite my cool weather preferences, the one thing summer has never done is kept me from baking. I still gladly fire up the oven. That’s what the air conditioner is for, right?

Last week was a good example. It was our first truly hot week and all I could think of doing when a friend gave us zucchini (yes, that is already on for the early-bird gardeners around here) was bake! So I did. And without even breaking a sweat. 

Even if I had broken a sweat, these scones would still have been worth it. They were a bit of an experiment. I had both spelt flour and almond flour to use up along with a lemon on the counter and a new variety of candied ginger. I decided all of those would go pretty well together. And they did. 

Given the flour variations, these aren’t exactly like my other scones. They are more cake-like in texture. I guess that can be a pro or a con depending on the kinds of scones you favor. I felt like they were a nice change from the more biscuit-like scones I often make. 

These are also a great option if you find yourself in a zucchini bread rut as I often do in the summer. I’ve made savory zucchini scones in the past so this was a nice way to keep things on the sweet side with some brighter summer flavors from the ginger and lemon. 

What you’ll need:

2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
3 tablespoons raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
3/4 cup 2 percent or whole milk
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the spelt flour, almond flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, lemon zest and salt. 

Add the cubes of butter to the dry ingredients. Using 2 knives or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it is in pea-size pieces. Stir in the zucchini and the ginger.

Slowly add the milk a little at a time as you work the ingredients into a dough. Form the dough into a ball. If it seems sticky, sprinkle with a little extra flour to smooth the surface. 

Place the dough on a greased baking sheet, or a baking sheet covered in a silicone mat. Shape into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and the almonds. Press them gently into the dough. 

Use a dough cutter to cut the rectangle into 8 scones. Place the pan in the oven and baking for 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center scone comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run the dough cutter along the cuts you made before baking to separate the scones. Serve warm or at room temperature.