Moist is an important quality in scones, I feel. The most common complaint about one of my most favorite foods is that they are dry and crumbly, and people just don’t like that. I can appreciate a good, dry scone every so often, but I much prefer something moist when I pick up a scone. This recipe has been one of my favorites since I began cooking, and I’ve adapted it from the non-vegan source (something my mom has made for a while, I don’t know where the original comes from).

These scones are the perfect food for almost any occasion where pastries are called for, and because they only take about 15 minutes to prepare, I often make them if I have to bake for something last minute (or just want a snack). I hope you enjoy them!

More after the break.

Easy, Moist Scones

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks of margarine
1 cup buttermilk
Some sugar and margarine topping the scones for baking

In a large bowl, mix the first five dry ingredients well. Then add the butter and use a fork our your hands to mash the butter into the dry ingredients until it is well-mixed (should resemble a cornmeal type mixture, to some extent). Then, for the buttermilk, take 1 tablespoon of vinegar and add it to a cup minus 1 tablespoon of soymilk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Once it’s sat you’ll have a buttermilk-like vegan concoction that works well with this recipe. Mix this in with the other ingredients until its held all the flour. Take the dough and roll it out on a floured surface and split into two equally sized balls. You don’t want to over knead, just enough so that it stays together (too much needing will make denser scones, I’ve found). Flatten these two balls until they are round and about half an inch thick. Melt some margarine and brush the tops of the two discs and then cover with sugar and slice into triangles. Arrange these on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for about 12-14 minutes (or until they get golden brown and crispy).

I hope you enjoy these scones. They are the ultimate late night snack when you’ve got the time to cook, and you’ll also wake up the next few mornings with some great scones.