31 DAYS of CREATIVE INSPIRATION:: Day 19 {Oatmeal Scones} - A HealthIER But Still Delicious Recipe

This is the 19th post in a 31 Day series: Creative Inspiration. Check out all the posts here.

You may have noticed that I didn't end up publishing a blog post yesterday. My goal of 31 days of posts isn't coming true! However, I will still meet my goal of 31 posts in 31 days since I have already posted more than once on some days. That is the way to put a positive spin on the whole thing.

I have had my crash days. I was on my own for 8 days - meaning my husband was out of the country. It wears me out having the kids to myself not only during the school week but on the weekend as well. A large reason I get so tired is because I like to stay up late into the night. And when my husband is gone, I tend to stay up far later than I should yet still have to get up at the crack of dawn to get all the boys ready on time.

Tomorrow the boys' school has parent/teacher conferences. My husband is out of town again (but just for the day - thank goodness), but that means I not only have to take care of three boys but I also have to be at school to see 19 teachers! YES, 19 teachers!!! Can you believe that? I am not going to be seeing them all. I had to prioritize with that many within a ten hour period.

A friend offered to help me out by having my youngest son over in the morning to play with her daughter who is also his friend. The older boys are supposed to come with me any way as the older grades have parent/teacher/student conferences.

So, to thank her for her generosity, I whipped up a few batches of HealtIER But Still Delicous Oatmeal Scones. It was also my middle son's 4000 days of life celebration (he discovered this over a year ago and marked it on the calendar), and since these are some of his favorites, I had two reasons to make them.

And it is a great CREATIVE thing to share with you!

These are not traditional British scones. They are more an American twist on the British creation (which I LOVE and miss since I no longer live there). American scones don't do British scones justice. They are like a completely different animal with the same name. That being said, these are still quite tasty in their own right. Here is my kids' favorite recipe:

HEALTHIER YET STILL DELICOUS OATMEAL SCONES

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat bran

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup sugar + 1 tbsp.

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup non-fat milk

2 sticks of cold butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

 

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread oatmeal on baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes until oats become fragrant. Remove from heat and cool. Reserve 4 tbsp to sprinkle over work surface. Set the rest of the oats aside. Reduce oven heat to 450 degrees (F).

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. Reserve 2 tbsp in a small bowl. Set aside.

In bowl of a food processor, combine dry ingredients (reserving 1 tbsp of sugar). Pulse a few times until well combined. Sprinkle 1/2 inch pieces of butter over dry ingredients and pulse 12-15 times at one second intervals until the consistency of cornmeal.

Pour the flour and butter mixture into a medium bowl. Add toasted and cooled oats, stir to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together using a silocone or rubber spatula.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp of reserved oats over your work surface. Take half of your dough out of the bowl and place on work surface. Shape into a 7 inch circle. Flip over and make sure both sides are sprinkled evenly with oats on work surface. Using a sharp cleaver or other sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg mixture over the top of each scone. Then sprinkle each scone with the reserved sugar.

Using a metal spatula place the scones approximately an inch apart on a non-stick baking sheet (you may also use parchment paper). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Repeat with the remaining dough. Makes 16 scones.

ENJOY!

I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with the paper folding fun you can use for scrapbook pages.

Comments

[Sara]

I'll be baking these, I miss your scones! Also, I think we may have managed to move here with either yours or Kate's baking trays...

[Astrid]

Yum! I love baking scones. I will have to try these!

[Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie]

Hi Sara! Always happy to hear from you. If they are pretty large silver ones, they might be mine but I havent missed them since they wont fit in my oven here and I dont think they were expensive. If they arent large and silver, then they are probably Kates! You can use them to make scones! : ) Miss you. I was looking through some of our Beijing fieldtrip photos the other day and I cant help but miss you. Im so glad all is going well for you in Texas. What are you doing for the holidays? I should just send you an email already, huh?

[Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie]

Great! Let me know how they turn out if you do.