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Vegan Currant Scones

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 12, 2019

Time

50 minutes

Yield

Makes 8 scones

Vegan Currant Scones

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons organic sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons coconut oil ½ cup dried currants ¾ cup unsweetened soy creamer

Before You Begin

The dough will be quite soft and wet; dust the counter and your hands with flour. Make sure not to overwork the dough. Be sure to bake the scones on two stacked baking sheets so the bottoms don't scorch.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set rimmed baking sheet in second rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
  2. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 pulses. Pinch off ¼-inch pieces of oil into flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with some pea-size pieces of oil remaining, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in currants. Stir in soy creamer until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
  3. Turn dough and any floury bits out onto floured counter and knead until rough, slightly sticky ball forms, 5 to 10 seconds. Pat dough into 8-inch round and cut into 8 wedges. Space wedges about 2 inches apart on prepared sheet. Bake until tops are light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Vegan Currant Scones
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Elle Simone.

Vegan Currant Scones

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

50 minutes

Yield

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons organic sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup dried currants
¾ cup unsweetened soy creamer

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons organic sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup dried currants
¾ cup unsweetened soy creamer

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons organic sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup dried currants
¾ cup unsweetened soy creamer

Why This Recipe Works

Light, fluffy, barely sweet British-style cream scones are made by cutting cubes of chilled butter into the dry ingredients. We liked coconut oil for the fat in our vegan version. Like butter, the oil is solid at room temperature, and it delivered a rich flavor. But coconut oil doesn't have the water in it that butter does, so it behaves slightly differently. We found we didn't need to chill the coconut oil like butter; instead, we pinched room-temperature coconut oil into pieces and pulsed them into the dry ingredients in the food processor. This way ensured even distribution of the oil, and it coated some of the flour granules with fat, which limited gluten development for a tender, cakey crumb.

Before You Begin

The dough will be quite soft and wet; dust the counter and your hands with flour. Make sure not to overwork the dough. Be sure to bake the scones on two stacked baking sheets so the bottoms don't scorch.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set rimmed baking sheet in second rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
  2. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 pulses. Pinch off ¼-inch pieces of oil into flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with some pea-size pieces of oil remaining, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in currants. Stir in soy creamer until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
  3. Turn dough and any floury bits out onto floured counter and knead until rough, slightly sticky ball forms, 5 to 10 seconds. Pat dough into 8-inch round and cut into 8 wedges. Space wedges about 2 inches apart on prepared sheet. Bake until tops are light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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