Apricot Chocolate Scones

Scones…ahhh scones… There is a deli/bakery in Granville Island Market that I may or may not have worked at and while working there, I may have had exposure to a lot different kinds of scones. I would always be weary about which way to say the word while serving customers as you can say it scooooone (like Joan) or scon (like john). I would always wait until the customer said it first and then I would repeat them. Anyway. We had a lot of said scones. Blueberry, Raspberry, Multi-grain Raspberry, Raisin/Currant, Cheese, Spinach and Feta, and Cheese with red peppers and green onions. Oh and pumpkin when it becomes chilly enough to have them around.

So after being exposed to this array of scones, I guess I’ve become immune to the monotony of these seemingly generic varieties, and picked up a few new combinations. Apricot chocolate is one that I certainly did not come up with, but is delicious none the less. You can play around with other sweet and savoury combinations as you see fit, such as Ham and Chives, Dried Cranberries and Cheddar, Orange zest and Marmalade, Sundried Fig and feta… just think of all the possibilities!

Ingredients:
1 cup Brown Rice Flour +
1 cup Spelt Flour
or
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Cold Unsalted butter, in 1/2” slices (or vegetable shortening)
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate chips (or one dark chocolate bar)
1/2 to 1 cup Dried Apricots
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2/3 to 3/4 cup Soy milk (or regular milk, buttermilk, almond…etc)
1 Tbsp of Raw Sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Put flours in a large bowl and add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together thoroughly.
   
2. Cut up butter in to 1/2” slices and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives until the butter is in pea sized pieces.
 
3. Chop up your dark chocolate bar or add in chocolate chips. Add to bowl.

4. Chop up the dried apricots into little pieces and add to the bowl. Mix.

5. Add in the soy milk, or whatever other milk you desire, and vanilla extract. Add the milk in small amounts gradually until the mixture just clings together to form a dough.

6. Using the classic two spoon method (as to not get your hands dirty) spoon out mounds of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle on the raw sugar on top. Put in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 20 – 30 minutes.