Sunday, February 8, 2015

Orange and date drop scones (or pikelets. or mini pancakes)

These drop scones were made during my orange phase of early January. I figured a month between orange-themed recipes was sufficient, and so I'm pleased to share them with you now!

For those of you not familiar with my past drop scone posts, drop scones are also called Scotch pancakes and roughly equivalent to Australian pikelets. For Americans, think mini fluffy pancakes. I like mine with fruit in them and they are well suited to breakfast, afternoon tea, or snacking at pretty much any time of day.




These orange and date drop scones are made to the same basic recipe I used in my fig and lemon drop scones last year. However, instead of figs there are dates, and instead of lemon there is orange.

The combination of orange and date always takes me back to childhood, as my mother made orange-date muffins semi-regularly over those years. Her muffins were minimally sweetened and so the dates stood out as nuggets of sweetness, perfectly set against the orange flavours. The muffins were especially delicious warm from the oven, and these drop scones provide the same warm, gooey comfort straight from the pan.


Orange and date drop scones
A delicious afternoon tea or anytime treat
Makes approximately 16 small drop scones
Vegan

Author: Bite-Sized Thoughts


Ingredients
1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 1/2 cup water for at least 15 minutes
1 cup spelt flour (or plain white flour)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp almond milk
6 dates, roughly chopped
Juice and zest of 1 large orange (approximately 1/4 cup juice)

Oil, if needed, for cooking

Method
When the chia seeds have soaked, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chia seeds in water and almond milk and stir well to combine. Add in the chopped dates, orange juice and orange zest and stir to incorporate.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and spray with oil if desired. Use a large spoon to drop the mixture into the pan, aiming to pour the mixture off the end of the spoon. Cook in batches of 3 to 4, for approximately 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.


What flavour combinations take you back to childhood?

13 comments:

  1. Right now I'm obsessed with scones. This local place has the best mixed berry scones so I've been craving them hard. Love the idea of drop scones so can't wait to try your recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't tried American scones (I think UK and Australian scones are a bit different!) but imagine that if you like scones of any description then you'll like drop scones too :)

      Delete
  2. I've never heard of the term drop scones before, but after seeing these...I'll gladly take a batch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only discovered them when I moved to the UK, but if you think mini pancakes, you'll have a reasonably good idea of what they are :-)

      Delete
  3. Love them all whatever they are called - they may have subtle differences but all taste great!

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love drop scones and also always put fruit in them. I usually add lemon rind and currants which is a bit similar to your flavours xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the sound of lemon and currant! Next time :-)

      Delete
  5. Dates more than oranges are a childhood memory - lots of date scones and even dates in cakes - and there is something so right about dates and oranges - I think this is a really appealing combination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Australian grandmother regularly made date loaf so dates are a big childhood memory for me too, in their own right :-) They are pretty great in all forms but I am fond of the orange combination in particular.

      Delete
  6. yes it seems easy and tasty way to make pancakes again looks


    regards health
    Glutavia Beauty Drink
    Glutavia
    Glutavia Beauty Drink

    ReplyDelete

I genuinely appreciate all comments and the time taken to post them. Occasionally, I may need to restrict commenting to registered users in order to halt large volumes of spam. If that happens, I will lift the restriction within a week.

Want other ways to interact? Bite-sized thoughts is on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bitesizedthoughts) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/bitesizethought).