Vegan Whole Wheat Cranberry Rosemary Scones
These delicious cranberry rosemary scones make for a tasty and more nutritious treat, particularly during the holiday season as they feature two staple holiday ingredients! Made with 100% white whole wheat flour, they pack in all the benefits of whole grains like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Think holiday flavors X whole grain benefits!
There’s no shortage of delicious treats during the holidays, especially when it comes to staple flavors like chocolate, gingerbread, peppermint, eggnog (vegan, of course!), more chocolate, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And I love them all! But if there’s one ingredient that doesn’t get as much hype as it could (and probably should!), it’s cranberries. Yes, of course there’s cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving and the classic cranberry orange bread/muffins - but why stop there?
These scones originate from a germ of an idea of pairing cranberries with fresh rosemary. Both are late fall/early winter staples, and since they work so well together in savory dishes and even cocktails, why not try baking with them? Long story short, I fell in love with the results immediately upon tasting the first test batch, and hence this recipe was born. There’s a pleasant hint of light sweetness in the dough, juicy yet sour bits of cranberries, an herby (even savory) touch from the rosemary, and the scones are topped off with a delicious crusty layer of sugar-y goodness. And it gets even better - since these scones are made entirely with whole wheat flour (more on this below), they’re more nutritious than most scone recipes as most tend to use white flour. So whether you’re looking for something different from the classic holiday flavors, or you’re in the market for slightly more nourishing treats, I think you’ll find that these scones deliver!
Why You’ll Love these Cranberry Scones
Delicious holiday-y flavors! Cranberries are essential during the holiday season, and pairing them with rosemary, another holiday staple, gives these scones their delicious sweet and herby holiday-inspired flavors. And because the dough is made with white whole wheat flour, the scones themselves have a mild natural sweetness (and almost nutty flavor) that pairs wonderfully with the cranberry and rosemary.
100% whole grain. Speaking of white whole wheat flour… Since these scones rely on it exclusively for their base flour, they’re actually 100% whole grain! So not only are they super tasty, but they pack in all those ultra nourishing whole grain benefits like all the fiber, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins found in the whole food format.
BTW, white whole wheat flour should not be confused with white all-purpose flour - they are entirely different things! More on that in the Ingredient Overview section below, but essentially, white whole wheat is milled from the entire wheat kernel, so it’s got all the nutrients of the whole grain. Contrast that with all-purpose flour, which is milled from just the endosperm of the wheat, meaning it’s stripped of many of the grain’s natural nutrients and fiber.
Perfect textures. These are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside - i.e. they’ve got all the perfect scone textures! The tender interior is filled with bits of juicy (and sour!) cranberries, and the scones are topped with a layer of sugar that adds extra sweetness and creates an ultra satisfying crispy topping.
Ingredient Overview
White whole wheat flour. The base of these scones, which gives them a slightly nutty and pleasant natural sweetness that pairs wonderfully with the fresh cranberries and rosemary! White whole wheat flour is ground from hard white wheat, which is a whole grain, so it retains all the nutritional benefits of whole grains (fiber, protein, vitamins, micronutrients, etc.) but without tasting as “whole wheat-y” or grainy as the most common whole wheat flour that’s ground from hard red wheat. Contrast this with all-purpose white flour, which is stripped of the wheat’s bran and germ and only ground from the endosperm of wheat, meaning lots of its fiber, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other nutrients end up stripped out (although it’s usually enriched to add some nutrients and vitamins back in). So by using white whole wheat, these scones are more nutritious and taste delightful!
Cane sugar. To sweeten the scone dough, plus we finish off the scones with extra sugar on top to create a sweet, slightly crispy top layer.
Baking soda, baking powder, and salt. The leaveners, plus salt for flavor balance and texture.
Coconut oil (frozen). The fat source! Frozen coconut oil works wonderfully in scones because it creates little air pockets that help the scones rise up (instead of spreading out!) during baking.
Non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mixing non-dairy milk with apple cider vinegar creates a vegan “buttermilk” mixture that adds in enough acid to allow the baking soda (a base) to react and help the scones rise.
Applesauce. Combined with the “buttermilk'' to form the dough, applesauce adds extra moisture and helps tenderize the texture of the scones!
Fresh rosemary and cranberries. To infuse the scones with their namesake flavors! Be sure to use whole, fresh cranberries (these are easy to find around the holiday season!) and chop up the fresh rosemary.
Tips for Baking these Scones
Accurately measure the flour. Measuring flour in grams using a food scale will give you the best results in baking! If you don’t have one (you should 100% invest in one - they’re inexpensive and invaluable for cooking and baking), measure the flour using the “spoon and level” method to avoid using too much flour (too much flour = dry/dense scones and no one wants that!). To do this, “fluff” the flour with a spoon to aerate it. Then, spoon the flour into a measuring cup until it overflows slightly, and use the back of a knife to “level” the excess flour off the top.
Use frozen coconut oil. For the best rise, use frozen pea-sized bits of coconut oil! To create these frozen pea-sized pieces of oil, measure out some room temp coconut oil (which is usually semi soft or maybe liquid if it’s really hot in your home), pop it into the freezer for a few minutes to freeze, then remove it and chop it! The frozen oil pieces will create little air pockets that will make the scones rise up instead of spreading out during baking. Science! 🤓
Resist adding more liquid into the dough. Scone dough is on the dry side, so you really only want to add just enough liquid to form a dough, and not any more beyond that. I promise the dough will form, even if it doesn’t look like it when you first start mixing! Just keep mixing everything and recruit your hands to help you incorporate those last bits of flour into the dough before you mix in the fresh cranberries.
Freeze the dough. A very cold dough is key in achieving the perfect scone shape and texture. By freezing the dough before baking, it ensures the coconut oil will be solid so your scones can puff up (and not spread out) during baking!
Brush with milk and top with sugar before taking. To achieve that delicious sweet crackly topping, brush each scone with a bit of milk and top it generously with granulated sugar before you pop them in the oven to bake!
These seem fairly simple, right? Let’s bake!
Whole Wheat Cranberry Rosemary Scones
Vegan
Makes 8
Ingredients
For the scone dough:
½ cup non-dairy milk (oat, cashew, etc. - I used oat)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups (spooned & leveled) / 240 grams white whole wheat flour
¼ cup granulated cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
¼ cup coconut oil measured in liquid state, then frozen*
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 ⅓ cups fresh whole cranberries
For the topping:
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
2-3 tablespoons granulated cane sugar
Directions
In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar to make a “buttermilk”. Set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
In a large bowl, whisk together the white whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and rosemary.
Remove the frozen coconut oil from the freezer and use a knife to chop it into pea-sized pieces. Add the frozen coconut oil pieces to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
To the buttermilk mix, add in the applesauce and mix together to combine.
Add the buttermilk/applesauce mix to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to combine. At first, it will look like there isn’t enough liquid to form a dough, but keep mixing, using your hands at the very end to incorporate everything and form a dough, but be careful not to overmix once a dough forms.
Add the fresh cranberries and use the spatula (or your hands, as needed) to fold them into the dough.
Transfer the dough to a flat surface and shape it into a flat disk that’s about 1-inch tall. Using a large knife, cut straight through the disk to form eight even wedges.
Separate the wedges and transfer them onto a silicone mat or parchment paper, then move them to the freezer to chill for 15-20 minutes. At this point, pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
When the oven is ready, transfer the silicone mat/parchment paper with the scones onto a metal baking sheet. Brush each scone with a bit of milk (you might not use the entire amount) and sprinkle the top of each scone generously with sugar.
Bake until the scones are lightly browned and crisped on the outside, about 15-16 minutes.
Remove the baked scones from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them onto a baking rack to cool for 25-30 more minutes before enjoying. Best when fresh, though leftovers will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Notes:
*To freeze the coconut oil, measure it out while it’s in liquid or semi-soft state and place it in a small shallow bowl or onto a plate with edges (or any flat-ish dish that will make it easy to scoop the frozen oil out of) and transfer it to your freezer to set until completely solid. Pinch bowls work best if you have them!
Loving these whole grain cranberry rosemary scones? I’d really appreciate if you took a moment to leave a review in the comments below and tag me on Instagram (@teostinykitchen) if you share a photo! And for more scones, check out my other recipes here.