October 20, 2008

Banana Walnut whole wheat scones - Bananas or nuts?

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Have you heard of the "Talking library" in Santa Monica this weekend? It was on the news a couple of days back. The concept goes something like this...
You can borrow a human book, yes a person (instead of a book) who can converse with you on a particular subject for 30 minutes. And then if there are no holds on that person, then you can extend the lending hours.
To avoid hassle to the regular patrons of the library, these sessions are held in the open or in designated areas of the main library.
It is a part of exchanging culture, ideas and knowledge.
If you ask me, I think it is an excellent idea, I even went up on the Internet looking if there was something similar in my local library! Unfortunately not, but maybe I should place a suggestion...

This has nothing to do with today's recipe, but it was a pretty interesting piece of information worth sharing.

Are you in for bananas or nuts? Try both...
Walnuts, or any nuts for that matter are best kept in the freezer section of your refrigerator. Why? Because, nuts in themselves are loaded with natural oils, and those oils make the nuts turn rancid if kept out at room temperature. Have you had the nuts smell weird after being kept out for a long time? It happened to me all the time, but now I just get a huge bag and stash them, and forget it until I use it for something as delicious as these scones. Huge bags, because nuts are economical when purchased in bulk.
I don't need to talk about bananas now, do I?

These scones make for a great healthy breakfast or a snack to go along with coffee or tea. The frosting on top is basically a little sugar and butter drizzled on top, but this is completely optional. Since I reduced the sugar content of the scones, it was perfect to just add just a tad on top. A little honey would work just as well.

Banana Walnut whole wheat scones

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 3 cups
Banana - 1 cup mashed
Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup packed (I used a couple of tablespoons less)
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Cold butter - 3 tbsp (cut into small cubes)
Low fat Buttermilk - 1/4 cup
Pure Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Egg - 1
Salt - A pinch

For topping:
Walnuts - 1/3 cup (coarsely chopped)
Brown sugar - 1 tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix the topping ingredients: brown sugar and walnuts and set aside.

Sift whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Mix in the brown sugar.

Add the cold butter and either using a pastry cutter, or with your bare fingers, rub in the flour into the butter till it is crumbly.

Now, add the egg (beaten slightly), bananas and the buttermilk and form it into a dough. Do not over knead.

Flour the surface you are going to work on, and transfer the dough, form into a ball, and roll it or pat it down into a circle, about 8" in diameter of 1/2" thickness.

Sprinkle the toppings and press it down gently.

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Cut into wedges.

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Grease a cookie sheet and place the wedges gently onto it.

bake

Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes or till golden brown on top.

They are great as it is. But if you want to kick it up a notch, then drizzle honey, or combine a little sugar and butter and drizzle on top after completely cooled.

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43 comments:

  1. Hi...
    Whole wheat scones sounds so healthy. Looks so good. YUM! Never tried scones with wheat flour....

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  2. What a nice idea - I've never had anything other than sultanas in my scones. I particularly like the idea of banana as I think the texture would be lovely

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  3. scones looks yummy!!!!!!!!!!!

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  4. These look delicious, Divya. Anything with bananas is always welcome.

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  5. That looks positively delicious. I wish I had one to go with my chai in the evening.

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  6. Who says something delicious cannot also be healthy. They sound great.

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  7. Wow....... looks really fantastic & awesome... nice entry divya.. thxs for sharing...

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  8. Love the idea of making scones with bananas and whole wheat pastry flour and how convenient I have both at home right now.... will give this a try...looks delicious...and what's this about a human book how unique...never heard of such a thing before :-)

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  9. looks really delicious

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  10. those scones looks great. wish i could use my oven and start baking.

    i live in santa monica and i didn't know about this talking book :) will inquire about it..

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  11. looks so healthy...luv the shape.. feel like having a bite..drooling pic

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  12. These looks delicious! What can go wrong with bananas and walnuts? Looks easy to prepare,too! Perfect for amateur bakers like me :)

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  13. looks yummy..nevr tried baking scones..bookmarked this one..

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  14. Awesome recipe and info about talking library,don't worry, ur local library soon could bring tat soon!

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  15. Bananas and walnuts are an unbeatable combo. I love baking with whole wheat. They look delicious.

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  16. Looks colourful,GREAT, YUMMY and DELICIOUS.I have a small suggestion, if you do not mind. YOUR LOGO"CHILLIES" DOES NOT GO WELL WITH THE PRESENTATIONS IN YOUR BLOG.CAN YOU THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE. I have been thinking about it for a long time now.Pl do not mistake me, this is only a suggestion. Or We can go for a VOTING WITH YOUR BLOGGERS AND DECIDE.
    Ramkumar

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  17. Banana a big NO NO- but love nuts :)
    Talking library, LOL! I went this satu to library nothing is available like the one u mentionned :( We re unlucky!

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  18. My!What a beautiful blog you have!Am still going thru all the posts. :-)
    I liked the idea of cutting the wdges first and then baking ... am sure that ensures crispiness all around. :-)

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  19. Wow!! The wheat scones look soooo damn yummy and nice.I wish I could bake perfectly like tht :) kalakra ma Divya..

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  20. Delighful,healthy scones.

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  21. U make me drool everyday divya:) Looks very very delicious...

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  22. lovely scones. I m still wondering how u can making these, such a diffrnt and fantastic stuffs.
    as Mr.Ramkumar said u think about changing the logo dear. Having a beautiful and crispy baking stuffs, chillis are mismatching to it.

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  23. I usually make banana bread atleast twice a month with leftover bananas.This sounds a nice altenative.

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  24. I recently learnt that keeping nuts at room temp turn rancid while watching foodnetwork. I have kept them in the fridge under my Mother-in -laws advice but just did`nt bother to find out the reason. Beautiful looking scones. Banans and nuts,nice combo.

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  25. wow! yummy...i'll sure try both as u said...cant wait to taste them

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  26. I love banana and walnuts - they go perfectly together. Your scones look wonderful.

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  27. what an awesome recipe! scones look so scrumptious. I guess both bananas and nut go well together. Talking library sounds fun. Never heard of it!

    BTW, can you give me the link to original recipe event? Apple laddu is my own creatin emerged from my little brain, he he!

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  28. Absolutely yummy...
    U r a baking Queen :)

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  29. This looks outstanding. We always seem to have similar ideas/recipes. I want to try this version of whole wheat scones next! You know what's a good butter replacement? peanut butter!

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  30. Whole wheat scones sounds so healthy. Looks so good. YUM!Feel like having one!

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  31. This does sound great! Reminds me I have not made scones in ages!

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  32. Healthy scones? Awesome idea Anu! I usually run and hide when I see the amount of butter in scones, now I get to come out and eat them. Thanks :)

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  33. Oh this looks fantastic! I love healthy baking!! Great recipe!

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  34. Mahimaa, Cham & Usha - The information about the library has been linked to my post, pls find more details there. I don't live there, so unfortunately I am unable to give you more information. And hey! You guys live close to each other! *Sigh*

    Mr. Ramkumar & Adlak - Thanks so much for the feedback about the profile pic, I will try to do something about it. So you both don't like chillies for my blog? huh? :)

    Sharmila - Thanks! And yes cutting them up before baking and placing them separately does ensure the edges are baked too. I am not a fan of too soft scones.

    Cilantro - Try freezing them, they stay fresh longer.

    Uma - I will leave the link in your blog, so you don't miss it.

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  35. Bananas and walnuts are a match made in heaven.. but i was disappointed with scones the first time i tried because i had imagined them to be quite different after reading all those enid blyton books :) Yours look yummy.

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  36. I have all the ingredients with me right now3.. except eggs :( dont know how will they turn out without them.

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  37. Those scones are looking so yummy. Will definitely make this. Thanks for sharing.

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  38. I tried this recipe! I love Caribou scones but have been trying to make my own for healthier diet. I had to modify this a bit---I had no egg or buttermilk. I added some fat free sour cream. I also addeda bit of oatmeal and cinnamon, and used food processor. The results taste good. They are a little bit dry (probably because of my mods), but they are so delicious and crispy... a biscone?

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)