Banana Walnut whole wheat scones - Bananas or nuts?

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.



Cut into wedges.



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



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.