Whole Wheat Date Scones

The second the matzoh was gone, I started to bake.  Matzoh with jam is fine for tea, but scones are better.

I admit that the title is a bit misleading.  I didn't use only whole wheat flour.  You could, but they would get heavy.  There's just enough in the mix to taste it and get some nutritional benefits without the scones tasting like bark.  You can probably go up to 50:50 without sacrificing quality.  I'm just in a white flour mood.

As usual, I went through my pantry for ingredients to get my inspiration.  Buying fancy ingredients is fine once in a while, but you usually like things you've already bought.  I had some pitted Deglet dates and the yogurt chips I put in granola.  (You can sub white chocolate chips if yogurt chips aren't something you usually use.). I stirred them into my standard scone recipe, reducing the sugar because of the sweet mix-ins.  The last jar of last year's apricot-orange jam got popped for topping, and tea was on the table.

1-1/2 C all purpose flour
*1/2 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 C butter
2 tsp sugar
1/2 C pitted dates, finely chopped
1/4 C yogurt chips
*2/3 C milk

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

2.  In a bowl, combine both flours and baking powder.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in sugar, then date bits and yogurt chips.  Make sure date pieces come apart.  It also helps to coat each in flour to keep them separate.

3.  Stir in milk to make a soft and sticky dough.  Pat out on a lightly floured surface 1/2" thick.  You can either cut each one out with a biscuit cutter or make two discs that you then score with the back of a knife or bench scraper.  Place on baking sheet.

4.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until well risen and starting to brown.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving, so the yogurt chips don't melt everywhere.  Then you can place the scones on a cooling rack and break apart any scored discs you made.

5.  Serve warm with butter and jam.  Keeps well in the freezer.  Allow to come to at least room temperature before serving so no one cracks a tooth on the chips.

Makes about 1 dozen

Difficulty rating  π