Cooking Done Light

Okay – so I am about as Irish as they come. All of my ancestors (both maternal and paternal) are “straight off the boat.” As a result, I was forced to eat traditional scones as a child – and let me tell you -“dry AND bland” is not what people want when it comes to their baked goods!! BLEH!!

My grandmother used to make them more tolerable for us kids by lightly toasting them, and then slathering them with butter and jelly. It was definitely an improvement, but who wants to add all of those calories to a fairly healthy food just to make it edible!!?? You could have a cupcake instead if that was the case!! I still spread fruit preserves on my scones, but now only because that is my preference – not because it’s NEEDED to prevent choking on dry baked goods! Try spreading some fresh lemon curd on these scones when they are warm right out of the oven. They truly melt in your mouth!! I have also included a recipe for a light lemony icing – but it is an optional step that I typically add only for company and “get togethers”, because it will up the calorie count a bit, and I find that they are just as yummy without it.

1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

zest and juice of one whole lemon

2 egg whites

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees and coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using a fork, “cut in” the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir egg whites and milk into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in poppy seeds and raisins. Shape the dough into 18 balls and arrange them in the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

For the Optional Icing: Mix together 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons skim milk, and 4 -5 tablespoons powdered sugar. Stir together until mixture reaches a good “drizzling” consistency. You may need to add more or less milk and/or powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over scones before serving.

Makes 18 scones. Per Scone: 99 Calories, 3 g fat, less then 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 15 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 4 g added sugar, 2 g protein, 79 mg sodium, 114 mg calcium, 2 mg cholesterol.