Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Einkorn Scones
I’m currently in my Austin Air B n B cozied up in my little twin bed under a soft white duvet. I had teacher training today. And, big surprise, my bod is sore and tired. Nothing to whine about, of course! Perfectly healthy & happy soreness and tiredness. In fact, I’m crazy thankful for this pooped body right now! Being relatively wiped out energetically means two things: 1. My body is physically prepared to practice and learn Ashtanga with David Swenson! That’s freaking rad! And, 2. I’m focused and attentive for all 6 hours of the intensive teacher training. So much learning.
But it also means chill time is mucho necessary. Recovery time, my friends. It’s in shivasana (corpse pose at the end of practice) that the body absorbs the benefits of the practice. Every action needs its equal and opposite reaction. After stimulation, silence. After inspiration, space. After intense physical practice, rest.
For tomorrow is a day full of magic. And I need all of my awareness to sense it.
After I got back from training today I settled into a box full of veg mezze (olives, caper berries, grilled tofu & pepper, roasted asparagus). Plus coconut water (my recovery drink of choice). And chocolate, because of course. Then I took a quick porch-nap (the weather is glorious in Austin right now).
Traveling like this -- what with waking up early and walking to and fro as my main mode of transport -- has my eating all weird. I've been downing a lot of Vega protein bars and these bars by Bearded Brothers that are pretty good. That's all well and good. But meal replacement bars are always kind of a bummer. That's one less meal & moment in my life when I'm not actually enjoying food. It's purely functional consumption. God that's boring.
Do I wish I had more of these scones with me on my trip? Darn tootin'! (Is that a thing they say in Texas?).
These vegan sweet potato scones. Hoo boy, they’re good. Flecks of creamy sweet potato + rich, dark maple syrup + glimmers of chocolate throughout. They're heavenly.
These einkorn scones expand a bit in the oven, so the tops may crack. It’s a flaw I fancy. I like flaws in life. It makes plain things interesting. And it gives these scones a scarred loveliness.
The scones have a satisfying pull-apart quality. And they’re made with einkorn, making them high in protein and vitamin B. You may sub spelt for einkorn in a pinch. However, einkorn has its own round, soft flavor. It tastes ever so subtly of almond and lemon zest. In case you’re wondering, it’s available in most Whole Foods now. And you can find it in many independent, well-stocked natural food groceries.
- 2 cups [url href="https://jovialfoods.com/shop/einkorn/flour.html?___SID=U"]einkorn flour[/url] (spelt works too) -- scooped into your cup measure from the flour bag and leveled off with a knife
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch Celtic sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or ghee, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- 2-4 tablespoons hot water
- 1/4 cup chocolate, chopped
- Optional topping: 1/4 cup chilled full fat coconut cream + 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the einkorn flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium mixing bowl, stir together the maple syrup, melted coconut oil or ghee, vanilla extract, and sweet potato puree.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, folding everything together gently until the dry mix is well saturated. If the mix looks dry, add a tablespoon at a time of hot water until the mix comes together.
- Fold the chopped chocolate into the dough, making sure the chocolate is pretty evenly mixed in.
- Grease your 1/4 cup measure with a bit of coconut oil or ghee. To shape the scones, scoop dough into the 1/4 cup measure, pressing it in to the cup measure to shape the scone. Shake the scone out onto your parchment lined baking sheet. Continue this process until all of the dough is used up, greasing the cup measure very lightly between scones. Set the scones on the baking sheet 2" - 3" apart.
- Brush the tops of the scones with a little bit more coconut oil or ghee.
- Baking for 25 minutes, rotating the pan half way through, until golden.
- Let cool 5 minutes before digging in.
- To serve, whisk together the chilled coconut cream and honey and dollop a spoonful over each scone. Enjoy!