Coconut Scones

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was picked by Andrea of Andrea in the Kitchen. She chose Chestnut Scones, which are a twist on a traditional cream scone by adding chestnut flour to the mix. You can get the complete recipe on Andrea’s blog. You’ll notice that I made a variation of these scones and I’m sure that others did too, so make sure you check out the links from other bakers on the Tuesdays with Dorie site.

As soon as this recipe was announced, I was on the hunt for chestnut flour. Dorie notes that you’ll be able to find it at an Italian market. Well, I looked at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, the local organic co-op, and every grocery store imaginable and no luck. My husband and I were headed to Seattle and figured we’d check out the Italian market at Pike’s Place Market. I figured they would carry chestnut flour and they did, but at $14 a pound, it was just too expensive. I had already found coconut flour and figured I would use that if chestnut flour wasn’t available. It wasn’t quite as expensive and I figure that I can use coconut flour in many different baked goods!

These scones are basically a repeat of the cream scones recipe from last week, with slightly different ingredients. I wanted to change it up a bit and I had read that many of the bakers last week grated the butter into the flour mixture. I tried that and it worked ok, but I think my butter need to be colder (maybe even frozen). The dough seemed really dry and didn’t come together very easily. Not wanting to over mix, I made fairly rough looking scones. They taste pretty good and I like the coconut flavor that that coconut flour adds. They are a touch dry, but pretty perfect when served with pineapple preserves!

Recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, page 34