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Healthy Salted Caramel Apple Scones

Okay, so I know it looks like I’ve completely lost my mind and started making super unhealthy pastries topped with caramel, but that’s not quite the case… While these caramel apple scones are all kinds of sweet and delicious, there’s also a bit of magic happening behind the scenes that makes them nearly guilt-free as well. We’re using whole wheat flour, replacing much of the oil with applesauce (which is a natural fit in these apple-flavored scones), and because of the sweet date-based caramel sauce on top, we can keep the sugar content of the scones down. Oh and this icing. It’s completely natural, made almost entirely from dates, takes 2 minutes, doesn’t need to be cooked, and it tastes every bit as good as a *real* caramel sauce. Amazing.

Caramel_Apple_Scones

The Apple Scones

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 1 medium red apple
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup Sucanat or coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 400º F

Step Zero

As with nearly all my baking recipes, we’ll replace the egg with ground flax. To make, stir together 1 tablespoon flax with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes until it forms a gel.

Step One

Dice one red apple and add to a small skillet with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, and 2-3 tablespoons of water. Let these simmer into little bite-sized cinnamon apples while preparing the scone batter.

Step Two

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and the other 2 teaspoons of cinnamon). Next, combine the almond milk, apple sauce, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, and our “flax egg” in a saucepan and warm just until the coconut oil and sugar are dissolved.

Step Three

Carefully pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to gently combine. Also at this time, drain those cinnamon apple bits and add them into the batter as well. Be careful not to over-mix, as that will develop too much gluten and result in rubbery scones. This will be very thick, but you should be able to form it into one solid ball of dough. If not, add 1-2 teaspoons of almond milk and try again. (This should NOT be sticky).

Step Four

Lightly-flour a surface on your counter and roll the dough out until it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Then, use a sharp knife to cut these into triangles or any other shape you want. Dust the tops with cinnamon, then add to a parchment-lined baking tray for about 15 minutes, or until the tops just start to brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before icing.

Caramel_Scones

Healthy Caramel Icing

Ingredients:

  • 10 large medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons smooth almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1+ tablespoon non-dairy milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

This vegan no-bake caramel icing is modified from a recipe I found on Damy Health. I took her recipe for raw vegan caramels (which are insane) and just thinned it out a bit to create an icing consistency. It tastes just like caramel, but is made primarily with dates and is totally One Ingredient approved. Amazing.

To make, simple combine all the above ingredients in a food processor or blender (don’t forget to pit the dates!) and blend until totally smooth. If it needs to be slightly thinner to spread as icing, add a teaspoon of non-dairy milk at a time until just right. You can make this ahead of time and store (refrigerated) in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

Caramel_Scones_Top

Caramel_Scones_Plate

12 Comments

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  1. Yay! Thank you! These will be delicious & fun to make! When I first saw the picture on your main page, I knew the caramel had to be dates! I love caramel being guilt-free & filled with the classiness & wholesomeness of dates!

    • Thank you, Abbi! They were actually a lot of fun to make! I know… I love this date caramel sauce a little too much – I have some leftover and just eat it by the spoonful 😀

  2. I made these tonight and they are soooo good! The only sub I made was peanut butter for almond butter because that’s what I had on hand, and it was delicious. The date caramel is out of this world! I will definitely be finding other ways to use it, and will make these again.

    • Yay! Thanks, Allison! I’m so glad you liked them. I know, isn’t that caramel amazing? I ended up dipping apples into it and then giving up completely and just eating spoonfuls 😀

  3. woah woah woah WOAH. apples are my favourite fruit so it’s no surprise that i’m a fanatic for fall! these look outrageous! I know what i’m baking this weekend in between my coursework ;’)

  4. This looks so good! (Reading your website while hungry is pure torture.)

    I bet this date caramel icing would be a great way to turn your granola into granola bars!

  5. I was craving something sweet and comforting as the weather is getting
    typically British indeed and decided to make the caramel sauce.
    OMG Andrew! I might need intervention to stop eating that out of spoon before dinner. It is THAT good!
    Thanks again. 🙂

  6. The caramel icing is fantastic! I didn’t make the scones but used the caramel icing on some bob’s red mill teff cookies (recipe is on the bag) and then melted dark chocolate over them for a variation on millionaire bars – divine and your caramel icing was perfect! Thank you 🙂

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