Take a Hike Scones

In March, Ron and I took a mini-vacay to Chicago-land.  You may remember that we stopped at the amazing Bleeding Heart Bakery and I indulged in one of their famous Take a Hike scones.  I've been dreaming about this scone ever since we got back, so I decided it was time to do a google search and recreate this bad boy.  I was delighted to see that Michelle had given the recipe to a newspaper at some point.  In mere minutes, I had made up a grocery list to pick up what I needed.  To my delight, I realized I had everything in the kitchen!  I decided to make them with whole wheat flour instead of AP.  Also, I am not a vegan, so I decided just to substitute the vegan margarine and soy milk with what I had on hand.  The original ingredients are listed from the link below.


These scones were hanging out in the kitchen for my mom's recent visit.  We definitely ate our fair share of them.  They are SO, SO good.  They are just so hearty and have such an "earthy" texture.  Grains, oats, fruits, nuts.  What else could you ask for?  This recipe made so many that I ended up cutting them in half and putting a bunch in the freezer.  They are perfect to fuel me for long bike rides and I feel much better about eating something home made as opposed to commercially bought.  


However, I do have to admit that my scones did not taste as good as the scone I bought back in March from the bakery.  Truthfully, it doesn't matter if you have an original recipe.  I'm convinced that everything tastes better when it's made in its home kitchen with its original chef.  That being said, these scones will hold me over while I live in Minneapolis.  However, I plan to make frequent trips to Bleeding Heart once we live in Chi-town.  Thank you, Bleeding Heart, for coming up with such a delicious, hearty recipe!!  Yum!

Take a Hike Scones
adapted from Bleeding Heart Bakery per We Gotta Eat
Yield:  8-9 scones (or 16 if you cut in half)
Ingredients

• 8 oz butter
• 2.5 c WW flour
• 2/3 c organic light brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking power
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 c old fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 c dried fruit, cut into small dice (use any combination, but I used apricots, dates and apples)
• 1/4 c pumpkin seeds
• 4 tbsp flaxseeds
• 3/4 c buttermilk

Instructions

1. Cut the butter into chunks and freeze for a minimum of 1 hr.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking power and baking soda.  
3. Mix in the oats.
4. Cut the frozen butter into the dry ingredients until pea size chunks are left (I used a pastry blender).
5. Briefly mix in the dried fruits, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds.
6. Add buttermilk.  (Mixture will look soggy, but keep mixing until it reaches a thick, oatmeal-like consistency and isn't runny.)
7. Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
8. Pull the dough together and roll into a thickness of 1 1/2 inches.
9. Cut out scones with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter.  
10. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25-28 minutes at 375 degrees.  (Note:  scones will puff up and crack on the top.)
11. Cool completely.