Irish Soda Bread Scones

If you forgot that tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day, boy, does this recipe have you covered!

Instead of trying to make last minute plans to go to that washed up bar on the corner of your parents’ home and drinking a Guinness or five, you could stay home in your pajamas and bake up a batch of scones and eat one … or the whole batch!

Maybe neither option is considered healthy. I’m no expert, though. I can’t give out healthy lifestyle tips. All I know is that one option is easier on your liver than the other and won’t cause you to call your ex at two in the morning.

These scones are somewhere in between a bread and a muffin: slightly moist yet still with a fluffy bread like texture. They’re sure to win over the heart of your Irish grandmother! I substituted cranberries for raisins to give these a tangy New Jersey twist, but feel free to use raisins.

Recipe

Makes 8 Scones
Total Time: 30 minutes, Active Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened plant milk*
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Pour the milk and vinegar into a large bowl. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking pan.
3. Add the oil and sugar to the bowl and mix until combined.
4. Add the salt, baking soda, and caraway seeds and mix again. Start adding the flour slowly, 1/2 cup at a time.
5. Once a semi-firm dough has formed, add the cranberries and knead them in with your hands.
6. On a lightly floured service, use your hands to form the dough into an 8 inch disk. Cut the disk into 8 equal parts.
7. Place your scones onto the baking tray and bake for 20-22 minutes.
8. Once scones are firm to the touch, remove them from the oven, allow them to cool on a cooling rack, and enjoy. 🙂

Notes

*If you use sunflower seed milk like I did, your scones will turn slightly green. DON’T PANIC. This is a result of the sunflower seeds reacting to the baking soda, and the scones are still edible and all the more festive!