Paleo Blueberry Scones

Do you love road trips as much as I do? Samantha, my youngest sister, and I are on the ultimate road trip.

Starting point: San Antonio, TX.

Ending point: Seattle, WA.

Duration: 5 days.

Entertainment: Language of Flowers {audio book}, Kitchen House {audio book}, dodging dust devils, and hunting for parking spots that don’t require us to show off how talented we are at backing up a truck and trailer.

Sustenance: Buc-ee’s beef jerky, freeze-dried cherries, banana chips, peppered cashews, apples, almond butter, coconut water, coffee, and Orbit’s strawberry gum {two pieces at a time = mandatory}.

I’m writing to you as we roll through Western Arizona, soon to be South Eastern California. It’s fascinating to watch the landscape change. From the comforting ancient trees of the Texas Hill Country, flat nothingness of West Texas, smooth mini mountains in New Mexico, and the biggest boulders I’ve ever seen in my life in Eastern Arizona …{we keep reciting Donkey’s line from Shrek movie: “that’s a nice boulder.”}

I desperately want to pull over and take pictures – of everything. It’s so beautiful. I also desperately want to climb every mountain we pass. I love to hike. These hills {mountains?} are so inviting. And probably crawling with creatures that sting. I changed my mind.

Yes, there’s a more direct route to Washington. We chose the California landscape for our slightly longer, prettier drive. We’re in no rush. We’ll drive a stone’s throw from Carson, CA so that we can absorb some of the CrossFit awesomeness happening there this weekend {nobody spoil it for me}, while our hearts are set on spending extra time in Portland, OR for some grub. Y’all ever see Portlandia? I’m dying to meet an environmentally sustainable chicken farmer …who names his chickens.

Samantha starts grad school this Fall in the Seattle area, so I volunteered to accompany her and all her stuff for the drive. I’ll help her get settled then fly back to TX. I will probably sit in amazement on that flight, marveling at the miracle of speedy travel by airplane. Nothing makes you appreciate modern transportation like a 5-day road trip across the country. I’m currently having visions of the Oregon Trail …wondering how many oxen we’ll lose if we cross over any water.

Anyhew, even though I’m not in my kitchen and am surviving on dried goodies and gas station waters, I’ve prepared something very special for you all. My friend Juli Bauer of PaleOMG {okay, we’ve only met once, but I’ve decided we’re going to be great friends} posted this recipe for Lavender and Vanilla Bean Scones. I drooled over the recipe, immediately made a batch, and then kept playing. I wound up with a blueberry version that I now make every single time we have company.

Thank you, Juli for the awesome recipe.

Thank you, countless guests at Austin and my house for eating all the experiments.

So the paleo flour base for this recipe is unique – cashews! It’s as delicious as it sounds. I have a huge bin of salted cashews from Costco. They work just great. Measure out 1.5 cups and pour them into a food processor. Also, preheat your oven to 350 F.

Blend the cashews until they resemble a coarse meal.

Pour them into a large mixing bowl.

Meet Mr. Arrowroot! He’s a paleo-friendly starch, very messy, and works wonders in gluten-free baked goods.

Measure out ¼ cup of the arrowroot and add it to the cashew meal. You can see here that my measurements are always, extremely, exact. {Do as I say, not as I do.}

Add a pinch of salt into the bowl.

Find some baking powder.

Add 1 tsp to the mixing bowl.

Whisk everything together.

Finished!

Measure out 1 cup of fresh blueberries.

Add them to the dry mixture.

Stir it together until evenly mixed.

Now, let’s move onto the wet ingredients. Measure out ¼ cup of coconut oil. Yes, I buy coconut oil by the gallon from Tropical Traditions. It’s good stuff.

Next, find some maple syrup.

Measure out 3 Tbl into the wet ingredients.

Find some vanilla extract.

Measure out 2 tsp vanilla into the bowl.

Add one egg.

Whisk it together.

Until it looks like this lumpy, delicious mess.

Add the wet to the dry ingredients.

Stir until it’s evenly combined.

Line a 9” round metal pan with parchment paper. {You can also use butter or oil here – whatever strikes your fancy.}

Pour the batter into the pan.

Using the back of a spoon and/or your fingers, pat the batter into the pan so that you have an even thickness.

Like this! Pop it in the oven at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Ta-daa!! Isn’t it beautiful? It smells amazing too.

Let it cool for at least 10 minutes then slice up into wedges.

Mmm…

Plate up and enjoy.

Paleo Blueberry Scones

Adapted from PaleOMG‘s recipe for Lavender & Vanilla Bean Scones

Makes 8 bars

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Cashews

¼ cup Arrowroot

Pinch of Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Fresh Blueberries

¼ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

3 Tbl Maple Syrup

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F & line a 9” metal pan with parchment paper.

Blend the cashews in a food processor until powdered.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together then stir in the blueberries.

Whisk the wet ingredients together then stir into the dry.

Pour into the baking pan and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes, slice, and enjoy!

Time: 10 min prep | Bake: 30 minutes