You guys will know that I recently took on a one week cookery course in Cafe Cooking at the Dublin Cookery School – and I loved every minute. I left with inspiration, new creativity, and fresh excitement to try the recipes we had tested, and of course get inventive with my own twist on them too!

So enter – SCONES! We made absolutely delicious oat and raisin scones on the course, and my family were beyond delighted with the end result when I got to bring them home. Scones are such a traditional baking recipe – sold in most cafes, they’re almost the go-to Saturday morning coffee accompaniment in Ireland and the U.K.! I confess that while they’re a classic, they’re not something I usually order if I’m catching up with a friend over a brew (I’m a banana bread girl, sue me!). Saying that, I just find something so comforting about them, and I loved the idea that I could create a recipe that brought such simple foodie joy to the family – and many of you I hope! So I’ve gone for an oaty twist, using oats ground to flour and plain oats too, sweetening with agave and banana, and adding a little crunch of seeds and dried figs! So…ready…set…bake!

Recipe (Makes 6 scones)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp sweetener of choice (agave, honey, maple syrup)
• 1 tbsp whole chia seeds
• 50g of mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower are my favourites)
• 1 banana, mashed to liquid-like consistency
• 1 whole egg
• 4 dried figs, chopped into quarters (or use dried berries)
• 200g of quick-cook oats, blended into flour
• 50g of quick-cook oats, not blended
• 100ml of milk of choice (I use Alpro Coconut or Almond Milk)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven), and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Blend the 200g of oats into flour using a Nutribullet or food processor, and add the flour to a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the rest of the dry ingredients – the remaining 50g of oats, figs, seeds, baking powder and ground cinnamon.
4. Grab a smaller bowl, and add the wet ingredients to it – oil, banana, egg, milk and sweetener. Mix these until combined.
5. Create a small well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients in.
6. Arm action time! Mix it all up until you have a batter.
7. Place large spoonfuls of the batter onto the baking tray, aiming for semi-round shapes for your scones – but be flexible with this, they don’t have to be perfect!
8. You should have 6 decent scones fitting onto the tray. Make sure there’s enough space between each to allow them to expand a little as they bake.
9. When the oven is ready, place the baking tray in, and bake the scones for 20-25 minutes. Check at 20 minutes, and as is my usual rule, if an inserted toothpick comes out 90% clean you’re good to go!
10. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes before tucking in! I recommend nut butter on top, as always!

Enjoy guys! Tag me if you try this recipe out – you know I love to see your creations! You’ll be find me @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂 x