An avid baker and online fitness and nutrition coach, I find it important to find recipes that not only answer the sweet tooth calling but offer ingredient modifications. If your goal is weight-loss, muscle-gain, or weight maintenance it’s still important to discover away to have a healthy relationship with baked goods so we can eat sweets we enjoy eating without busting our waist-lines.

Here is an EXCELLENT recipe for Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones from Nom Nom Paleo.

To make Apple Cinnamon Scones,  I modified it the following way from the original recipe from Nom Nom Paleo, aside from my modifications, all text and recipe details are from Nom Nom.

• Instead of mixing in cherries, take one skinned, cubed organic granny smith apple. Mix into the batter in the same step as you’d mix in the cherries.
• Before adding the liquid mix to the dry, add in a teaspoon of cinnamon (honestly, I add ALOT of extra cinnamon)
• Lastly, I add more than 2 table spoons of honey (maybe an extra half a table spoon?)

Makes 8 scones / Hands-On Time: 10 minutes / Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups blanched almond flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, as cold as possible (preferably frozen)
• 2 large pastured eggs
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ounces of 80+% cacao dark chocolate, cut into bite-size chunks
• ⅓ cup dried cherries

Equipment:

• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Large bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Dough cutter
• Stainless steel cooling rack

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt.

Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the pieces of cold butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly mixture is produced.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly whisk together the eggs, apple cider vinegar, honey, and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and pour the egg mixture into it.

Gently mix with a spatula until a wet, chunky dough forms, and then throw in the chocolate chunks and cherries.

Combine the ingredients with your hands, and form two small balls of dough.

On a sheet of parchment paper or a nonstick surface, gently flatten the balls with your hands. The rounds of dough should be about ¾-inch thick. (If the dough’s a little too sticky to handle, refrigerate it for a half hour to firm it up before proceeding.)

Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut each round of dough into 4 equal-sized wedges, and arrange all 8 pieces on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. The scones are ready when they’re golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the scones onto a wire rack to cool before serving.

Tips-

Make sure the butter really is as cold as possible

Add a bit of extra honey.

I didn’t do these last 2 things the first batch I made and my scones were dry and crumbly. The frozen butter and extra bit of liquid helps hold them together.

These are to die. Enjoy. Try not to eat them all within 36 hours and if you make it, let me know….

If you’re struggling to stay consistent with your healthy eating strategies, know that you aren’t alone! There is no perfect diet or lifestyle, the diet that works for you is the one that you will follow and enjoy.

Throughout my years as a fitness and nutrition coach where I focus on helping women become the strongest version of themselves through weight based workouts, I’ve also helped hundreds of women repair their relationships with food and their bodies while teaching the super simple strategies to stay on their healthy eating for good. I’ve put together a short, one-page nutrition cheat sheet that breaks down some of the exact strategies I teach my clients and you can grab yours here.