I have always loved scones, especially when I was living in Barnstaple, Devon, and ate them with dollops of clotted cream, but I always found them a tad stodgy. These wheat free scones are lighter and the lemon zest brings another element to them.
Wheat Free Lemon Scones – low carb
They don’t rise as much as traditional scones, but you will become accustomed to them being a little thinner. I have changed how I roll out scones, pie crusts etc now that we are wheat free.
I wish I had discovered this method years ago. Just get 2 sheets of baking paper, place the mixture that needs rolling out in between the sheets.
Roll out using a rolling pin, or wine bottle (when we were away recently, our apartment didn’t have a rolling pin and a wine bottle worked a treat). This method saves so much mess and time.
Usually you add flour onto the bench, it flies everywhere when you roll the dough out, and as you gather all the remaining leftovers to roll out again, more flour gets incorporated. By the end of the rolling out process, your dough has become quite stodgy and hard to work with because of all the added flour each time.
The way I have discovered is mess free, no almond flour or coconut flour required to stop the dough from sticking to the bench, and to gather up the remaining dough ‘bits’, just throw them back in the middle of the baking sheets and they magically come together (added bonus – no dough in your jewellery which I always forget to take off).
Wheat Free Lemon Scones
Ingredients
- 175 g almond meal/flour
- 55 g butter softened
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more to your taste
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp double/heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place the softened butter and sweetener in a mixing bowl, and cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix again.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined, then leave for the coconut flour to thicken while you prepare the baking tray.
- Grease the baking tray with butter then line with baking paper (the butter just stops the baking paper from moving around when placing the tray in the oven).
- Give the mixture another stir then place the scone mixture in between 2 sheets of baking paper to roll out to about 2 cm thick.
- Using a round cookie cutter, or drinking glass of the desired size, cut out the scones and place each one on the prepared baking tray. After cutting out as many scones as you can, gather the remaining mixture into the centre of the baking paper and roll out again. Repeat until all the mixture has been cut.
- Bake at 180C/ 350F for 12-15 minutes.
Notes
Scones Evenly Spaced On The Baking Tray
To see more recipes, take a look at my recipe search. All recipes are low carb, gluten free, sugar free and grain free. Many are paleo, primal and LCHF friendly.
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Julia says
Would these freeze well (after cutting and before baking) like traditional flour scones do? If so, can they bake right from frozen? Love to have the freshly baked scones without all the work in the morning.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes I think that might just work! I have never tried but the ingredients should take kindly to freezing. Come back and let me know if you do this successfully.
Mary wood says
I should have mentioned that I added an extra egg to make up for leaving out the sweetener and lemon.
Mary wood says
Hi Libby … these are great … I left out the lemon and sweetener to save carbs … I got 14 out of the batch … thanks so much.
Magdalena says
Hi, I just made these last week and they were great! (though I only could get 8 scones, not 12, and had some of the same issues as the first comment… but in the end, they turned out very tasty).
I wanted to make them again, but I was wondering if they could be done substituting the almond flour with coconut flour, and if so, how would that work? Is it 1 to 1 for substituting?
Thanks! I love the recipes here and have made a bunch already 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I’m afraid there is no straight substitution for coconut flour to almond flour. I have written this post “Coconut flour vs Almond flour”, that will help explain it easier. I’m glad you loved them.
Barbara Greenwood says
Hi Libby, I tried these today and it didn’t go great :-(. There didn’t seem to be enough volume to roll out to 2cm thick – they were thinner than that – and I could only get 8 out of the recipe. The mixture seemed quite wet. The texture was very light, but I couldn’t actually slice them. Any suggestions?
I tried to use a stick blender to cream the butter and sweetener (I used erithrytol), but it just got completely stuck in the blender, so I had to scrape it out and then used a fork to cream it. Could that be the problem?
I’ve promised to make the scones for a group of people I’m trying to convince of the benefits of low carb, so I want them to be good!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I can’t understand why there isn’t enough mixture to make 8. I’m wondering if there was an error weighing the ingredients and that is why they were sticking? Did you leave the mixture for a little while to allow the coconut flour to absorb some liquid and thicken as the recipe suggests? Coconut flour works brilliantly left alone for a few minutes (this post explains low carb flours, if anyone is new here). I wouldn’t use the stick blender to mix the butter and sweetener, it is best mixed by hand until soft and creamy. I hope they turned out nicely in the end, what lucky friends you have to be given low carb baking.
Barbara Greenwood says
Thanks – the battery went in my weighing scales, so I used measuring cups for the almond and coconut flour. How long do you need to leave the mixture for to thicken? I’ll give it another go and cream the butter and erithrytol for longer – and maybe use a smaller cutter!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Coconut flour only needs to ‘rest’ for a few minutes, usually while I am doing something else. Good luck with the next batch.
Cherrie Stevens says
wonderful Libby.. I’m English and miss those scones! if you left out the sweetner and added herbs would these make savoury scones??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Sure, that would be lovely. Great idea Cherrie.
MS says
Can you get double cream in NZ ? Instead of butter under the baking paper my mum always sprinkles a few drops of water which hold it in place.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Double cream, heavy cream etc are all pretty much the same thing. Just be careful that some “whipping creams” have added nasties to make them whip easily and remain firm. I love you idea of the water to hold the baking paper in place, I usually use a shot of spray oil. Water would be so much easier, thanks.
Jen. says
Thank You Libby for this recipe. What brand of granulated Stevia do you use please?
Cheers Jen, Brisbane.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I use Natvia or Swerve. Both are brilliant and for me leave no bitter aftertaste.
Mike C. says
Hello, I’m new to DTC and I don’t know what baking sheets are. Is it plastic, do you put them in the oven for the Fat Head Crackers. I’m just an old guy trying to get healthier. Thanks, Mike
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Sorry, that’s the kiwi name for baking paper, baking parchment or you can use non stick
Baking Mat
such as these.
Sally says
What amount of Almond Meal would be used if not grinding up almonds manually?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I dont grind up my own almonds, I buy them here called ‘ground almonds’ which is the same as ‘almond meal’. I’ll go and change the description.
Sally says
Thanks, Libby!!
Hayley says
Yumm these sound delicious. Might just have to make some of these! Could I substitute the stevia for coconut sugar?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
You could, but then it wouldn’t be low carb.