Sweet Potato Cinnamon Scones

Starbucks' pumpkin scones are a tradition that I used to love to indulge in occasionally, but I actually haven't had one in a couple of years.  I've become used to my own homemade baked goods, which tend to have much less sugar and calories than the storebought kinds, and are much more economical too!

While I love pumpkin baked goods, one of my other favourite Fall vegetables to bake with is sweet potato.  For a lot of baking recipes, you can easily swap pumpkin puree with pureed sweet potato for a slightly different flavour.  I also find that sweet potato is naturally sweeter than canned pumpkin, so you can get away with adding a bit less sugar to your recipe!

For these scones, I started with a recipe for copycat vegan Starbucks pumpkin scones, but made some changes to turn them into spiced sweet potato scones instead.

These scones are not exactly like traditional scones - rather than having the crumbly, buttery texture of some scones, these are a bit flatter (which may have been my fault for rolling the dough too thin) and softer inside - kind of like a muffin top.

Personally, I loved the softer texture and the flavour of these scones!  The scones themselves weren't very sweet, so you could add a glaze on top like the Starbucks variety.  Instead of a glaze, I opted for a cinnamon-sugar topping, which added a nice bit of crunch and extra sweetness.  

These can easily be eaten just on their own - I even liked them cold!  You could also spread a little Earth Balance on top for more buttery flavour, or a layer of peanut butter or jam if that's how you like to eat your scones!  If I had a jar of pumpkin butter or apple butter on hand, I think that would be the perfect topping!

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Scones
Adapted from With a Side of Sneakers' Pumpkin Scones

1 cup whole spelt flour

1 cup light spelt flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp cane sugar

1/3 cup almond milk

1/3 cup mashed sweet potato puree

1 tbsp molasses

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup cold Earth Balance coconut spread (or other vegan butter)

Topping:

1 tbsp melted Earth Balance

1/2 tbsp cane sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through to cane sugar).

In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk, sweet potato, molasses and vanilla. Stir or whisk until smooth.

Cut the Earth Balance into the dry ingredients using a fork or pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until combined.

Press or roll dough out onto a floured surface into a square shape, about ¾” thick. Cut the dough with a knife in half lengthwise, and again across the width, to form four equal squares.  Cut each square in half diagonally to form 8 equal triangles.

Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom and firm on top.  Let sit on the baking sheet for about 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack.

While scones are still warm, brush the tops with the melted butter.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the scones. 

Makes 8 small scones.