Vegan Lavender Scones with Lemon Glaze

Scones--sad, crumbly, unsatisfying biscuits that mask themselves in jelly, hoping that they can rival their sweet nemesis, the breakfast muffin. But with one bite they will rob you of all the moisture in your mouth leaving you choking for a glass of milk. They are the reject breakfast food that sits coldly in the display case, slowly turning from scone to stone with each passing day....

Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But you get the idea: clearly I'm not a fan of scones. So why am I posting this recipe? Because, at long last, I have found a recipe for scones that I actually love! These scones were, by far, the best I have every tasted! They were actually moist and full of flavor. I came up with this recipe by combining a basic vegan scone recipe with one of my favorite flavor combinations: lavender and lemon. The end result?...Fantastic!

Vegan Lavender Scones with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nondairy butter
1 cup dried lavender buds
2-3 tablespoons nondairy milk for brushing tops
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Whip the egg replacer and water together until thick and creamy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it into small pieces with two knives or with a pastry blender (although, I usually just use a fork but it will give your arm a workout!). You're not creating a paste; you want a coarse crumbly batter that resembles small bread crumbs. (To make flaky scones, leave some of the butter pieces as large as peas.) Stir in the lavender.

Add the milk and egg replacer mixture, and keep the mixing to a minimum otherwise you'll get rock-hard scones. Mix just until the dry ingredients are  moist. The dough will not be completely smooth like bread dough.

Gather the dough into a ball (you may need to add just a teaspoon of nondairy milk or water, but you will be able to form it into a ball), and place on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round, and cut into 8-10 pieces--triangles are the traditional shape so cut it like you're cutting up a pizza. Place them 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet, brush the tops with nondairy milk, and place into the oven.

Bake until the tops are golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

While the scones are cooling, in a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, and lemon juice. Only add the lemon juice in a little at a time as you stir until you reach a slightly runny but still thick consistency.--You want to be able to pour the glaze but not have it be too thin and runny.

Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the scone sit just long enough for the glaze to set and turn white (it will be clear at first when it hits the warm scone) and then serve.