Lemon Poppy Seed Scones {paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free}

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones {paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free}

Looking for a lovely treat for Mother’s Day brunch or a springtime tea? These lemon poppy seed scones are delightful. 

I made this recipe thinking of my mom, as one of her favorite things is lemon poppy seed cake. I got to make them for my parents on a recent visit, and they loved them. My dad asked, “Does Mom have this recipe?” Well, now she will, as soon as we publish this post 😊  I hope you’ll enjoy these delightful lemon scones, too!

 

Let’s make lemon scones!

Gather your ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 4 Tablespoons warm water
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 3/4 cup light buckwheat flour*
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (or 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar)
  • 6 Tablespoons plant-based butter or coconut oil, melted
  • 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk or almond milk

Gather your supplies:

  • large mixing bowl
  • 1/4 cup measuring cup
  • 1 Tablespoon
  • 1 teaspoon
  • 1/2 teaspoon
  • 2 microwave safe bowls or mugs
  • mixing spoon
  • table knife
  • paring knife
  • zester
  • juicer (optional)
  • baking sheet
  • parchment paper (optional to line the baking sheet, or use butter)

Step 1

Measure 2 Tablespoons chia seeds into a bowl or mug. Add 4 Tablespoons warm water to the chia seeds. (Water can be warmed in the microwave before adding it to the chia seeds.) Stir and let the chia seeds absorb the water as you work on the next steps.

Step 2

Measure 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 3/4  cup light buckwheat flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt into a large mixing bowl.

Step 3

Stir the dry ingredients until well combined.

Step 4

Using a zester, zest the rind of one lemon.

Step 5

Slice the lemon in half and juice the lemon (either using a juicer or simply squeezing the juice into a dish).

Step 6

Add the lemon zest and 1 Tbsp lemon juice to the dry ingredients.

Step 7

Add 2 Tbsp maple syrup (or 3 Tbsp coconut sugar). For sweeter scones, add slightly more sweetener.

Step 8

Measure 6 Tbsp plant-based butter or coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl or dish.

Step 9

Melt the butter or coconut oil (30 seconds in the microwave should be enough time).

Step 10

Add the melted butter or oil to the mixture.

Step 11

Add the chia seed-water mixture to the mixing bowl. 

Step 12

Stir together all ingredients you have added to the mixing bowl. Mixture will be crumbly at this point.

Step 13

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp poppy seeds over the dough.

Step 14

Add 1/4 cup coconut or almond milk.

Step 15

Stir the mixture together until it begins to form a ball. Add a little extra milk if the mixture is too dry or a little extra light buckwheat if the mixture is too moist.

Step 16

Grease a baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 17

Kneed the dough and form it into a ball. Place the ball on the baking sheet.

Step 18

Pat down the ball of dough into a flat circle, about 1 inch thick.

Step 19

Use a table knife to cut the circle of dough into 8 pieces. Slide the pieces apart slightly on the pan.

Step 20

Bake in pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 12 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

Step 21

Let scones cool slightly and serve. Serve with some fresh fruit for a tea time, and perhaps some eggs, sausage, or yogurt for a brunch. Enjoy!

Some extra notes:

1. We get our light buckwheat flour from Bouchard Family Farms. It is certified gluten-free. This is not the same as the dark buckwheat flour that is typically found in the grocery store. Light buckwheat flour has a very mild flavor. There are many recipes on our blog that use light buckwheat flour, so once you order some, you can find plenty of recipe ideas here! Our family typically goes through about 20 bags of light buckwheat from Bouchard Family farms each year – it’s that good. Here are some links to some other recipes on our blog with light buckwheat flour: crepes, muffins/cupcakes, cookies, and pizza crust.

2. The scones are delightful fresh from the oven, but they also freeze well. Once you’ve made the recipe a few times it can be quick enough to make on a weekday morning, but if you double the batch and freeze some, they can be quickly heated in the microwave or oven for an especially quick breakfast.

Enjoy!

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Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Easter Cut-out cookies {gluten-free, egg-free, low-carb}

Easter Cut-out cookies {gluten-free, egg-free, low-carb}

We are so excited to share this cut-out cookie recipe with you!  Our ten-year-old daughter created this recipe a few weeks ago and asked if we could add it to the blog.  I initially told her, “Well, that will be great to save for Christmas-time.”  Once I tried the cookies, I changed my mind.  This cookie recipe is too good to wait until Christmas… so let’s make some Easter cookies!

We’ve tried a number of gluten-free low-carb cut-out cookie recipes over the years, and this one is a winner… only a few ingredients, faster than regular sugar cookies (no need to refrigerate the dough), egg-free (so less worry about a mess with kids), and very YUMMY!

This recipe makes about a dozen medium-sized cookies.  We entered our recipe into the Very Well Fit Nutrition Calculator, and found that each cookie will have about 11 g net carbs if using 1/2 cup coconut sugar or 7 g net carbs if using 1/4 cup coconut sugar (this calculation does not include the frosting or sprinkles, which would add a minimal amount of carbs).  So, get ready to enjoy… guilt-free! 

 

We found these adorable Easter cookie cutters from Ann Clark – they are made in the USA.  They worked really well for our Easter cookies!

Easter Cookie Cutters Ann Clark USA
Nativo natural sprinkles

We also decided it was time to be true to our name and add some sprinkles to this recipe.  We tried Nativo rainbow sprinkles – they are perfect pastel colors for Easter.  They are low-carb and colored with natural colors.  Our children thought they were good enough to eat by the spoonful while we were decorating cookies!  One little note, though, we would not recommend baking them into the cookies (they “melt” right into the dough).  They are best used sprinkled over frosting.

Let’s Make Easter Cookies!

Easter cookie ingredients

Gather your ingredients:

For the cookies…

  • 1 cup light buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)

For the decorations…

  • 1 – 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • Sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, stevia powder, or honey)
  • Natural sprinkles

 

Gather your kitchen supplies:

For the cookies…

  • 1 cup measuring cup
  • 1/2 cup (or 1/4 cup) measuring cup
  • 1 tsp spoon
  • a small liquid measuring cup
  • a microwave-safe mug or dish for melting butter
  • a large spoon for stirring
  • a large bowl for mixing
  • a flat tray or baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  • a cooling rack and metal spatula
  • a serving platter

For the frosting…  

  • a stand mixer with a bowl and paddle attachment or a bowl and spoon to stir by hand
  • a knife or spatula to spread the frosting

Easter cookie kitchen supplies

Measure, mix, cut out, and bake!

Allow your oven to preheat to 350 degrees F while you are making the dough.

1 cup almond flour

Step 1

Measure 1 cup of almond flour.

almond flour

Step 2

Pour the almond flour into the mixing bowl.

light buckwheat

Step 3

Measure 1 cup light buckwheat flour.

light buckwheat

Step 4

Add the light buckwheat to the mixing bowl.

coconut sugar

Step 5

Measure coconut sugar.  Use 1/2 cup for sweeter cookies, or as little as 1/4 cup for lower-carb cookies.

coconut sugar

Step 6

Add the coconut sugar to the mixing bowl.

flaxseed meal

Step 7

Measure 1 tsp baking powder.

flaxseed meal

Step 8

Add the baking powder to the mixing bowl.

flaxseed meal

Step 9

Stir together the dry ingredients until well mixed.

flaxseed meal

Step 10

Place one stick of butter into a microwave safe dish or mug.

flaxseed meal

Step 11

Microwave the butter on high for about 30 seconds, or until melted.

flaxseed meal

Step 12

Pour the melted butter into the mixing bowl and stir.

flaxseed meal

Step 13

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) – we find the cookies are great with or without vanilla.

flaxseed meal

Step 14

Measure the almond milk.  Start with 1/4 cup, add more if needed.

flaxseed meal

Step 15

Pour the almond milk into the mixing bowl and stir.

flaxseed meal

Step 16

Use your hands to continue to mix the dough until it forms a ball.  If needed, add more almond milk, or more light buckwheat to make it easy to handle.  

flaxseed meal

Step 17

Place the ball of dough on a sheet of parchment paper on the counter.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 18 (Option A)

Use your hands to press dough out until it is about 1/4″ thick.

flaxseed meal

Step 18 (Option B)

Or place parchment paper on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out dough, until it is about 1/4″ thick.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 19

Place cookie cutters into the dough.  Pull extra dough away from cookie cutters while the cookie cutters are still in place.

flaxseed meal

Step 20

Carefully lift the cut out cookies onto the parchment lined baking tray.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 21

Place tray of cookies in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees F).  Bake for 10 minutes, then check on cookies.

flaxseed meal

Step 22

After 10 minutes, check on cookies.  Add a minute or two at a time, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch.  They may need up to 14 minutes total baking time.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 23

After a few minutes, use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.  Repeat steps 17 to 23 for any remaining dough.  Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating them.

Time to decorate!

flaxseed meal

Step 1

To make the frosting, place softened stick of butter and package of cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in another bowl if mixing by hand).  Cream together the butter and cream cheese.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 2

Add sweetener of your choice.  If using a liquid sweetener (like maple syrup or honey), be careful not to use too much, or the frosting may be runny.  We used 1 T maple syrup and 1 packet Sweet Leaf powder for our frosting.

flaxseed meal

Step 3

(Optional) Add flavoring to your frosting.   We used 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 4

Cream all ingredients together until smooth.

flaxseed meal

Step 5

Spread frosting on the cookies (make sure the cookies are cooled before frosting them).

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 6

Sprinkle

with

SPRINKLES!

flaxseed meal

Step 7

Be creative with your own ways to decorate the cookies.  We cut off a corner of a ziplock bag to pipe a wooly look on our lamb cookies (you could also use a cookie decorating piping kit).

bunny cookie

Step 8

Enjoy!

(Be sure to refrigerate any leftover decorated cookies.  The cream cheese frosting should probably not be left out more than a couple hours.)

Happy Easter!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.