Banilla Almond Scones

Fluffy. Nutty. Buttery. Banilla-y.

Banilla-what?! Imagine banana pudding's healthy cousin. That would be Stonyfield's low fat organic Banilla yogurt. No, I don't get paid to advertise or review this product - in general I refrain from mentioning any brands and products on my blog. However, in order for these scones to be Banilla scones, I have to mention the yogurt because as far as I know, there isn't another yogurt like it out there (and I'm not sure how easily it would be to re-create if I told you to go find "banana and vanilla flavored yogurt"...).

Anyway, on to the scones! Scones some times get a bad reputation for being tasteless, rock-hard, lumps. Oh no, these are quite the opposite. The buttery crumb, crunchy almond topping, and banana aroma make you want to eat the whole batch sit by the window with a cup of tea or hot chai and savor the flavors. These scones are probably the size of your palm so make them bigger or smaller as you please.

RE: top left photo of butter on scale: I never weigh ingredients for recipes but accidentally bought four pounds of "solid" butter in one pound blocks instead of "quartered" butter in four ounce sticks .... 

Yield: a dozen (each scone, the size of your palm)      
Total Time: 30-45 minutes (including clean-up!)

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, cold and in pieces (easier to cut through if it's in pieces)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup low fat organic Banilla yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the flour mixture together with the cold butter and brown sugar until well blended.
3. In a small bowl, beat yogurt and one egg together. Pour into pastry mixture. Stir just until mixed (Don't over do it! Over-mixing leads to sad scones.)
4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop dough onto ungreased nonstick baking sheet (line with parchment paper if you're nervous about them sticking, I didn't have any sticking on my ungreased, unlined, nonstick baking sheet). I fit 6-8 per sheet, give them some room because they'll try to grow into each other if you put them too close together.
5. Beat the second egg an brush on top dough. Sprinkle with almonds.
6. Bake for 12 minutes. Scones should have a beautiful golden color and your kitchen will smell of warm banana-nuttiness. Serve warm! Store in an airtight container (if you have any left!). To re-serve, pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes to re-create that "right out of the oven" taste!