Remember this little ditty? This commercial jingle for Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars from the 70s and 80s? If you were what was called a latchkey kid, meaning you had to spend long hours home alone after school because your parent(s) worked, you were sure to have had this jingle etched into your brain, if not your psyche, because you’ve no doubt spent lots of time watching TV! Sometimes you feel like a nut…sometimes you don’t!

This is the scone version of Almond Joy. I added almond paste, almond milk, and slivered almonds, chopped chocolate, and sweetened coconut flakes. Surprisingly, it’s not that sweet, but I wouldn’t say that these are healthy. Everything in moderation, right?

Oh, and if you are worried these are not going to be like scones because there is no butter or other dairy or egg in it, worry not. The coconut oil and almond paste, I think, help give it the right texture and mouthfeel.

By the way, a few months ago, I started questioning the direction of where this blog was going. I was starting to think that maybe I should stop baking, or to start baking things that were only healthy things that I could eat.  Well, now I’ve decided that I’m not going to stop baking things like these. Things that are not exactly healthy. They are not exactly unhealthy, either. I’ve decided that I want to continue to bake whatever I want, even though I will probably not eat much, or at all, of what I make. Which is fine. I’m not glorifying unhealthy food. I’m not declaring myself gluten-free, or paleo, vegetarian or vegan, or anything like that. Because I’ve found that I could tolerate most foods. In moderation. That’s the key for me. What may be considered unhealthy for one person, might be totally reasonable for another. So use your best judgment.

So if you are not opposed, please enjoy an almond joy scone!

almond joy scones (makes 8 large scones)

ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup almond flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

3 Tablespoons coconut oil, cold solid, cut into small cubes

7 ounces almond paste, cut into small cubes

3/4 cup almond milk, or milk of choice, plus more (about 2 Tablespoons) for brushing

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (can by omitted)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup coarsely chopped dark or milk chocolate, roughly 5.7 ounces

turbinado or demerara sugar, or other coarse raw sugar for topping, optional

method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir several times with a whisk. Add the coconut oil and almond paste cubes, and gently mix with clean cold fingers, much like making pie dough. You want to pinch the cubes of coconut oil and almond paste into the flours, to make them smaller. The mixture should resemble coarse sand or meal.

Add the almond extract to the almond milk, if using, stir and then add the almond milk, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing the flour mixture with a rubber spatula to get it to come together. It will eventually stick together and become less sandy and when pressed, will be a dough. If it is still too dry, maybe add a tiny bit more of almond milk, but it it’s too wet, you can always add a tiny bit more flour. Just try not to add too much of either, or it will take forever to get the right moisture level.

Turn out dough on a cleaned, lightly floured surface or counter, pressing lightly with your hand to a rectangle shape, roughly the size of 11 x 9 inches. Sprinkle lightly with flour, and also on your hands, to keep dough from sticking.

Add half the almonds and chopped chocolate and coconut flakes, and fold it up by turning both sides over the top to the center of the rectangle, using a dough scraper or rubber spatula, folding it into itself. Flatten it down again to a rectangle again.

Top again with the rest of the almonds and chocolate, as well as the coconut flakes. Fold in both the sides and top and bottom edges into the center again and flatten instead into a circle about 10 inches in diameter.

Cut like a pie or pizza into 8 equal pieces.

Brush tops lightly with almond milk and top also with turbinado or demerara sugar, if desired. Transfer to baking sheet, using two baking sheets, or baking in two batches if baking sheet is too crowded. While first batch is baking, you can put the other scones in the freezer.

Bake for about 30 minutes until lightly golden browned.

Enjoy! Can be stored at room temperature in a tightly sealed container.