Tender and moist, these yogurt whole wheat scones are busting with ruby red pomegranate are wholesome and healthier twist on a classic breakfast treat. Find more of my pomegranate recipes.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I am definitely a morning person, but certainly not the bright and perky kind. I love waking up with the sun shining through my windows and getting a jump on my day. And breakfast foods are definitely my jam.
Once of my favorite treats to eat for breakfast are scones. I love that they are rustic and don’t require much fuss. I have made olive oil scones and savory tomato scones and stuffed every possible fruit in a scone. So why not make them healthier with these yogurt whole wheat scones with pomegranate.
Why you should try this recipe
It seems that everyone is on the gluten-free kick, or low carbing it or even trying the high fat Keto diet. But the rest of us who have no food allergies or sensitivities or health issues, well, we still like our breads and baked goods.
Granted, I don’t eat as many as I used to when I was younger, but I do try to eat healthy. Traditional scones are made with white all purpose flour. White flour has been refined and the outer high fiber husk has been removed.
Whole wheat flour is denser and has more fiber than regular white flour. And these whole wheat scones have the added punch of wheat bran. I have found that adding wheat bran to my baked goods gives it a nuttier flavor.
It is also jam packed with fiber, so a little bit goes a very long way. So in the grand scheme of things, yes, these whole wheat scones are more healthy than the traditional white flour scones.
Ingredients you need
- Whole wheat flour: I use both King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill brands of whole wheat flour. You do not need whole wheat pastry flour.
- Wheat bran: I love the nuttiness and texture wheat bran brings in my scones. If you can not find it or do not have it, substitute with whole wheat flour.
- Other pantry staples: light brown sugar, baking powder, kosher salt
- Butter: You want to use unsalted butter and keep it very cold, not frozen, just cold. This gives the scones the flakiness we love.
- Plain Greek yogurt: If you have regular yogurt that is a little watery, pass it through a cheese cloth to remove the excess water. You want full fat yogurt and not fat free.
- Milk: I used whole milk but you can also use 2%.
- Egg: I bake primarily with large eggs.
- Pomegranate arils: You will need to seed a pomegranate before preparing your scones. You can also use other fruits like raspberries, blueberries, red currants or chopped peaches.
- Turbinado sugar: This gives the hard sugar topping found in baked goods. You can skip it or just sprinkle a little granulated sugar instead.
Step-by-step directions
1. Combine flour, wheat bran, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add chunks of cold butter and use your fingers to squeeze in and mix in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk and egg. Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix with a spoon or a fork until a rough dough is formed. Do not over mix the dough.
3. You will now sandwich in the pomegranate arils. You do not want to knead the dough. Instead press the pomegranate into one-third of the dough then dough over and continue pressing the pomegranate into the dough.
4. Cut dough into 8-10 even pieces. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the scones and place onto the prepared baking sheet and bake at 400ºF until golden, about 12-15 minutes.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Absolutely! Since it is fall and we are overflowing with pomegranates, I automatically gravitate to this delicious fruit. You can also use other fall fruits if you want, like chopped pears, figs, red grapes, even whole wheat pumpkin scones. Got leftover cranberry sauce? I made leftover cranberry sauce scones, too.
These whole wheat scones work well with spring and summer fruits too. Feel free to use your favorite berries like raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and currants. Love stone fruits? Chop up some peaches, nectarines or plums and use them in this scone recipe, too.
Traditionally scones are made with butter and buttermilk. But did you know that buttermilk and yogurt have very similar properties? Both are acidic, tangy and made from milk.
The acid in both buttermilk and yogurt helps the leavening and create a delicious scone. If you have a recipe using buttermilk, I have an easy substitution so you can swap it out with Greek yogurt: for every 1 cup of buttermilk, substitute with ¾ cup Greek yogurt and ¼ cup milk.
Pomegranates are incredibly rich in antioxidants and are also rich in fiber Vitamin C, Vitamin K, folate and potassium. They also have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, too.
Pomegranates are also reported to help treat digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and cardiovascular diseases.
This ancient fruit is revered in the middle east and is becoming very popular here in the US. Once you peel away the tough outer skin, you find that it is filled with the ruby red seeds, or arils.
The arils contain the fruit juice and the white seed inside is most definitely edible. Some seeds may be tougher to chew than others, so not everybody is fond of the pomegranate seed. But it most definitely is edible and full of fiber.
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Yogurt Whole Wheat Scones with Pomegranate
Tender and moist, these yogurt whole wheat scones are busting with ruby red pomegranate are wholesome and healthier twist on a classic breakfast treat.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup wheat bran
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 TBS baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup pomegranate arils
- ¾ teaspoon turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, wheat bran, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Using your fingers squeeze in and mix in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk and egg.
- Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and mix with a spoon or a fork until a rough dough is formed. Do not over mix the dough.
- Turn one-third of the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a circle or rectangle, about ⅓-inch thick.
- Press ¼ cup pomegranate into the dough.
- Press over the pomegranate with another one-third of the dough from the mixing bowl.
- Press into the dough with another ¼ cup pomegranate.
- Gently press the remainder of the dough over the pomegranate.
- Press the last ¼ cup pomegranate into the top layer of the dough.
- Cut dough into 8-10 even pieces.
- Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the scones and place onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes.
- Allow scones to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool. Serve warm or room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 sconeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 6g
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