Lemon Scone for One

This golden treasure whips up in less than five minutes, bakes in 15, and has you rubbing your tummy with happiness in a trice! The delicate lemon flavor can sing on its own, or be complemented by faux cream cheese, lemon curd (there are vegan versions--my recipe is here), or with a little bit of vegan butter mixed with lemon juice.

½ TBLSP chia seeds

1 ½ TBLSP almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choosing)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sugar

A pinch of salt

2/3 TBLSP vegan butter

1 TBLSP lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Grind chia seeds in a mortar and pestle or blender long enough to make a coarse meal (not a flour). (You can skip the grinding—the taste is a little less robust, but the seeds produce the same texture.) Place the ground seeds in a small container (or leave in the mortar), add the almond milk and stir briskly. Let it sit for five minutes (while you mix the rest of the ingredients). The goopy result is a substitute for ½ of an egg, so if you’re not a vegan, you can use half a beaten egg.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. A cereal bowl is plenty big enough.
3. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife or a fork until it’s the texture of cornmeal.
4. Add in the chia goop and the lemon juice. Mix briefly and press into a flattened circle, about 3/4-inch thick on a baking dish or in a shallow cake pan. Score it into wedges (if you like) and brush the top with a little bit more milk.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

Variations:

• Make a glaze from confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice.
• Mix ½ TBLSP almond milk with a little lemon extract before brushing the tops and baking.
• Toss some poppy seeds in for additional crunch.
• Raisins or dried cranberries can make a nice textural variation.