Fig & Buckwheat Scones with Rosemary Lemon Sugar

A large part of my self care lately has involved doing more of what brings me joy. It can be something as simple as brewing a little teapot full of my favorite chai, taking a few breaths of fresh air after a long and soaking rain, or going for a walk. Today, despite the weather forecast, I waited for a break in the rain to go for a walk. There’s a bayou and storm water treatment wetland area within a a very short walking distance from my house. I knew it would be rather soggy so I put on my rubber boots and trudged along. I didn’t pass another soul, just me and the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. The air was cool and shockingly pleasant thanks to the rain and clouds we’ve had this week. It’s a welcome change to the humid hell that is August in Houston.

As I walked along, splashing my way through mud, water, and eventually tall grasses and weeds, I began to remember how much joy these walks bring. I spent a lot of time outside during my time as an archaeologist and today, I realized just how much I missed it. That familiar scent of wet, sandy soil and decomposing leaf matter. High stepping over logs, fallen trees, and greenbriers. The frequent run-ins with all manner of fauna. Despite the fact that digging holes wasn’t that exciting most of the time, I was able to enjoy nature.

Just as I was caught up in these thoughts, ruminating on joy and nature, I noticed a duck attempting to quickly cross in front of me to get to the pond. And when I looked closer, her fluffy gaggle of ducklings became clear. Mama duck was going about her day, just trying to get the kids to the pond safely. In that moment, I made a promise with myself to go on walks as often as possible.

Aside from walks, the figs I’ve been getting at the farmers market have been bringing me immense joy. I tend to prefer eating them raw because they’re just that damn good but I’ve been itching to use them in some scones. When I was over at Lauren’s a couple of weeks ago photographing and learning about making shrubs, she also made me some rosemary lemon infused sugar to take home. It didn’t take long to figure out how I wanted to use the beautifully scented sugar. As you can see, it made it’s way into these lovely scones.

These scones are a little different from my base recipe that I used to use at the farmers market because I’ve tried to cut down on the number of flours used. These babies only have 2 different flours making them a little more user friendly, especially if you aren’t a fan of fussy baking recipes. The only trade off is that the texture of these is best the day they are made, and even better warm out of the oven. They don’t have much of a shelf life, but once you taste one I wager they won’t stick around your house too long. The texture of the figs turns nice and jammy in the oven, their intense sweetness perfectly complemented by the hearty buckwheat flour and herbaceous rosemary lemon sugar. If you don’t want to wait to make these until you have some rosemary lemon sugar ready to go, you can use coconut sugar in its place.

Fig & Buckwheat Scones with Rosemary Lemon Sugar

notes: Since these are best the day they are made, you can always make a small batch of scones instead of a dozen. I always bake in small test batches to start and then multiply from there. For this recipe, divide everything by 3 to get a small batch of 4 scones. Or, bake it as is and find people to share with. The figs used are from Gundermann Acres and can be sourced at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market in Houston, Texas. 

150g buckwheat flour, plus more for your work surface
120g arrowroot flour
3/4 tsp psyllium husk (or xanthan gum)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 tbsp rosemary lemon sugar, plus more for sprinkling**

90g solid coconut oil

90g cold coconut or cashew milk
90g unsweetened applesauce

scant cup diced fresh figs (about 3 or 4 large figs)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, psyllium, baking powder, salt, sugar). Add the solid coconut oil to the dry ingredients and mix it into the flour mixture with a fork or your fingers until it has a sandy texture and there are no remaining large lumps of the oil. Place this mixture in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to chill.

Once you remove the flour mixture from the freezer, gently stir the diced figs into it until they are evenly distributed. Add the coconut milk and applesauce and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until a rough dough starts to form. Dust your work surface with buckwheat flour, then turn the dough out onto it. Dust your hands with a bit more buckwheat flour, then knead the dough a few times until it just comes together.

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Flatten out each portion into a round, one-inch thick disc. Sprinkle the tops with the rosemary lemon sugar, then slice each disc of dough into 4 wedges (see photos). You will have 12 wedges/scones total. Transfer the scones to your prepared baking sheet making sure to space them at least one-inch apart. Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes until the bottoms and edges just start to turn golden. Cool the scones at least 15 minutes before eating. Makes 12 small scones.

**Rosemary Lemon Sugar

a handful of rosemary (either fresh or recently dried)
the rind of 1 small lemon
1 cup of cane sugar

Place all ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Pound in a rhythm that coordinates with your breath. Use your nose to smell when the essential oils of the herbs have released into your sugar. Pound just a bit more, so that the rosemary and lemon are slightly “mushed.” Pour into a jar of your choice and store for about a week or two.

Courtney’s notes: I wanted a super smooth sugar so after several days of infusing, I blitzed everything up in my food processer. It not only makes the sugar finer, but it breaks up the lemon rind and rosemary even finer giving the sugar a light green hue. In order to keep the sugar from clumping, you can place a muslin bag or tea bag full of dry rice in the bottom of the jar with the sugar. It will absorb any excess moisture.