No Fat Added Mango Banana Scones

When I was a kid, we had a Marks and Spencer in our town which carried some pretty exotic (at least to me at the time) British treats. I remember my mom bringing home crumpets, shortbread cookies and, my favorites, scones. Deliciously buttery, doughy and only slightly sweet, they were tea time (and breakfast) perfection.

I'm sure part of what made those scones so tasty was an generous amount of butter. Now, if I could, I'd eat a (non-dairy) fat laden scone every time I craved one, but then I'd have to replace my whole wardrobe which would be an expensive proposition. When the need for scones strikes, I could whip up a batch of these oatmeal scones with strawberries. They're made with a modest amount of fat, some whole wheat flour, fruit and oatmeal so they're sort of healthy, right? Well since it's bathing suit season, but I still don't want to give up treats, I tried to get away with using no fat at all.

The result was pretty fantastic. While they're not nearly as decadent as the ones I remember from Marks & Spencer, they definitely hit the spot. They go stale pretty quickly though, like most fat-free baked goods. Fear not though, you don't have to eat all eight scones in one go (although you might want to). Give them a 15-30 second zap in the microwave or slowly warm them up the toaster oven and they'll be almost as good as freshly baked. If you're one of those people that has diet drinks with rich meals, you might want to to slather some Earth Balance onto these fat free goodies. Some preserves would lovely be on them too if you'd like to keep it light. If you're a true scone lover like me, though, you might want to eat them straight up, so as not to mess with their deliciousness.

No Fat Added Mango Banana Scones
Makes 8 scones

• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour plus a little extra for dusting
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium banana (make sure to use one that's on the greener side and has been in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour), coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla non-dairy milk (if using unflavored milk add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
• Zest of 1 medium lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped mango (or any other fruit you'd like)
• Optional: Confectioners sugar for dusting 

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 F / 175 C. In the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the banana and pulse until you can see about pea sized pieces of banana in the flour mixture.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, lemon zest, juice and vanilla if using. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a few strokes of a spatula. Add the mango and mix the dough until just combined. Try not to overmix the dough or you'll end up with tough scones. The dough will be pretty sticky, but don't worry, it will work out in the end.

3.  With lightly floured hands, form a ball with an eighth of the dough. Place the ball on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet and flatten it slightly. Repeat for the remaining seven scones. Bake in the middle rack of your oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of them comes out clean and the bottoms are golden brown. For some extra sweetness and a pretty touch, dust the scones with some confectioners sugar. Server warm, with some non-dairy butter and/or preserves if you'd like.