Cranberry Orange Scones

My cousin's son is allergic to nuts, eggs and milk.  I am gluten and mostly dairy-free, but I feel fortunate to be able to eat nuts and eggs.  However, I can empathize with the frustration of not being able to eat out when I travel in the summer, so I often bring my own food with me.  I freeze my baking in individual portions to take to work, or to take in a cooler on car trips during the summer.

A few bloggers, such as Kelly from The Spunky Coconut and Jenni from The Urban Poser, often use chia seeds or flax seeds as egg replacers in many of their recipes.  This can be useful for vegans or people with allergies to eggs.  I like to eat chia seeds because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, protein and help with blood sugar regulation.  This is a scone recipe that uses "chia eggs" and is based on Kelly's egg-free bagels.  You could also make these into a bagel shape.

Add to a mixing bowl:
1 tbsp chia seeds, ground into chia seed meal (using a coffee grinder or magic bullet)
3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup plain yogurt or dairy free plain yogurt (I used Nancy's Cultured Soy yogurt which is free of cane sugar and at The Real Canadian Superstore in Airdrie or Calgary. The yogurt is watery and not really thick.  You may need to add another tablespoon of water if the yogurt you use is thicker.)

Mix with an electric mixer or by hand.

Add:
2 tbsp honey
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour
2 tbsp millet flour
2 tbsp quinoa flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
orange zest from one orange (could also use lemon zest)

Beat until a mass begins to form.  Stir in about 1/3 cup of dried cranberries or currants.  Divide the dough into 6 equal balls (4 balls for bagels).  On a parchment lined baking sheet, shape a ball into a large biscuit ring, remove the ring and repeat for the other 5 balls of dough.  If you are making bagels, oil your hands and shape dough into a ring by poking your finger through the middle of each flattened ball.  You will have 4 bagels or 6 scones.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes for the scones and 24 minutes for the bagels.