Guest Post: The Appetite of Life

Today's guest post comes from Becca at The Appetite of Life. Becca is one of my very dear friends from Saint Mary's College. A free spirit with an eye for beautiful pictures, Becca is currently down in Costa Rica with the Peace Corps. In her free time, she likes to experiment with all the delicious (and usually quite nutritious) foods she finds in her host town. She's agreed to share one of her concoctions, it's a special recipe just for Daily Dose readers. Enjoy!
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When my old college friend asked me to write a guest post for her blog, I immediately obliged! Since college, Tara and I have remained strong friends through distance and time, and I have seen her blossom into what I feel she is really meant to do. I am so impressed by her blog that I thought long and hard about coming up with something that would be worthy of the caliber she puts out to all her readers daily.

As more of a foodie (and less of a fitness guru than Tara), I strive to eat healthy, fresh food and I post my musings on my food blog when life allows. But growing up in a family of bakers, I have a mega sweet tooth, too. In the past five years, as I have branched out on my own and learned my style of living, cooking, eating, etc., I have found ways to make my favorite baked goods a little healthier and each day is another day to explore my way in the kitchen. So being a guest blogger for A Daily Dose of Fit was just another excuse to head into the kitchen to create something...one of my favorite things to do!

This time of year, I crave comfort food. The cool weather beckons for hot tea and warm scones to be enjoyed inside a cozy winter cabin while snow falls softly outside.

Welllllllllll, that's what I'm dreaming about because I am nowhere near snow. But I still crave comfort food. It's like my body knows it's winter, despite the lack of snow. And for me, that comfort food is scones.

Don't be fooled by these scones. They.Are.Delicious! They are just slightly sweet and for me, and they satisfy that comfort food craving without breaking the calorie bank. And now that we are just beginning the New Year, I imagine many have made those resolutions to eat right, differently and healthily. So enter the carrot gingersnap scones. While most scones are full of cream and butter, these are a lighter version that in fact, could very easily be made vegan by replacing the butter with vegan butter and the milk with almond or soy milk. And, I've incorporated a sneaky serving of vegetables in them, which give them a nice little crunch and a slightly sweet flavor when paired with the spiciness of ginger and molasses. They are perfect with a warm cup of tea. So go make 'em, and wait for the snow to fall!

Carrot Gingersnap Scones
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (first eight ingredients). Slice in the butter. Using your hands or a pastry blender, work it into the flour until it creates a rough crumbly mixture, leaving small pieces of butter present. Add the raisins and shredded carrots, mix well to coat. Add the molasses and vanilla extract. Mix well to combine all dry ingredients with wet. Add the milk. Dough should be slightly sticky. If it's too sticky, add a tiny bit more flour. Transfer the dough to a very generously floured surface. Fold over 4-5 times and flatted into a roughly round disc about one to one and one half inches thick. Cut into triangles of your desired size. Brush each scone with milk and top with raw sugar. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake in oven 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack then enjoy warm with tea and snow falling outside!