These scones are what I make on Saturday mornings when I wake up craving baked goods with a certain level of urgency. Which are most weekends, if I’m being honest. The recipe is dead simple, and made even easier to whip together in a few minutes because the coconut oil is much more forgiving than the cold, cold butter required of most scones. This also makes these scones my favorite “healthy” feeling breakfast treat.

The recipe is incredibly versatile (thanks, Minimalist Baker), but so far this is my favorite adaptation – serving up fresh chunks of peaches and finely grated ginger. It’s vegan – but you can 100 percent make it not vegan if that’s not your jam, and sub in an egg and milk instead. These scones can’t compete with those that are laden with heavy cream and butter (there’s just no replicating the magical puff you get from those champion fats), but they do stand on their own as totally satisfying and a little less guilt ridden as the sole provider for your breakfast meal. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the flax and water and set aside while you mix the other ingredients.
 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With a fork or pastry cutter, mash the solid coconut oil into the dry ingredients until it’s just combined and slightly sandy. Stir in the grated ginger.
 
Stir the flax egg into the almond milk, and then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently to just barely bring the dough together (make sure not to overwork it – or you’ll lose the delicate crumb), adding the peaches halfway through to distribute throughout the dough.
 
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and shape into circle about an inch thick. With a knife, slice the circle into eight pieces (like a pizza), and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with granulated sugar if you’re feeling fancy.
 
Bake the scones for 25 minutes or until slightly golden. 

I present to you my go-to pancake recipe, all dolled-up and ready for the most show-stopping brunch activities. Admittedly, I’ve always been a diehard plain pancake girl. Aligning with my childhood preference for vanilla ice cream over chocolate ice cream and abhorrence of anything to do with chocolate (yes, I was hugged as a child, and no, I’m still not sure what was wrong with me). While I’ve since abandoned my past misguided flavor preferences, I still standby my penchant for plain pancakes. Until now, I had not found a pancake that could beat out a stack of perfectly puffy and unadulterated pancakes with maple syrup and butter pooling over the top and down the sides. 

Why then, am I giving you this recipe for anything-but-plain pancakes? Because nothing says, “I love you,” more than taking the time, out of arguably the Best Time of day, to go about the ritual of whisking, pouring, and patiently flipping together a decadent breakfast spread for your loved one(s). The first time I made these particular pancakes; they were a concession to my sweetheart’s pleas for chocolate chips, along with some scrounging around in the fridge and freezer to locate the punchy additions of lemon zest and raspberry to balance out all the richness. He’s stuck around, and so did this flavor combination as my stand-in when I’m craving a little something extra.

For this recipe, I’ve abandoned from the original prescription of buttermilk, which I almost never have on hand, and found I have the most success with a mix of Greek yogurt and whole milk instead, which I almost always have on hand. If you haven’t discovered just how simple it is to make pancakes from scratch, then this recipe is for you. May the rest of your days be filled with sleepy Sunday mornings, Real Maple Syrup, and piles and piles of buttery pancakes made with love.
 
P.S. If you are musing over using anything other than Real Maple Syrup to accompany these pancakes, I’d recommend honey as a much more preferable alternative than the-substitute-syrup-that-shall-not-be-named. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt and milk until smooth. Crack the eggs into the bowl and whisk to incorporate with the yogurt and milk. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until nearly all the lumps are gone, and then stir in the melted butter.
 
Place a large skillet over medium-low heat. If you have an electric griddle, that makes mass-producing these pancakes a dream, but if your kitchen is limited in size like mine, any pan with a good amount of flat surface area will do.
 
While the pan is warming up, fold the lemon zest and chocolate chips into the batter. If you are using frozen raspberries, break them apart into smaller chunks and gently fold the berries into the batter.  For fresh berries, simply tear or slice the berries into smaller pieces and fold into the batter.
 
Once your cooking surface is warm, rub the pan down with a pad of butter. It should bubble energetically, but not brown up immediately – if it does, your pan is too hot. You can test the temperature with a small dab of butter if you’re unsure about the temperature.
 
Using a 1/3 cup measure or soup ladle, dollop 2-3 circles onto the pan (or as many as fit with some breathing room). Cook the pancakes on the first side for about 3-4 minutes, or until you start to see bubbles appear across the top pancake and the underside is golden brown. Use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook another 2-3 minutes, also until golden brown. Remove the pancakes and tuck them under a towel on a serving plate to keep warm. Reapply butter to the pan, and repeat the cooking process for the remaining batter.
 
To serve, place 2-3 pancakes on a plate, dust with powdered sugar, and drizzle liberally with real maple syrup. 

Granola is one of those staples that either fails to rise to the task of morning nourishment, on par with a sad bowl of cold cereal, or comes in with flying colors. Growing up, my mom’s mystical granola was up there in the same league as blueberry pancakes or a well-executed breakfast sandwich. In college, I’d fend off hungry roommates from my coveted yogurt container filled to the brim with the crispy oats, pecans, and cranberries. This was the granola I knew best, and damn, was it good.

However, there came a point when I realized I couldn’t drive to New Hampshire every time I needed a granola fix and my wallet couldn’t subsidize $8 sacks of granola with barely enough contents for a week of breakfasts. Cue the Internet, and Cookie + Kate’s supremely simple and satisfying granola. It would be exaggeration to call this recipe life changing, but I will admit to it being mind altering. With this recipe in hand you can make yourself a two week supply of granola with all your favorite fixings in the perfect ratio (for me, that means heavy on the oats and dried fruit, light on the nuts and seeds) in under 35 minutes. 

While my go-to combination is still pecans, dried cranberries, and a hint of cinnamon, I wanted to give you a variation more suited to the summer months. The turmeric and ginger give the granola a pop of color and an unexpected, but welcome, warmth beneath a blanket of tangy yogurt. The dried papaya and apricots could easily be swapped for your favorite fruits, but I enjoy the textural diversity of the chewy papaya and soft apricots against the crunch of the oat clusters and rich macadamia nuts. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
 
Pour the oats, coconut flakes, chopped macadamia nuts, turmeric, ginger, and salt into a large bowl. If your coconut flakes are oversized, break them into more manageable-sized flakes with your fingers. Toss the dry ingredients together with a spoon (or your hands). In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave to bring it to a liquid state (15 to 20 seconds will do the trick). Add the honey and vanilla extract, and whisk gently to incorporate with the oil.
 
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. Stir until everything is well coated. The granola will be a delightful yellow hue from the turmeric.
 
Spread the granola out in an even layer on the lined baking sheet. Pop the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 26 minutes, stirring halfway through. In the meantime, chop up the papaya and apricots into bite-sized morsels.
 
Once lightly golden, take the granola out of the oven and let it cool completely on the baking sheet without touching it (important step to achieve your desired granola chunk-age). After the granola has cooled completely, sprinkle the papaya and apricots over the top and break up the sheet of granola into chunks to combine with the fruit. Store in an airtight container and revel in your newfound freedom from store-bought granola.
 
Enjoy with yogurt, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of honey.