BSI: Coconut (Pina Colada Scones)

A couple of days ago, Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser posted a delicious scone recipe. I've tried a few times before to like scones, but they always seem like dense hockey pucks to me. I thought her recipe looked promising, so I kept it in the back of my mind to try in the future.

Enter the BSI: coconut. I got all excited and bought and cleaned a fresh coconut. However - every recipe, idea, or past eats I thought of, or looked around used SHREDDED coconut. I'm not a fan of the dried, extra sweetened stuff, plus - I didn't buy that kind!

Johnny and I have been munching away at the coconut meat for two days now, so I thought I should make something before it's all gone!!! We also had fresh pineapple on hand, so naturally = pina colada!

My changes to the recipe are:

8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, frozen and divided (I used 50/50 Smart Balance)
~1 cup filling
1/2 cup buttermilk (see below)
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Biz's secret is to freeze and shred the butter, so I definitely took her word for it! 7 Tbsp will go into the batter, the remaining Tbsp will be melted to go over the scones before you bake. Mix all of the ingredients, minus the filling and reserved butter to form a batter. If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make some by mixing a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Once the batter is made, put it in the freezer to keep it cold!

Next, I cut up about 1/2 cup each of pineapple and coconut into 1/4 inch pieces. Take the cold dough out of the freezer and roll it into a big square, about 12" x 12" and sprinkle the filling evenly over the top. Roll the square into a long log and cut into 4 even rectangles. Next, cut diagonally across each rectangle to get 8 triangle shaped scones. Place on a greased baking pan and bake in a 375° oven for 20-23 minutes. (Or, much longer if you're like me and accidentally turned the oven off mid-way! Oops.)

I'm going to toot my own horn because these were SO GOOD. A perfect melody of pina colada goodness, in a rich buttery scone. They are really flaky and light, just as Biz promised! Not the usual dry scone I have to literally choke down. Johnny had some friends over and one said he doesn't like pineapple or coconut, but tried one and liked it!

I was nervous that the fresh coconut would get really dried out in the oven, and that the pineapple would make the dough gooey and possibly affect the baking powder or soda with its acid, but thankfully neither of those turned out to be true!

Thanks again, Biz! If I win BSI this week the credit definitely goes to you!