Hi guys! Great to talk to you all again, and to bring some news with me this time. I’m sure that the title of the recipe is a bit of a sign that this is a different sort of recipe… It’s a recipe that I’ve made a few times in its original good old wheat filled form and the scones are very delicious! However, a couple of weeks ago I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which whilst it is the most common bowel issue that affects nearly 1 in 5 women in New Zealand, was quite a game changer for me. I won’t gross you out with the details, but I’ve been having symptoms for around 4 months and ruled out pretty much everything else except IBS so the specialist I was seeing recommended I see a nutritionist to explore further options. The nutritionist then diagnosed IBS and after looking at my general lifestyle and diet, she recommended a low FODMAP diet. I’ve put a link in here as to what a low FODMAP diet is, but essentially it’s a very restrictive ‘elimination’ diet where you cut out huge groups of food then reintroduce slowly to see what you react to. So currently I’m in the elimination phase where I can’t eat wheat, barley or rye, lactose, fructose, onions or garlic, just to name a few! As you can imagine, I’m very much struggling. That’s where the cheese scones come into the picture!
Guys, I love chocolate. Obviously. And everything with lactose and wheat. OMG COOKIES AND CAKES AAAAAAND… Ok yup this is pretty hard! I also love onions and garlic and they’re in eeeeeverything! I have to be honest, I had a bit of a meltdown on Friday. My poor long suffering boyfriend bore the brunt of it too! It was lunchtime and I was starving and (rookie mistake) didn’t have anything that I could make a proper lunch with in the office. So mentally I’m going through my head thinking about what I can have but EVERYTHING I wanted had ONIONS or GARLIC or WHEAT – how would this be?! The boyfriend was only trying to be helpful and suggested I bring in lunch more often so I don’t get to this stage but by now I’m extremely hangry and I KNOW THAT but I’m hungry now and I don’t have anything!!! Sorry again Kri, for what I said when I was hungry!
Of course I eventually figured it out, I ended up with a toasted sandwich but I also bought a $13 box of gluten free chicken nuggets because I was feeling very sorry for myself. Still no regrets because they tasted pretty damn good!! But this experience did make me realise that A) I need to be more organised, and B) I need some grab and go stuff for when I’m hungry and tempted into something quick and easy that’s also filled with FODMAPs, I need to have some alternatives. I also had a real hankering for cheese scones that day, for my US readers I know savoury scones aren’t very common in the USA but in New Zealand etc. cafés often sell cheese/savoury scones (which are more like biscuits) that they toast and slather in butter for a morning snack (called morning tea) or light lunch. I looked at the recipe I usually use to make cheese scones and thought, I could actually quite easily make this low FODMAP. A bit of trial and error, adjusting the quantities slightly and I was away laughing – a really easy recipe that tastes like the real deal and is tummy friendly, score!
I must admit, I’ve often been quite skeptical of ‘food intolerances’ because I’ve never understood how food can actually cause these symptoms without some sort of disease, i.e. coeliac’s. I think I’ve also seen many people say they’re ‘gluten-free’ then chow down on a piece of cake they just couldn’t resist. I definitely have a lot more understanding and empathy now, I know it sounds cliché but it would be impossible not to understand. I feel like I understand the war between the gratification of delicious food and the feelings it brings followed by the icky feelings it brings, if ya get me. It’s already been a difficult journey for me and yet I know I’m luckier than most people as I have private medical insurance to speed things up, I cook only for myself and so I can spend all of my money on myself buying food for me to eat if I want! I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have kids or be cooking for others as well as having to go through this elimination phase. But please send me any tips or advice you have about IBS or about low FODMAP, I’m taking anything I can get right now! Once I’ve been through the elimination phase and I’ve figured things out a bit, I’ll definitely be sharing my own tips and tricks for you guys and anyone else who needs them, but for now at least I can give you a great recipe to indulge all of your cheesiest ‘wheat’ fantasies but still feel great and be symptom free. 🙂
Note: These scones are low FODMAP and nearly lactose free but if you can’t tolerate dairy then you’ll need to switch out the hard cheese for a dairy free cheese. You can also use less cheese if you need, but following my recipe is 10x scones so a 25g serve of cheese in each one. 🙂
Gluten Free and Lactose Free Cheese Scones
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Serves: 10 regular or 12 small scones
These low FODMAP Cheese Scones are the cheesiest and tastiest scones you’ll ever eat that are also tummy friendly!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (in New Zealand the best one is [url href=”http://edmondscooking.co.nz/products/flour/gluten-free-plain-flour-750g/” target=”_blank”]Edmonds[/url])
- 3 tspn baking powder
- 80g (2.8oz) unsalted butter, cut into cubes (or vegan/dairy-free spread)
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 2 cups grated cheese (a sharp cheddar is best, i.e. Tasty), plus extra for sprinkling.
- 1 cup + 2 Tbspn lactose free milk (I used Anchor, but you could use unsweetened almond milk instead)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line either one large or two medium baking trays with baking paper. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
- Rub in the butter either with your fingers or using a [url href=”https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/stainless-steel-pastry-blender-with-soft-grip-handle/20938121?r=2240995″ target=”_blank”]pastry cutter[/url] until mixture resembles breadcrumbs, making sure to get rid of any big lumps. I would advise using a pastry cutter if you can as the texture of the gluten free flour feels very strange between your fingers!
- Stir in the cheese and disperse throughout the flour/butter mixture.
- Make a well in the centre and add 1 cup of milk, mix quickly with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough, but be careful not to over mix. If the dough is too solid, then add the extra tablespoons of milk. The consistency should be a sticky and very soft dough.
- Using a tablespoon, spoon dollops of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving 5cm on all sides. Sprinkle the tops with extra grated cheese if you like.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until you can see the bottoms start to brown. Then turn the oven to grill/broil and increase the temperature to 200°C (390°F) until the tops are lightly browned.
- The scones are best eaten within a few days, or you can store them in a ziplock bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Cut them in half first then just pop them in the toaster and spread with butter (or margarine/spread) when you’re ready to eat them!
Gluten Free and Lactose Free Cheese Scones
More Recipes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies
- The Top Six Things I’ve Learned About Low FODMAP
- Gluten Free Chocolate Orange Cake
