Vegan Scones — Sunday Morning, Day One, Getting Closer

January eighth. I'm marking this date. After the slip on Christmas Eve and the seven days after and the thinking I've been doing since New Year's, something has settled into place that I can't fully describe but that feels different from all the previous times I've tried to get a grip on this. This is the date I'm counting from. This is Day One.

Gary says the counting doesn't matter, that recovery is not arithmetic. But the counting matters to me. The counting is proof. Every day I add to it is a day the other thing didn't win. I need the proof right now. Maybe someday I won't. Today I need it.

I went to the Thursday meeting and I shared for the first time. I said my name and I said I was an alcoholic and I said I'd been sober since January eighth and I said that the Christmas Eve slip had actually made me more sure, not less sure, because I'd slipped and I'd called Gary and I'd gotten back up and that had proven something to me about what I'm capable of. I said the barn in July had been the bottom. I said I didn't want to go back to the barn. The room was quiet and then someone said, "Welcome back." Just like that. Welcome back.

The ranch in January is cold and deliberate. The cattle need checking. The horses need feeding. The water tanks need to be kept from freezing, which in a Montana January means going out at least twice in the night to run the heaters. I get up at midnight and I get up at four AM and I go out in the dark and check the tanks and come back in and the cold is real and the work is real and both of those things help.

I made biscuits Sunday morning. The batch was good — not Mom's level, but genuinely good. I'm getting closer. Day One. I'm counting.

The biscuits I made that Sunday were what made me think about this recipe—the repetition of it, the way you have to be patient with the dough and not overwork it, same as you have to be patient with yourself when you’re starting over. These scones are the next step from where I am: a little lighter, a little more intentional, and close enough to what Mom made that working toward them feels worth it. You make them, they turn out, and you’ve got proof. Right now, I need the proof.

Easy Vegan Scones

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 33 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup cold coconut oil, solid (or cold vegan butter)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened oat milk (or any plant-based milk)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Optional: 1/2 cup mix-ins (dried cranberries, blueberries, or chocolate chips)
• 1 tablespoon oat milk, for brushing
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Make the vegan buttermilk. Stir the apple cider vinegar into the oat milk and let it sit for five minutes. It will curdle slightly—that’s what you want.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
4. Cut in the fat. Add the cold coconut oil to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work it in quickly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces remaining. Work fast—you don’t want it to warm up.
5. Add the wet ingredients. Pour in the oat milk mixture and the vanilla extract. Stir gently with a fork just until the dough comes together. Fold in any mix-ins here. Do not overwork the dough.
6. Shape the scones. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a round disk about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, like a pizza, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet with a little space between each.
7. Finish and bake. Brush the tops lightly with oat milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 16–18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool briefly. Let the scones rest on the pan for five minutes before serving. Best eaten warm, the same morning you make them.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 245 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 175mg