When I was a little girl, I spent a summer in England with my godmother. We often ran errands in the afternoons, to her clients or business associates, and were frequently invited to stay for afternoon tea. How this ritual delighted me! They were like real life, grown-up tea parties; with tea and biscuits, or little sandwiches, or cakes, or scones… At afternoon tea, everything just slowed down, and everyone seemed so…. civilized.

Making these simple scones took me back to those teas… Eating them made me want to through a tea party. Maybe I will. These days, we could all take a little time to slow down.

Currant-Lemon Scones

Finely Grated Rind From 1 Lemon

1 cup Coconut Milk, light (canned)

1/4 cup Agave Nectar

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp Lemon Extract (optional)

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Corn Flour

1 cup Dried Currants

2 tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Margarine, cold

1 tbsp Coconut milk (optional, for brushing)

1 tbsp Sugar (optional, for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet.

Whisk together the coconut milk, agave, lemon juice, and extract, until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Stir together the flours, currants, baking powder and lemon rind.

Cut margarine into the flour mixture until it looks like course crumbs.

Add wet ingredients and stir just until a dough forms. Finish by gently kneading (I do it in the bowl) until dough holds together. Be careful to not over knead.

Divide dough in half and form into balls. On a lightly floured surface, pat 1 ball into a disk (about 1 1/2 inch thick). Slice disk into quarters (or into 6 pieces, like I did) and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Repeat with other half of dough.

If you want, lightly brush the tops with additional coconut milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to rack and allow to cool for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 – 12 scones.