You Put the Lime in the Coconut and Call Me in the Mor-or-or-ning….. The Harry Nilsson Lime and Coconut Scone

Limes figure into high Summer in so many ways…….

Find yourself drinking mostly iced-tea these days? I find a nice slice of lime and a sprig of mint added to a large glass of iced black tea is especially reinvigorating. If like me, just as the sun begins to relinquish its hold on the day, you’re also yearning for a little tidbit to go with your tea, see below. You’re sitting on the patio, terrace or at the pool and the question becomes, shall I have “tea” or have an early glass of wine? If you’re like me and it’s not yet time to consider dinner, you’d rather have tea “and”……….

I was just reading along this morning, passing by all the irritating news fluff about “the Donald” and his latest hurling of insults upon any and all, plus all the wining about how his co-candidates can’t get their voices heard and yada-yada and all the other depressing news out there……… Something, I said to myself, needs to click-in here and get me back to work.

I don’t quite know what I was looking at – I think it might have been a coconut cream pie recipe and all of a sudden the song came into my head “you put the lime in the coconut, and you feel better, you put the lime in the coconut and call me in the mor-or-or-orning…….. Ahhh, Harry Nilsson, Circa 1971…….. and, off I went.

I’ve wanted to do some experimenting with coconut flour and this seemed like the perfect cool(as in temp)-flavored idea. The images of Lime and Coconut conjure up mostly tropical visions – swaying in a hammock, feet crusted with sand, skin slightly burned, thirst building, sun slowly lolling its way down after a nice long day surrounded by white powdery sand……makes me think mostly of Grand Cayman…………. But really, they have the very best limes in Mexico, now don’t they? Especially on Baja California, where, as in so much of Mexican cuisine, the lime is a prized ingredient. Here’s my recipe. You’ll note this is a scone on the slightly more dense side, due to the coconut flour. But, I like it just the same. As noted, you can sub out the coconut flour and just use 3 cups of ap, if you’d like.

THE HARRY NILSSON LIME AND THE COCONUT SCONE –

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour,

2/3 cup coconut flour (or just use 3 cups all purpose flour if you’d like)*

1 tblsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of one large or two small limes

1/4 cup sugar

8 tblsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

2 eggs

1 tblsp fresh lime juice

3/4 cups buttermilk

one 4 oz bar good quality white chocolate, rough chop

1 cup toasted coconut, cooled completely

egg wash

dish of lime sugar = 1-2 tblsp granulated sugar and zest of one half lime; rub lime into sugar with your fingers to release the essential oils Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of your food processor, whir together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and lime zest. Add cubed butter and pulse 8-9 times or until the butter resembles small peas. Remove dry ingredients to a low wide bowl. Make a well in the center. In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, lime juice and almond extract. Pour into center, working with a dough scraper, gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet. When the dough just begins to come together, add the toasted coconut and the white chocolate. Gently mix in and form into a mass. Remove to a lightly floured board and roll out to 1 1/4″ thickness. Using a 3″ fluted cutter, cut out the scones. Re-roll until all dough is used. Place on the prepared baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with the lime sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and crusty. You might note that the chocolate chunks did not melt completely. I personally don’t mind this, but if you do, chop your chocolate more finely. Enjoy!

* as a general rule, you can sub in up to 20% of the recipe’s total flour with coconut flour, but try and see what you like.