Resisting Change + Raspberry Pistachio Scones with Lemon Almond Glaze

The most tender (gluten-free) scones, inspired by you! Plus, thoughts on change, Mother’s Day, and more.

In today’s post I’m sharing tender and flaky (gluten-free friendly) scones that are pocketed with sweet-tart raspberries and crunchy pistachios, and draped with a lemon almond glaze (the recipe was inspired by you, dear subscribers!). I’m also exploring how we can navigate change (and my resistance to it), sharing an intention for all you mamas—and non-mamas—out there, and offering more Mother’s Day favorites.

Hello my dears,

When you receive this—a day earlier than our regularly scheduled Sunday morning correspondence, in case you want to make the scones for Mother’s Day (do it!)—I’ll be on a flight home from Ireland. I spent last week on the emerald isle for the first time, on a retreat that I booked last year on a whim. While I have no idea what’s in store in writing this before leaving, I suspect, like with all trips, I’ll come back slightly changed.

Change has been a theme of late. The night before my birthday I picked a card from this oracle deck asking, what do I need to know this year? The card I got was “The book of changes,” which essentially says that life is going to change, and to trust the process.

While oracle cards aren’t meant to predict the future (at least, I don’t believe that they are), they have an uncanny way of offering exactly the right teaching at exactly the right time. My intuition always seems to know what I need to sit with, even when it’s uncomfortable. Because that was my response when I pulled that card: ughhhhh.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been feeling the whispers of change all season. I love the activation of spring and the excitement of new growth, but change can also be really, really annoying. Sometimes we hit cozy plateaus and the last thing we want to do is have to climb to another ridge (or jump off the edge). Change is the only constant in life; we all know this! But knowing it doesn’t make it easier.

I have a new project that’s been dripping into my brain like droplets out of a leaky faucet. Little plops of inspiration that keep coming, no matter how much I want to close the valve. I can’t quite see what form it will take, but I do know it’s going to require serious work, growth and expansion (I’m not ready to share more yet, but it’s coming).

Like I said: ughhhhh.

Growth and expansion are what drive me—I love them! But sometimes it sucks having to crawl out of the security blankets we’ve woven. The morning I was writing the first draft of this newsletter and contemplating all of this, my friend Nicole Beaudin (who’s a brilliant business/life coach, if you need a highly intuitive champion on your side) sent me this Instagram clip from Justin Owens. In it he says:

I thought that leveling up was supposed to feel like winning. Nah, it felt like losing everything I was comfortable with because the next level doesn’t ask for just your effort, it asks for your identity.

In my experience, usually we don’t know when we’re in the process of leveling up. Life simply pushes us to change, and it can feel totally rude (I just got cozy! What the hell?!). We’re forced to shed a version of ourselves, often right when we feel grounded in who we are.

All of us can look back over our lives and see how times of change—no matter how big or small—have caused us to grow, even if growth looked like regression at first.

If you too are butting up against resistance to change—whether it’s an inner sort of expansion, or something more physical and tangible like a new job or house, a health issue or physical transformation (hey there perimenopause), a family situation, a new project, an upcoming trip, or just the nuances of life, I’m sharing some tips that are helping me, in the hopes they can help you too.

Navigating change (and growth)

• Move one step at a time: When change is afoot, often we can’t see the finish line (or even the path ahead). It helps to move just one step at a time. You don’t need to have anything figured out, but what’s one minuscule step you can take right now? (I go deeper in this podcast episode.)

• Get grounded: Change, by its very nature, is disorienting. When you feel overwhelmed, lost or just tired, it helps to plant your feet in the soil. Like literally—put your feet in grass. Grounding foods can also help—think rice and lentils, soothing soups, sweet muffins (a sweet pause in the afternoon is one of my favorite ways to ground).

• Invite curiosity and play: Instead of feeling like you have to control how things unfold or the situation you’re in, invite curiosity. It can be a great antidote to fear. A childlike sense of curiosity naturally gives any situation a bit more levity and even playfulness. And remember, change can be fun! (I share more tips in this I will get Curious podcast episode.)

• Look back at your past: You’ve changed in the past, more times than you can count. And you’re still here, better off for it. It helps to remember that.

• Ride the wave: So often the friction we feel is us rubbing against our own resistance. If we surrender to the wave of change, it’s much easier to flow with it. I imagine myself hopping on a boat. Instead of trying to fight the current, it feels far better to allow the current to take me, knowing that I can help steer the ship. Boats are fun, and change can be too.

If you appreciate today’s newsletter, could you click the heart in the upper corner? It lets me know you’re here and helps spread the love. ❤️

Mother’s Day

If change asks us to shed an old identity, maybe what we need most in those in-between moments is someone to be tender with us. To mother us. And sometimes, that someone has to be ourselves.

Our tradition on Mother’s Day is that James and the girls cook me dinner, then we connect our phone to the television and watch old videos of the kids. It’s simple but sweet and one of my favorite evenings of the year. But Mother’s Day is complicated. This is for a million reasons, which I won’t get into here. But no matter your circumstances or gender, or whether you have kids or not, I’ve found the intention below (which I go deeper into in this post) to be helpful on Mother’s Day:

I will mother myself.

We don’t have to wait for our own mothers or families to show up for us, we can give ourselves what we need. Tomorrow, let’s all be incredibly tender with ourselves. Let’s be our own mothers—the caretakers we need in the moment. Only you will know what that looks like for you. But placing a gentle hand on your heart is an easy way to start.

Or, perhaps it’s in baking yourself a batch of tender, flaky scones.

More Mother’s Day Favorites:

• Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

• Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

• Individual Cheesecakes with Quick Fruit Compote

• Grain-Free Carrot Layer Cake

Raspberry Pistachio Scones

If you’ve never made scones before, let me assure you they’re far easier than you might think, especially this recipe, which relies on a simple technique to create a fluffy, tender texture (say goodbye to dried-out hockey pucks). Cold butter is grated directly over the flour mixture using a box grater, then tossed in with your hands. There’s no kneading required—in fact, all you do is pat the dough into a round right on a parchment-lined baking sheet. It can be an incredibly satisfying process, as long as you let go of perfectionism. (Maybe that’s why I love scones so much; they’re meant to be rustic and homey.)

These scones were inspired by you, dear readers. I put a call out for flavor ideas and received so many wonderful suggestions: lemon pistachio, raspberry pecan, lavender, buckwheat, maple nut… I ended up combining two of them to create these, but you can swap the pistachios for any nut you like. They feature pockets of bright, juicy raspberries, satisfying crunch from pistachios, and a delicate crackly lemon almond glaze on top. My whole family is obsessed.

You can make the scones ahead and freeze them, meaning you can warm one up at a moment’s notice. It’s a breakfast or afternoon snack that begs you to linger, to pour a piping hot cup of tea or coffee and settle into a pause. To tend to yourself, even if you share them with others.

This is a community-funded business, and it couldn’t happen with your support! As a paid member, you get access to the full recipe archive, classes, bonus content, and more. Thank you so much for making this work possible.

Recipe Tips:

• I’ve tested the scones with both Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour, and King Arthur Measure-for-Measure, which work great (you won’t be able to tell they’re gluten free). You can also use regular all-purpose flour.

• No buttermilk? Stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk (or the dairy-free milk of your choice) and let it sit for a few minutes until slightly curdled, or use equal parts plain yogurt and milk, whisked together.

• You can swap out the pistachios for pecans or other nuts.

• Love this recipe? Try these Blueberry Almond and Cranberry Walnut Scones too!

Downloadable recipe

Download a printable pdf of the scone recipe below, or scroll down for a text version:

Raspberry Pistachio Scones

1.06MB ∙ PDF file

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Video

See the texture of the dough you’re after in this video. 💗

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the recipe or comments about today’s post—I love hearing from you. Wishing you a wonderful week, and remember to nourish yourself with intention and love.

xo, Nicki

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Raspberry Pistachio Scones with Lemon Almond Glaze (Gluten Free Option)

A simple technique ensures these scones turn out fluffy, flaky, and tender (goodbye, dried-out hockey pucks). They feature pockets of bright, juicy raspberries, satisfying crunch from pistachios, and a delicate crackly glaze on top. Frozen raspberries work best here, as fresh are hard to incorporate into the dough. Feel free to swap the pistachios for pecans or other nuts you like. Make the scones ahead and freeze them so they’re ready to warm up at a moment’s notice. My invitation is to be gentle with yourself while making these scones. They beg to be eaten leisurely, lingering over a cup of coffee or tea.

Intention: I will be gentle with myself.

Makes: 8 scones | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 25 minutes

Scones

• 2 cups (296g) gluten-free flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, see the tips) OR regular all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup (25g) almond flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 6 tablespoons (85g) cold unsalted butter

• 2 large eggs, divided

• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar

• 2/3 cup (170g) buttermilk (see tips below)

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 cup (120g) cup frozen raspberries (broken bits are fine)

• 1/2 cup (65g) unsalted roasted pistachios, finely chopped

Lemon almond glaze

• 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped pistachios

Make the scones

Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Using the large holes of a cheese grater, grate the cold butter directly over the dry ingredients (alternatively, grate it onto a piece of parchment paper, then transfer it to the bowl). Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.

In a small bowl, whisk one egg with 1 teaspoon of water; set aside for the egg wash. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining egg, sugar, buttermilk, and almond extract until smooth.

Remove the flour mixture from the freezer. Using your hands, toss the butter and flour together until evenly combined. Make a well in the center, then pour in the wet ingredients and add the raspberries (including any broken bits) and pistachios. Gently work the dry ingredients into the wet until the dough is mostly incorporated but still shaggy and floury—that’s exactly what you want.

Scrape the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet. With lightly floured hands, gently bring it together into a mound—it should still look rough and shaggy, not smooth, but it should hold together. Working quickly (the raspberries will start to soften as they thaw), press the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick round, about 8 inches in diameter, flouring your hands as needed. Don’t work the dough too much; a light touch will result in fluffier scones.

Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the round into 8 triangles, cutting all the way through to the baking sheet but leaving the triangles in place. Lightly brush the tops and edges with the egg wash.

Bake until richly golden brown, 23–25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10–15 minutes.

Make the glaze

Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract until smooth.

Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut through the scones again to separate them into individual triangles, wiping the blade clean between cuts. Spread them apart slightly on the pan, then drizzle the glaze over the warm scones and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving—the glaze will firm up as they cool.

Serve the scones slightly warm or at room temperature, on their own or with softened butter. Swoon.

Do Ahead: The cooled scones can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or can be frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost the scones at room temperature or in the microwave; a few minutes in a toaster oven before serving is highly recommended.