Pumpkin Scones

It was a Sunday night, and I wanted to bake.  I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge, and so I opened up the "pumpkin" tab on my bookmarks and started looking.  Of the 74 pages marked pumpkin, this one caught my eye.  It looked semi-healthy, pumpkin-y, comfort food-y, and adventurous.  Once I saw the spice-filled glaze, I was hooked.  Those pumpkin brownies, pancakes, cakes, and cookies would have to wait.  

I'd never made scones before, but I don't generally let little things like inexperience get in my way.  I find that my method usually works out fairly well, and if it doesn't?  Do I need another reason to experiment with recipes?

The scones themselves were fairly bland, but with the spicy glaze on top and butterscotch chips inside, they were fabulous.  They're soft and fluffy, which was a little bit surprising to me, as I've had so many crumbly and hard scones.  They only use 1/2 a cup of pumpkin, so they're the perfect use for leftover pumpkin from making pie, rolls, truffles, bread, or cupcakes (for example...).  They also freeze very well and are quite delicious straight from the freezer.  Not that I would know.

Pumpkin Scones

Originally from here

For the scones:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or just use more all-purpose)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ginger

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 cube cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (or use regular butter and omit the salt)

1/2 cup butterscotch chips; you can also use white chocolate, if you're not a butterscotch fan (you crazy)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 t vanilla

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg (I used about 1/8 t)

Dash of ginger

Dash of ground cloves

2 T milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  Add the cold butter chunks and cut together with a fork or pastry cutter until the largest chunks are the size of small peas.  Add butterscotch chips.  

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined.  Don't overmix or it will become tough.

Transfer the dough to a large baking sheet (greased, or use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper), and pat into an 8- to 9-inch round.  Bake about 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.  Add milk gradually while whisking.  You can add a little bit more milk if it's not quite glazing consistency.  

Once the scones are done, allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into wedges.  Transfer to a plate and drizzle with glaze.  (I put mine into a plastic bag with the tip cut off and then just made pretty glaze designs.)  Enjoy!  If you live with people who don't like butterscotch, rejoice!  And then freeze a few for next week.  Yum.